`This book constitutes a valuable resource for postgraduate students and researchers. Most.... of the chapters succeed in providing a clear and comprehensive introduction to the various approaches and/or methods, thus enabling the reader to make an informed decision about whether or not they wish to pursue the topic further. The book as a whole is also very well referenced and this makes it a source of essential information for students and researchers with an interest in qualitative health psychology' - Health Psychology Update

PART ONE: CONSTRUCTING HEALTH AND ILLNESS THROUGH LANGUAGEHealth Psychology and Qualitative Research - Michael Murray and Kerry ChamberlainSocial Realms and the Qualities of Illness Experience - Alan RadleyUnderstanding Embodied Experience - Lucy YardleyThe Storied Nature of Health and Illness - Michael MurrayDiscourse, Health and Illness - Mandy MorganMaking Sense of Illness Experiences - Mary-Jane Paris SpinkFeminist Approaches to Qualitative Health Research - Jane M UssherPART TWO: CONVERSING ABOUT HEALTH AND ILLNESSInterviewing the Ill and the Healthy - Cynthia M MathiesonTalking to Children about Health and Illness - Christine Eiser and Sarah TwamleyQualitative Research in the Field of Death and Dying - R Glynn Owens and Sheila PayneCross-Cultural Research in Health Psychology - Jane SelbyPART THREE: TRANSFORMING TALK INTO TEXTUsing Grounded Theory in Health Psychology - Kerry ChamberlainAction Research - Sue Curtis, Helen Bryce and Carla TreloarDoing Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis - Jonathan A Smith, Maria Jarman and Mike OsbornShaping Health Psychology - Antonia Lyons Qualitative Research, Evaluation and Representation