This comprehensive resource covers a broad array of research strategies available to massage therapists to give them the tools they need to be knowledgeable readers of research literature, as well as active researchers. The primary focus of the book is on the quantitative aspect of research that encompasses the principal types of studies most extensively used in the various health care professions, specifically massage therapy. Extensive coverage is also given to the qualitative and integrative research categories that are progressively gaining recognition among researchers in various health science disciplines and professions. * Accommodates the March 2003 mandate from the Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation (COMTA) that massage therapy schools incorporate into their curricula provisions to ensure a research literate profession. * Examples and techniques for interpreting research guide practitioners and students to be knowledgeable readers of massage therapy research, allowing application to practice. * Relies heavily on concept maps, flowcharts, tables, and illustrations and excerpts of published studies to augment the book’s narrative development of topics by providing pictorial displays and summaries of the material. * Literature-based and hypothetical research examples/illustrations from several manual therapy professions employing therapeutic massage make the material pertinent to real-life settings * An introductory section at the beginning of each chapter reviews the material covered in the previous chapter and how it relates to the new material.