The Central Question and The Scope of Nursing Research

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Received: 3 May 2018    Revised: 4 September 2018    Accepted: 4 September 2018

DOI: 10.1111/nup.12228

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

The central question and the scope of nursing research

Elizabeth Moulton1  | Rosemary Wilson2  | Pilar Camargo Plazas1  | 


Kathryn Halverson3

1
Queen's University School of Nursing,
Kingston, Ontario, Canada Abstract
2
Department of Anesthesiology and As nursing continues to develop as a professional discipline, it is important for nurses
Perioperative Medicine, Queen's University
to have a central question to guide their research. Since the 1800s, nursing practice
School of Nursing, Kingston, Ontario,
Canada and research have covered a wide scope in cooperation with other disciplines. This
3
Lakehead University School of Nursing, wide area of nursing practice and research has led to the proposal that the central
Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
question be: How can the well‐being of a person, family, community, or population be
Correspondence improved? The proposed question must remain flexible and open to revision because
Elizabeth Moulton, Queen's University
nurses will continue to adapt to the changing needs of their patients and populations
School of Nursing, Kingston, ON, Canada.
Email: 43eam@queensu.ca and to their complex and evolving work environments.

KEYWORDS
nursing practice, nursing research, professional practice, science development

1 |  I NTRO D U C TI O N disciplines have core values, assumptions, perspectives and mis‐
sions that remain stable and effective throughout time (Meleis,
“So you’re not a nurse anymore?” is the most common question I 2012). As such, recognizing that nursing is a professional disci‐
(EM) get when explaining that my field of study includes biomechan‐ pline, it is vital to create a central question for nursing research.
ics, which is a branch of engineering, and neurology as well as nurs‐ This question should provide guidance for nursing’s unique
ing. This question comes not only from the general public but also body of knowledge, but also take into account the philosophies,
from other scientists and nurses. Given the difficulty nurses have ethics, theories, research and art of the discipline (M. Smith &
in defining our practice, it is no surprise that we also have difficulty McCarthy, 2010).
explaining the scope of nursing research to others. Clinical practice In this paper, we will begin with an overview of the development
is the predominant source of questions for nursing researchers since of nursing practice and research, from the late 1800s to the present
practicing nurses are the primary consumers of nursing knowledge, day. This exploration will allow us to understand the difficulties that
though nursing shares its research with the many fields that it bor‐ have limited nursing research that is relevant for practice with a view
rows from. to future avoidance. The purpose of this paper, therefore, was to pro‐
In the modern era, one of nursing’s primary goals is the de‐ pose the central question that all nursing research aims to answer
velopment and recognition of nursing as a professional discipline and to use the proposed question in the context of nursing practice
(Smith & McCarthy, 2010). A professional discipline is defined to outline the scope of nursing research. To do this, we will first ex‐
as a unique perspective with a distinct, identifiable body of plain the reason that nursing needs a central question to guide its
knowledge that developed, researched, advanced and passed efforts. We will then discuss how nursing research can be concep‐
on by its members (Flexner, 2001; Meleis, 2012). In order to tualized within the context of the developed central question. We
provide knowledgeable service to a society, a professional dis‐ will propose a vision for the presentation of nursing among the other
cipline should be dynamic, ready to respond to the changing sciences, the worldviews that should be accepted, the flexibility of
needs of individuals, societies and healthcare systems (Meleis, the scope of nursing research and the evidence‐informed relation‐
2012; Smith & McCarthy, 2010). However, dynamic professional ship between nurse and patient.

Nursing Philosophy. 2018;e12228. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/nup © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd  |  1 of 7
https://doi.org/10.1111/nup.12228
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2 |  H I S TO R I C A L PE R S PEC TI V E O F 2008). These alliances were facilitated by research programmes


