Anisha Paddam, David Barnes and Dawn Langdon explain how to use vignettes effectively

The physical effects of multiple sclerosis (MS) mean participating in research requires considerable effort. Vignettes offer a less fatiguing and more efficient way of gathering preliminary data from such participants as they avoid intrusion into and disruption of healthcare interactions. However, despite their widespread use, no documented process describing how to develop them exists. This paper describes how we designed and crafted vignettes that investigated; how anger in MS patients is affected by nursing and communication styles; how to achieve equivalence; how vignettes should be rated; what statistics should be used to judge their reliability; and how to ensure that vignettes are measuring target variables.