Frequent readers won’t be surprised to read that us elves are always keen to support improvements in the quality of research. One of the clarion calls of many systematic reviews is for better quality studies to increase the numbers of trials that meet inclusion criteria.

It was with great interest therefore that we read of the commissioning of expert reviews on research methods in social care research by the NIHR School for Social Care Research at the London School of Economics. Thanks to Dr. Michael Clark (Research Programme Manager) for drawing these to our attention.

The reviews so far completed are:

1. Research with Black and Ethnic Minority people using social services (PDF)
   Tom Vickers (Durham University), Gary Craig (Durham University), Karl Atkin (University of York)
2. Observational methods (PDF)
   Professor Jim Mansell (University of Kent)
3. Research with d/Deaf people (PDF)
   Alys Young, Ros Hunt (University of Manchester)
4. Care homes (PDF)
   Rebekah Luff (University of Surrey), Zara Ferreira (City University), Julienne Meyer (City University)
5. Mathematical modelling and its application to social care (PDF)
   Hazel Squires and Paul Tappenden (University of Sheffield), SSCR Methods Review 7, NIHR School for Social Care Research, London
6. Overview of outcome measurement for adults using social care services and support (PDF)
   Ann Netten (University of Kent), SSCR Methods Review 6, NIHR School for Social Care Research
7. The use of ‘large-scale datasets’ in UK social Care research (PDF)
   Shereen Hussein (King’s College London) SSCR Methods Review 5, NIHR School for Social Care Research, London.
8. Research governance and ethics for adult social care research: procedures, practices and challenges (PDF)
   John Woolham (Coventry University). SSCR Methods Review 4, NIHR School for Social Care Research, London
9. A brief guide to carrying out research about adult social care services for visually impaired people (PDF)
   Nigel Charles (Plymouth University), SSCR Methods Review 3, NIHR School for Social Care Research, London
10. LGBT sexualities in social care research (PDF)
    Elizabeth Price (University of Hull), SSCR Methods Review 3, NIHR School for Social Care Research, London
11. Qualitative Methods Overview (PDF)
    Dr Jo Moriarty (King’s College London), SSCR Methods Review 1, NIHR School for Social Care Research, London

You can also view a list of forthcoming reviews on the LSE website.