N U R S I N G R E S E A RC H that the United States established in the 1970s to allow nurses to
pursue graduate education in the aforementioned fields (Weaver
Nursing practice and, as a result, nursing research have varied greatly & Mitcham, 2008). As a result, nurses brought the concepts, meth‐
since their conception. Beginning 180 years ago, in the Nightingale odologies and technologies of these fields to the nursing discipline
era, attention was oriented towards the need to properly educate (Gortner, 1983; Weaver & Mitcham, 2008). The migration of research
nurses as a way of increasing the quality of care that the sick received techniques from the social sciences resulted in an increased capacity
(Gortner, 1983). Interestingly, Nightingale (Nightingale, 1860) warns to describe phenomenon but also in the need to navigate method‐
in the preface of her Notes on Nursing that the purpose of the text ological pluralism (Gortner, 1983). To what extent Nightingale would
is not to teach a nurse to nurse. Rather, it was her intent to provide consider the expansion of nursing research as being enhanced by
“hints” to women who have the responsibility for providing personal the influence of other disciplines, and whether or not she would
care to a family member: considering this to be knowledge that eve‐ consider this growth a threat to the integrity and purity of nursing
ryone ought to have. Nightingale’s perspective may be interpreted knowledge are questions that remain.
as a valuing of accessible and widely disseminated nursing knowl‐ The transition from empiricism to rationalism that character‐
edge not simply designed to inform the profession of nursing, but of ized the development of broad healthcare research (Gadamer,
the society within which we are all nurses. A quick glance at the table Weinsheimer, & Marshall, 2004) was also evident in the develop‐
of contents supports this. The subjects covered are as follows: venti‐ ment of research within the nursing discipline (Gortner, 1983). The
lation and warming, health of houses, petty management, noise, variety, shift in paradigms leads to the challenge of marrying professional
taking food, what food, bed and bedding, light, cleanliness of rooms and values with research methodology. The rational hermeneutical ap‐
walls, personal cleanliness, chattering hopes and advices and observa‐ proach to understanding the question behind text permits a deeper
tion of the sick. In the final section of her work, Nightingale cautions understanding of any phenomenon of interest (Gadamer et al.,
against losing sight of the purpose of observation and, possibly in‐ 2004). There remains then, the development of a central question
advertently, provides us with a preliminary purpose for nursing re‐ for nursing research if we are to understand the true location of our
search: “It is not for the sake of piling up miscellaneous information findings in the context of this practice discipline.
or curious facts, but for the sake of saving life and increasing health
and comfort” (Nightingale, 1860). The link that was developed be‐
tween early nursing research and the education of care providers 3 | S H A PI N G TH E Q U E S TI O N
in the Nightingale era was key to increasing the quality of care the
sick received and was maintained for over a century (Gortner, 1983). What then is the ultimate goal of nursing research? Packard &
Due to the mortality rates associated with communicable Polifroni, (1991) describe the historical view of nursing as an “emerg‐
diseases, attention turned to public health in the early 1900s. ing science,” whereas other recently established research disciplines,
Professional literature produced during that time was focused on such as education and sociology, are considered fully emerged. The
public health measures surrounding the prevention, detection and difference between nursing and emerged scientific disciplines is
treatment of tuberculosis, meningitis, scarlet fever and other simi‐ the identification of a central question towards which the field is
lar illnesses (Gortner, 1983). In the 1920s literature, there began to directed (Packard & Polifroni, 1991). In the study of sociology, for
appear care plans for specific groups of patients, and over the next example, the fundamental questions to be answered are as follows:
30 years, there was a push for the systematic evaluation of nurs‐ What holds society together? What breaks society apart? In educa‐
ing techniques. The content of nursing work over the first half of tion, the questions are as follows: What is thinking? What is learn‐
the 1900s was highly systematic and had at its core a theoretical ing? (Packard & Polifroni, 1991).
basis in germ theory and the use of standardization in institutional Despite the apparent simplicity of fundamental questions,
settings that resulted from the application of industrial practices there is an irony to the creation of an emerged science. The dis‐
(McPherson, 2003). The push towards mass production of healthy cipline’s science requires a body of well‐defined concepts to set
patients was the result. Research into the organization and deliv‐ itself apart (Weaver & Mitcham, 2008). In order to determine what
ery of health care, with attempts made to link nursing staff and concepts are of interest to the field, there must be some sort of
unit arrangements to patient outcomes, was a focus of the late stated goal, such as a central question to be answered. The chal‐
1950s (Gortner, 1983). It was not until the 1960s when nursing lenge lies in developing such a question without a set of concepts
research shifted its focus from the nurse to the patient, leading to use within the question. The set of concepts must be phenom‐
nurse researchers to consider not only practice processes but also ena that are of key interest to the profession, and they must be
the effect on patient outcomes. used clearly and consistently in research, theory, practice and pol‐
As the scope of nursing research grew, there was the creation icy (Weaver & Mitcham, 2008). Unfortunately, nursing has been
of alliances with other disciplines that had similar scopes. These challenged to develop concepts (Weaver & Mitcham, 2008) and
included medicine, biology, epidemiology, psychology, education, derive raw material from science that is profession‐specific in order
anthropology and sociology (Gortner, 1983; Weaver & Mitcham, to be considered a profession that is distinct from others (Flexner,
