The role, benefits, challenges, and appropriate use of research methods in the basic and applied social and clinical sciences have been debated extensively in recent years. The fields of clinical research and health services research in particular have benefited from insightful, comprehensive debates and discussions of research methods and their appropriate use. We invite empirical, methodological, and theoretical articles discussing complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) methods research across the social, behavioral, health, technological, and human sciences. We encourage contributors to focus on the pragmatic aspects of research methodology in addition to conceptual and validity issues and to foster dialogue and comparisons among different approaches as applied in CAM research in comparison to conventional therapies research.

We invite investigators to contribute original research and methods articles as well as review articles that will stimulate continuing efforts to identify the advantages and disadvantages of various research methods. We are especially interested in articles offering guidance in selecting and applying appropriate methods and avoiding potential pitfalls and suggestions for diagnosing and correcting methods-related problems. The aim of this special issue is to increase synergies between CAM and conventional therapy approaches around research methodology. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Meta-analysis/systematic review methods
• Methods for rapid review and related assessments and syntheses of the literature
• Qualitative research methodology, quantitative research methodology, and mixed methods
• Systems approaches
• Validity methodology
• Methods of modeling and simulation
• Optimal study design and design tradeoffs (e.g., internal versus external validity)
• Health services research methods
• Efficacy versus effectiveness
• Comparative effectiveness research and patient-centered outcomes research methodology for practice-based and pragmatic studies
• Methods for partnered research, engaged research, and practice-based research

Before submission authors should carefully read over the journal’s Author Guidelines, which are located at http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/guidelines/. Prospective authors should submit an electronic copy of their complete manuscript through the journal Manuscript Tracking System at http://mts.hindawi.com/submit/journals/ecam/method/ according to the following timetable: