Dilemmas of Ethics and Validity in Qualitative Nursing Research

Authors

  • Carole A. Robinson
  • Sally E. Thorne

Abstract

Nurses engaged in qualitative research are faced with role and relationship m mas that have a significant bearing on the ethics of their encounters h patients in the research context and on the validity of the research find-s. The dilemmas to be addressed, those of informed consent, influence, nersion into the data and intervention within the research context, are not v. However, experience has taught the authors that additional considera-i is required in order to manage the research process in ways compatible h the dual considerations of responsibility to participants and ponsibilily for systematic, scientific inquiry. _ualitative and quantitative paradigms of nursing research reflect orientais to research problems and research processes that are philosophically tinct. Quantitative approaches originate from empirical principles conning the necessity for explaining behaviour through rigorous and objec-: measurement of that which is amenable to reliable and valid quantifica-11. In contrast, qualitative approaches seek to explain behaviour not ough measurement, but through systematically entering into the context it would explain the beliefs, thoughts, and intentions underlying the laviour (Bernheimer, 1986).

Downloads

Published

1988-04-13

Issue

Section

Articles