MOULTON et al. |
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2001). Given this stalemate, it is important to see the process as We propose therefore that the fundamental question of nursing
cyclical. A preliminary question will set a direction for concept de‐ research ought to be:
velopment and analysis, which will in turn improve the question.
Over time, both sides of the equation are strengthened. Packard How can the well‐being of a person, family, commu‐
& Polifroni, (1991) argue that while all sciences are, by their very nity or population be improved?
nature, evolving and emerging in a process similar to the one de‐
scribed above, the presence of a central question gives purpose
and reason to the science. 4 | I N D E FE N C E O F TH E Q U E S TI O N
It has been 25 years since Packard and Polifroni (Packard &
Polifroni, 1991) identified the need for a central question of nursing In proposing the question, how can the well‐being of a person, fam‐
science. A pragmatic search of the literature identified 19 articles ily, community or population be improved? as the central question
that cited Packard and Polifroni. Of the 19 articles, 10 mention that of nursing research, we accept that the concept of well‐being and
Packard & Polifroni, (1991) suggest the development of a central the outcome of improvement are nebulous and that they are used
question; however, no question has been developed (Hemsley, 2003; differently in different contexts. In proposing a question, this is not
Jacobs, 2001; LeVasseur, 1998; LeVasseur, 1999; Mitchell, 1994, 2001; problematic. Gadamer states, “the art of questioning is the art of
Mulhall, 1996; Spenceley, 2004; Thorne et al., 1998; Willis, Grace, questioning even further” (Gadamer et al., 2004). We will clarify
& Roy, 2008) despite the recommendation for appropriate research well‐being, person/population and improvement in the context of
methodologies (Broussard, 2006; Carboni, 1995; Im & Chee, 2001; this proposed question and expose the question to the dialectic:
Iphofen & Poland, 1997; Shih, 1998) and forwarding the notion that questioning and truth‐seeking, not arguing.
nursing is an applied science (Edwards, 2013; Schick Makaroff, 2005) Health, wellness and well‐being are closely related concepts,
with theoretical constructs that need to be applicable to the real and use varies according to time period, context and personal
world (Packard & Polifroni, 1999). Supporting the need for a central preference and, at times used interchangeably. In 1947, the World
question in our discipline, Smith, (2000) defended the notion that too Health Organization (WHO) defined health not only as the absence
much energy is spent testing non‐nursing theories resulting from the of problems but also as “the state of complete physical, mental and
engagement with multiple worldviews required for nursing to function social well‐being” (World Health Organization, 2015a). The idea of
in interdisciplinary environments and within a broad scope of practice. health continued to grow, and in 1968, Dubos expanded the defini‐
While no central question has yet to be proposed for nursing tion by proposing that health is a quality of life that involves social,
science, Clements & Averill, (2006) highlight the type of ques‐ emotional, mental, spiritual and biological fitness, and that this fit‐
tions that are associated with the six types of nursing knowl‐ ness is based on adaptation to the environment (Dubos, 1968). The
edge proposed by Carper, (1978), White, (1995), Munhall, (1993) types of health have continued to evolve and now often include
and Heath, (1998). Adding to Carper’s four fundamental patterns the following: physical health, social health, mental health, occupa‐
of knowing in nursing: empirics, aesthetics, ethics and personal tional health, emotional health, environmental health and spiritual
knowledge (Carper, 1978), White proposed sociopolitical know‐ health. Eventually, the idea of health and wellness began to be used
ing and Munhall and Heath advocated for unknowing. In empir‐ interchangeably (Donatelle, 2008). Recently, the idea of health has
ical knowledge development, the questions posed are What is it also been challenged to consider that societal participation may be
and how does it work? In aesthetic knowledge development, the more important than survival years and that coping capacity may
questions are What does this mean? and How is this significant? In be more important than complete recovery, a shift that emphasizes
ethical knowledge development, the questions are Is this right? an individual’s sense of well‐being over health status (Huber et al.,
and Is this responsible? In personal knowledge development, the 2011).
questions are Do I know what I do? and Do I do what I know? In Though these terms are in constant evolution, they have also
sociopolitical knowledge development, the questions are Whose been used in combination. For example, a press release from the
voice is heard? and Whose voice is silenced? Unknowing is unique in WHO (World Health Organization, 2000) stated that their re‐
that it is an awareness of what one does not know and that one port discusses the health and well‐being of people around the
cannot understand a person they have just met, and therefore, no world, offering the impression that health and well‐being are
question is proposed (Clements & Averill, 2006; Munhall, 1993). separate yet similar concepts. However, consider the following
Of special importance is the link made by Clements and Averil be‐ definitions:
tween each of these types of knowing to passages of Nightingale’s
writing in order to demonstrate her use of each type of knowl‐ Well‐being: the state of being happy, healthy or pros‐
edge, although she did not explicitly name them. The challenge is perous (Merriam‐Webster, 2015).
to propose a question that does justice to the scope of knowledge
that nurses use and which contains the essence of a hermeneu‐ Wellness: the quality or state of being in good health
tic question, namely that it opens up possibilities and keeps them especially as an actively sought goal (Merriam‐
open (Gadamer et al., 2004). Webster, 2018).
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Wellness is then the level of health that an individual has with the person’s or population’s well‐being. These include the following: in‐
