Carroll, C., Booth, A., Leaviss, J. et al. (1 more author) (2013) "Best fit" framework synthesis: refining the method. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 13. 37. ISSN 1471-2288
Abstract
Background Following publication of the first worked example of the “best fit” method of evidence synthesis for the systematic review of qualitative evidence in this journal, the originators of the method identified a need to specify more fully some aspects of this particular derivative of framework synthesis.
Methods and Results We therefore present a second such worked example in which all techniques are defined and explained, and their appropriateness is assessed. Specified features of the method include the development of new techniques to identify theories in a systematic manner; the creation of an a priori framework for the synthesis; and the “testing” of the synthesis. An innovative combination of existing methods of quality assessment, analysis and synthesis is used to complete the process. This second worked example was a qualitative evidence synthesis of employees’ views of workplace smoking cessation interventions, in which the “best fit” method was found to be practical and fit for purpose.
Conclusions The method is suited to producing context-specific conceptual models for describing or explaining the decision-making and health behaviours of patients and other groups. It offers a pragmatic means of conducting rapid qualitative evidence synthesis and generating programme theories relating to intervention effectiveness, which might be of relevance both to researchers and policy-makers.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2013 Carroll et al. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | Systematic review; Qualitative research; Methods; Framework synthesis; Thematic analysis; Sensitivity analysis; Smoking cessation; Critical appraisal; Theory |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health (Sheffield) > School of Health and Related Research (Sheffield) > Information Resources (SCHARR) (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 18 Mar 2015 17:12 |
Last Modified: | 18 Mar 2015 17:12 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2288-13-37 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | BioMed Central |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1186/1471-2288-13-37 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:84284 |