Designing research is about making decisions to transform an idea into a plan that can provide answers to a research problem or question. Thinking about, and then making these decisions results in the research design – the plan that will be followed to conduct the research and answer the question. This text engages in a dialogue with the reader, providing a serious but accessible introduction to research design, for use as a guide when designing your own research or when reading the research of others.  Julianne Cheek and Elise Øby show that designing research is an iterative and reflexive process in which there is constant thinking through, and re-visiting of, decisions about that design as it develops. They use a variety of pedagogical devices throughout the book including Tip; Activity; and Putting it into Practice boxes to emphasize specific points and encourage readers to think about the practical implications of what they have learned.

The pluralistic perspectives offered by postmodern and postcultural approaches to health care offer new insights on the patient experience and on patient care. Julianne Cheek?s Postmodern and Poststructural Approaches to Nursing and Health Care Research makes these valuable tools available to researchers and health care scientists through carefully exploring what these terms mean and their use in the clinical research setting.

In the first three chapters, the author examines definitions of postmodern and postcultural approaches and ways in which they can be used to influence and inform us about health care. Chapters 4 and 5 look at the practical aspects of proposing and carrying out research projects using these approaches. Julianne Cheek concludes by reviewing the "intellectual journey" required in coming to grips with the meaning and application of these approaches and suggests ways in which the reader can continue to grow in understanding them.