goal for each type of health being the highest possible level of well‐ come and social status, education, physical environment, social‐sup‐
ness. However, individuals also have an overall level of well‐being port networks, genetics, health services and gender (World Health
which includes not only the types of health but also related concepts Organization, 2015b). Some of these determinants are easy to un‐
such as happiness and quality of life. Quality of life has the distinctions derstand in relation to nursing research. Nurses need to understand
of referring to the level of satisfaction that an individual has with their the effect of gender on their patients so that they can provide ap‐
life, including the types of health, and it contributes to overall well‐ propriate care. Furthermore, genetics plays a heavy role in the de‐
being (Dignani, Toccaceli, Guarinoni, Petrucci, & Lancia, 2015). The velopment of illness and personal behaviours. There has also been
broad state of well‐being is the goal of all people and populations, and a fair amount of attention on helping patients build social‐support
it represents the end that nurses are trying to achieve. networks, which could be specific to building strength in families
The central question focuses on patients, whether it be a person, with newborns, or it could mean altering the culture of a country so
family, community or population, because all nursing knowledge is that public places are accepted as non‐smoking. Discussion of physi‐
developed for practice (Higgins & Shirley, 2000). This means that all cal environment started with Nightingale’s (Nightingale, 1860) focus
nursing research should eventually impact patients in the practice on the cleanliness of an environment and now includes aspects such
setting. This does not mean that all research must be directed at a as air pollution and access to safe water.
patient. For example, the goal of studying how we train new nurses Discussing what nurses do to promote and preserve well‐being
is not to ensure that the nurses are competent enough to bring home is challenging because nurses take on a variety of tasks. Part of the
a pay cheque or for the pure understanding of the educational pro‐ variety comes from the settings within which nurses work (emer‐
cess. Rather, it is so that we can produce nurses who are up to the gency rooms, operating rooms, public health, teaching and politics
challenge of providing quality care for patients. to name a few) as well as the number of positions that nurses can
Often the concepts of health, wellness and well‐being are used hold in an area (such as a frontline worker or a manager). Denzin
in the context of an individual (Dubos, 1968). However, the health of and Lincoln (Denzin & Lincoln, 2005) describe qualitative research‐
the public has had nurses’ attention since the early 1900s, (Gortner, ers as “jacks of all trades.” Nurses, who use and generate both qual‐
1983) and given that people rarely live in isolation, it is important to itative and quantitative research, are also aptly described by this
consider both in tandem. Whether we are discussing the observa‐ turn of phrase. Though, we would alter the popular saying and fur‐
tion of the sick described by Nightingale (Nightingale, 1860), the in‐ ther describe nurses as “jacks of all trades and masters of some.”
dustrialization of the hospital environment in the 1950s (McPherson, Trained as generalists in their undergraduate degree, most nurses
2003) or the complex techniques used in hospitals today, the focus then go on to become masters of the area in which they chose to
of nursing has always been the patient. work.
The final concept to be discussed is the idea of improvement. There is also the phenomenon of nurses plugging the gaps in pa‐
How does a nurse know that a person’s well‐being has improved? tient care (Allen, 2004). This occurs when the nurse takes on tasks
We propose a simple and patient‐centred definition: Improvement is which either no other profession has claimed or which is claimed by
whatever the person perceives it to be. It is subjective, and it will vary another profession but is not being performed by that profession
from person to person and population to population. Fortunately, due to a lack of manpower (Allen, 2004). Allen, (2004) argues that
the majority of the time finding out if a person has experienced im‐ this leads to a blurring of professional jurisdictions. We would argue
provement is simple: you ask them. that since nurses are likely to continue to do such work in order to
improve the well‐being of their patients, this type of work should be
accepted as a part of the practice, and thus be addressed by nursing
5 |  TH E S CO PE O F N U R S I N G R E S E A RC H research’s central question.
In addition to basic nursing care, nurses are expected to admin‐
Some may argue that the proposed question is too broad, thus too ister medications that they may not have the authority to prescribe,
much for a single profession. We would argue that the scope of nurs‐ take patients through physiotherapy routines and collaborate in the
ing practice is broad and that the scope of nursing research must implementation of plans constructed by professional social workers.
match it. While defining and discussing the particulars of nursing As a result, it is only reasonable that these areas are included in nurs‐
practice and research would take many books, the scope of nursing ing research so that nurses can prove for themselves that the steps
research can be approached from three questions: What affects a they are taking on behalf of their patients are in their patients’ best
person's, a family's, a community's or a population's well‐being? What do interest.
nurses do to promote and preserve this well‐being? and How do nurses Nursing care, and thus research, must not be constrained by
do what they do? These questions will be explored in order to explore tradition or convention. In hermeneutics, questions are considered
the scope of nursing research, starting with what affects a person’s to have openness because the answer is not yet settled. Openness
or population’s well‐being. does not imply that the scope of nursing research should be bound‐
According to the WHO (World Health Organization, 2015b), less; it means that the limits set should not be based on false presup‐
there are a variety of determinants of health that can affect a positions (Gadamer et al., 2004). Keeping the end state of improved
MOULTON et al. |
      5 of 7

