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The value of qualitative research in nutrition
Pat Crotty
Centre for the Body and Society Faculty of Arts, Deakin University, VIC
Abstract
The act of swallowing divides nutrition's 'two cultures'. The post-swallowing world of biology, physiology, biochemistry and pathology and the pre-swallowing domain of behaviour, culture, society and experience. In an era of national dietary reform in the name of public health, the post-swallowing world's dominance of the pre-swallowing is cause for concern. This paper is about the contribution that qualitative research methods might make to improved public health nutrition policy and practice, in particular how they might lead to a better balance between scientific-technical concerns and the realities of everyday life (Rozin 1981).
A History of Dietary Reform Measures: The Conflict Between Technical and Social Knowledge.
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