Dr Garuth Chalfont

Research Services

Approach
Place is a study of process, not a snapshot, and to study a place is to unpack the underlying processes of which the physical features are only an indication. Research is conducted from the perspective of the person with dementia, beginning with their subjective experience - their beliefs, emotions, perceptions and sensations of the environment, and expanding out to include their world.

Standardized cognitive tests cannot measure emotional and spiritual well-being and are used simply to reinforce this fact, rather than to say anything about the abilities of the person.

Research Methodology	Analytical Tools
Communication
Conversations	Discourse analysis - Chalfont, Sabat, Harré, Small and others
Interviews and focus groups	Grounded theory - Charmaz, Strauss and Glaser
Observation
Structured	Mapping Room occupancy (Time-Space geography) Dementia Care Mapping (Bradford Dementia Group)
Unstructured	Ethnography (Field notes, digital audio and photography)
Survey & Measurement
Potential for connection to nature	PLANET (Person, Landscape, Architecture, Nature, Energy & Technology)
Built & natural environment	SLANT (Specifics for dementia, Landscape, Architecture, Nature & Technology)
Psychometric testing	MMSE and BASQID

I am committed
to the development of new methods
for understanding personal experience
and measuring the effect
of the built, natural and social environment
upon that experience.