Georgia Baptist College of Nursing of Mercer University

Georgia Baptist College of Nursing of Mercer University

NUR 605 – Qualitative Methods of Inquiry in Nursing

Date: August 20, 2007

Session Title: Foundations of Qualitative Methods of Inquiry in Nursing

·  Philosophy and Theory of Qualitative Research

·  The Conduct of Qualitative Research

·  Designing Data Generation and Management Strategies

Discussion Leader: Susan S. Gunby, RN, PhD

Discussion Questions/Statements:

1.  Is nursing a science or just common sense?

a.  If it is a science, what makes it so?

b.  If it is a science, is it a pure science or an applied science?

c.  If it is a science, what are the similarities between nursing and the commonly accepted pure and applied sciences?

2.  From where does knowing for, about, and within nursing come?

3.  Discuss the four fundamental patterns of knowing originally developed by Carper (1978) and expanded by other theorists / researchers.

4.  What are the six significant characteristics of qualitative research?

5.  Define / explain: (a) received knowledge (b) Cartesian lens (c) ontology (d) epistemology (e) paradigm (f) philosophy (g) inductive reasoning (h) deductive reasoning (i) emic view (j) a priori (k) embodiment (or Being in the World) (l) intuiting (m) naturalistic inquiry (n) holism (o) tacit knowledge (p) empiricism (q) etic view (r) praxis (s) metaphysics (t) a posteriori (u) the field (v) purposeful or purposive sampling / selection of participants (w) participant observation (x) conducting research as though one is a “stranger”

6.  Discuss the meaning of this quote: “Knowledge screens the sound the third ear hears, so we hear only what we know” (Kurtz, 1989, p. 6).

7.  Describe the concept of bracketing.

8.  Describe the concept of saturation.

9.  What are the advantages and disadvantages of using focus groups as a strategy for collecting qualitative research data?

10. What are the three criteria of reliability for focus group data as delineated by Kidd and Parshall (2000)? What does each of these criteria describe?

11. Describe the following concepts which are a part of qualitative data analysis: (a) immersed in the data (b) themes (c) exhaustive (dense) description (d) constant comparative method (e) iterative process.

12. Guba and Lincoln (1994) delineated four terms that describe the operational techniques supporting the rigor of qualitative research.

a.  Review discussion of these four trustworthiness criteria in both Speziale & Carpenter (2007) and in Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt (2005).

b.  Discuss these in detail.

13. Describe the 8 different ways of acquiring knowledge as identified by Burns and Grove (2007).

14. Discuss the 3 most common data collections methods used in qualitative studies as identified by Burns and Grove (2007)

Required Readings:

Burns, N., & Grove, S. K. (2007). Understanding nursing research: Building an evidence-based practice (4th ed.). St. Louis: Saunders Elsevier. (pp. 13-19; 75-92)

Melnyk, B. M., & Fineout-Overholt, E. (2005). Evidence-based practice in nursing and healthcare: A guide to best practice. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams &

Wilkins. (pp. 149-153)

Speziale, H. J., & Carpenter, D. R. (2007). Qualitative research in nursing:

Advancing the humanistic imperative. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams &

Wilkins. (Chapters 1-3)

Recommended Readings:

Aita, V., McIlvain, H., Susman, J., & Crabtree, B. (2003). Using metaphor as a

qualitative analytic approach to understand complexity in primary care

research. Qualitative Health Research, 13, 1419-1431.

Charmaz, K. (2004). Premises, principles, and practices in qualitative research:

Revisiting the foundations. Qualitative Health Research, 14, 976-993.

Coyne, I. T. (1997). Sampling in qualitative research: Purposeful and theoretical

sampling; merging or clear boundaries? Journal of Advanced Nursing, 26,

623-630.

DeSantis, L., & Ugarriza, D. N. (2000). The concept of theme as used in

qualitative research. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 22, 351-377.

Effken, J. A. (2007). The informational basis for nursing intuition: Philosophical underpinnings. Nursing Philosophy, 8, 187-200.

Fawcett, J. (1999). The state of nursing science: Hallmarks of the 20th and 21st

centuries. Nursing Science Quarterly, 12, 311-318.

Hamilton, R. J., & Bowers, B. J. (2006). Internet recruitment and e-mail interviews in qualitative studies. Qualitative Health Research, 16, 821-835.

Lucasey, B. (2000). Qualitative research and focus group methodology.

Orthopedic Nursing, 19, 53-55.

Mitchell, G. J. (2001). Prescription, freedom, and participation: Drilling down into

theory-based nursing practice. Nursing Science Quarterly, 14, 205-210.

Mitchell, G. J., & Pilkington, F. B. (1999). A dialogue on the comparability of

research paradigms – and other theoretical things. Nursing Science Quarterly, 12, 283-289.

Morse, J. M. (2004). The hardening of soft data. Qualitative Health Research, 14,

591-592.

Morse, J. M. (2004). Editorial: Qualitative significance. Qualitative Health Research, 14, 151-152.

Sandelowski, M. (1986). The problem of rigor in qualitative research. Advances

in Nursing Science, 8, 27-37.

Sandelowski, M. (1998). Writing a good read: Strategies for re-presenting

qualitative data. Research in Nursing and Health, 21, 375-382.

Sandelowski, M. (2004). Using qualitative research. Qualitative Health Research, 14, 1366-1386.

Traulsen, J. M., Almarsdottir, A. B., & Bjornsdottir, I. (2004). Interviewing the

moderator: An ancillary method to focus groups. Qualitative Health Research,

14, 714-725.

van Manen, M. (2006). Writing qualitatively, or the demands of writing. Qualitative Health Research, 16, 713-722.

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Fall Semester 2007

SSG