Hi Gerda
I’ve just been pondering on what the sources of the confusion might be. Some might be in the confusing use of slashes and dashes (hyphens) in English. Normally (and correctly) one would use a dash to join two things to imply that they’ve been combined (“realist-meta-narrative”) but sometimes people do use a slash when they want to avoid having two hyphens in a word. So we would have to confirm with Dan exactly what he was asking for.
The other source of the confusion might in fact lie in the title of the project and the standards “Realist and
meta-narrative synthesis”. I hadn’t thought about it this way before but technically, the words could indeed imply either “a review which was both realist and meta-narrative” or “two approaches, one realist and the other meta-narrative”. It does, however, mean the latter.
I think the easiest way to understand why it would (probably) not be possible to combine them is to think about their PURPOSES and the methods that flow from those purposes. In brief, a realist review seeks to understand how a particular policy or program works and why, therefore, it works in some contexts and not others. A meta-narrative review seeks to understand the approaches that have been taken to researching and understanding something and the different kinds of learning that have
resulted from those approaches. I like Trish’s example for explaining this. If you ask an anthropologist and an engineer to research ‘bridges’, they will be interested in different things about bridges (e.g. how people use them as compared to how to stop them falling down), ask different questions, use different methods, and contribute different things to the overall understanding of bridges.
The standards training materials on the website explain this in more detail. (NB There are two sets of standards, one for realist review and one for meta-narrative review – read the introductory sections of both of those for more detail.)
All that said... if anyone had ideas about how the two approaches could in fact be combined, for what questions one might do so, what the implications for methods would be... that would promote a thought provoking discussion, regardless of whether we ended up deciding it could or could not be done! And the process of discussion would no doubt clarify and deepen understanding for many of the participants in the conversation.
Best wishes
Gill
From: Realist and Meta-narrative Evidence Synthesis: Evolving Standards [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Gerda Warnholtz
Sent: Tuesday, 3 December 2013 2:49 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Realist / Narrative Review of Patient Education
Hi again,
as Dan's question was about a Realist Meta-Narrative Review, and I am about to embark in one, and everyone was talking about Realist Synthesis, I wanted to refocus the question!
If I could get hold of a Realist Meta-Narrative Review (Synthesis), to actually see how one looks like, it would be of great help!
Best wishes to all!
G
Mtra. Gerda Warnholtz
Turismo Sostenible y Protección y
Rescate del Patrimonio Cultural
Evalaución de Programas de Desarrollo Social y Proyectos
Thought this might be useful for some… we’ve recently published a paper in Qualitative Research – Reviewing conceptualisations of community: reflections on a meta-narrative approach (attached). We discuss the methods and challenges of conducting a meta-narrative review and suggest new avenues for development. We took a unique approach to the method – but the flexibility is what makes it useful!
__________________________________
Institute for Health & Human
Development
University of East London
Tel: +44 (0) 208 223 4045
From: Realist and Meta-narrative Evidence Synthesis: Evolving Standards [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Trish Greenhalgh
Sent: 02 December 2013 06:34
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Realist / Narrative Review of Patient Education Yes Gill's right. A meta-narrative review is similar to a realist review in that it's theory-driven but different from it in that it doesn't focus on the CMO configurations. Attached the RAMESES standards for meta-narrative review.
Professor of Primary Health Care and Dean for Research Impact
Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry
I don’t think there’s any such thing as a realist meta-narrative review. Meta-narrative review was developed by Trish Greenhalgh et al for a project where they couldn’t get a realist approach to do what they were trying to do – it’s a different methodology.
From: Realist and Meta-narrative Evidence Synthesis: Evolving Standards [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Gerda Warnholtz
Sent: Monday, 2 December 2013 10:31 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Realist / Narrative Review of Patient Education Hi everyone,
as far as I can see, there are sevaral realist synthesis being carried out, but no one talks about doing a realist meta-narrative review...
Can anyone tell me where can I get hold of an example of a realist meta-narrative review?
Thanks!
Gerda
Turismo Sostenible y Protección y Rescate del Patrimonio Cultural
Evalaución de Programas de Desarrollo Social y Proyectos
Dear all
We are a group funded by the NIHR Public Health
Research stream to undertake a realist review of interventions for children and teenagers, to reduce the risk of relationship violence (the PEACH study, led by Prof Nicky Stanley at UCLan), in case this is of interest?
All the best
Soo (Downe)
-----Original Message-----
From: Realist and Meta-narrative Evidence Synthesis: Evolving Standards [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Janet Harris
Sent: 01 December 2013 16:58
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Realist / Narrative Review of Patient Education
Hi Dan
We're completing a realist review looking at whether peer support influences health literacy. To be submitted to National Institute of Health Research for review prior to publication in a couple of weeks.
Best wishes
Janet Harris
University of Sheffield
Sent from my iPhone
On 30 Nov 2013, at 22:01, Sue's UBC e-mail <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Hi Daniel,
>
> I am currently conducting a realist synthesis of self-management interventions for disadvantaged
populations living with chronic conditions. These are often classified under the broad umbrella of patient education programs (even though the underlying principles of patient engagement and empowerment often differ between education/SM approaches depending on frameworks used). We will be finished in the spring. Would be happy to chat further.
>
> Sue
> UBC
>
> On 2013-11-30, at 1:22 PM, Daniel Moxham <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>> Hi there,
>>
>> Does anyone know of any?
>>
>> Many thanks,
>>
>> Dan
