1 How can we synthesise qualitative and quantitative evidence for health care policy makers and managers? Catherine Pope Reader in Health Services Research School of Nursing & Midwifery University of Southampton Highfield Southampton SO17 1BJ Tel: 02380 598 293 fax: 02380 598 308 email: cjp@soton.ac.uk Nicholas Mays Professor of Health Policy Health Services Research Unit Department of Public Health and Policy London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Keppel St London WC1E 7HT Jennie Popay Professor of Sociology and Public Health Institute for Health Research University of Lancaster Lancaster LA1 4YT 2999 words