Giddings, D. L. S. (2006). Mixed-methods research: Positivism dressed in drag. Journal of Research in Nursing, 11(3), 195–203.
Abstract: The author critiques the claim that mixed method research is a third methodology, and the implied belief that the mixing of qualitative and quantitative methods will produce the 'best of both worlds'. The author suggests that this assumption, combined with inherent promises of inclusiveness, takes on a reality and certainty in research findings that serves well the powerful nexus of economic restraint and evidence-based practice. The author argues that the use of the terms 'qualitative' and 'quantitative' as normative descriptors reinforces their binary positioning, effectively marginalising the methodological diversity within them. Ideologically, mixed methods covers for the continuing hegemony of positivism, albeit in its more moderate, postpositivist form. If naively interpreted, mixed methods could become the preferred approach in the teaching and doing of research. The author concludes that rather than the promotion of more co-operative and complex designs for increasingly complex social and health issues, economic and administrative pressures may lead to demands for the 'quick fix' that mixed methods appears to offer.
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Kirkham, S., Smye, V., Tang, S., Anderson, J., Blue, C., Browne, A., et al. (2002). Rethinking cultural safety while waiting to do fieldwork: Methodological implications for nursing research. Research in Nursing & Health, 25(3), 222–232.
Abstract: The authors trace a series of theoretical explorations, centered on the concept of cultural safety, with corresponding methodological implications, engaged in during preparation for an intensive period of fieldwork to study the hospitalisation and help-seeking experiences of diverse ethnocultural populations.
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Jonsdottir, H., Litchfield, M., & Pharris, M. (). The relational core of nursing practice as partnership. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 47(3), 241–250.
Abstract: This article elaborates the meaning of partnership in practice for nurses practising in different and complementary way to nurses in specialist roles and medical practitioners. It positions partnership as the relational core of nursing practice. Partnership is presented as an evolving dialogue between nurse and patient, which is characterised by open, caring, mutually responsive and non-directive approaches. This partnership occurs within a health system that is dominated by technologically-driven, prescriptive, and outcome-oriented approaches. It is the second of a series of articles written as a partnership between nurse scholars from Iceland, NZ and USA.
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Drake, M. (2004). The sonata form of musical composition as a framework for thesis writing. Contemporary Nurse, 16(3), 252–258.
Abstract: This article introduces an innovation in writing master's level research and suggests that other structures may offer new and different frameworks for reporting nursing research. This is exemplified by reference to an example of nursing research which adopted the sonata form of musical composition as the framework for presentation of the thesis.
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Gaskin, C. J., O'Brien, A. P., & Hardy, D. J. (2003). The development of a professional practice audit questionnaire for mental health nursing in Aotearoa/New Zealand. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 12(4), 259–270.
Abstract: This paper reports the three-stage development of a professional practice audit questionnaire for mental health nursing in Aotearoa/New Zealand. In Study 1, clinical indicator statements (n = 99) generated from focus group data, which were considered to be unobservable in the nursing documentation in consumer case notes, were included in a three-round Delphi process. Consensus of ratings occurred for the mental health nurse and academic participants (n = 7) on 83 clinical indicator statements. In Study 2, the clinical indicator statements (n = 67) that met importance and consensus criteria were incorporated into a questionnaire, which was piloted at a New Zealand mental health service. The questionnaire was then modified for use in a national field study. In Study 3, the national field study, registered mental health nurses (n = 422) from 11 New Zealand district health board mental health services completed the questionnaire. Five categories of nursing practice were identified: professional and evidence-based practice; consumer focus and reflective practice; professional development and integration; ethically and legally safe practice; and culturally safe practice. Analyses revealed little difference in the perceptions of nurses from different backgrounds regarding the regularity of the nursing practices. Further research is needed to calibrate the scores on each clinical indicator statement with behaviour in clinical practice.
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Gage, J., & Hornblow, A. R. (2007). Development of the New Zealand nursing workforce: Historical themes and current challenges. Nursing Inquiry, 14(4), 330–334.
Abstract: This article reviews the development of the New Zealand nursing workforce, which has been shaped by social, political, scientific and interprofessional forces. The unregulated, independent and often untrained nurses of the early colonial period were succeeded in the early 1900s by registered nurses, with hospital-based training, working in a subordinate role to medical practitioners. In the mid/late 1900s, greater specialisation within an expanding workforce, restructuring of nursing education, health sector reform, and changing social and political expectations again reshaped nursing practice. Nursing now has areas of increasing autonomy, expanding opportunities for postgraduate education and leadership roles, and a relationship with medicine, which is more collaborative than in the past. Three current challenges are identified for nursing in New Zealand's rapidly evolving health sector; development of a nursing-focused knowledge culture, strengthening of research capacity, and dissemination of new nursing knowledge.
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