well‐being in mind, nurses should feel free to explore and embrace are the three fields that fall under Health Sciences. Under the field
alternative interventions as they question their scope. Cognitive of Medical Sciences, there are 42 disciplines, ranging from Anatomy
training and certain types of biofeedback are within the nursing to Virology. In the field of Physical Education and Rehabilitation,
scope of practice. If changes to city infrastructure or access to edu‐ there are nine disciplines listed. Nursing has one—Nursing. Of all
cation might benefit the population for which a nurse cares, it is only the fields, Nursing is the only one with a single discipline. The next
reasonable that the nurse researches these approaches and uses lowest are Mathematical Sciences and Natural Sciences, both with
them as a nursing intervention. five disciplines. Nursing research needs to be reconceptualized to
The final question is how do nurses do what they do to improve include the number of disciplines that are covered by its scope. For
the well‐being of those in their care? Nurses are able to assist their example, disciplines that could be listed on the CCCV under the field
patients, families, communities and populations when they have the of nursing could include, but not be limited to, Aboriginal Nursing,
interventions they know will work. This leads us to ask: what meth‐ Cardiology, Case Management, Home Health Care Nursing, Mental
odologies are used in the development of the nursing knowledge that Health Nursing, Neurosciences, Parish Nursing, Pediatrics, Primary
informs and tests nursing interventions? Care Nursing, School Nursing, Surgery and Outpost Nursing. This
Nursing research has its roots in the use of methodologies from will help articulate to the scientific community, the complexity,
other fields of science including medicine, biology, epidemiology, breadth and depth of nursing research. It will also help funding agen‐
psychology, education, anthropology and sociology (Gortner, 1983; cies to see that the discipline of nursing covers a variety of fields and
Weaver & Mitcham, 2008). Historically, the discipline lacked its has a wide area of interest.
own methodologies and traditionally used those developed in other The philosophical conceptualization of the science is complex.
fields: a practice consistent with nursing activity in the clinical set‐ Gadamer et al., (2004) describe two types of sciences: natural sci‐
ting. This can be taken not as a complete lack of direction with regard ences—which are concerned with the development of laws that ex‐
to a central question, but a sensitivity to the notion that the central plain and predict natural phenomena—and human sciences—which
question of nursing makes use of other fields. seek to predict social phenomena, a process which is much more
When the types of nursing knowledge are compared to the complicated given that it includes unique individuals and occurs in
fields of study nursing borrows from, there are overlaps. Empiric a historical context (Gadamer et al., 2004). Nursing’s position in the
knowledge, defined by Carper, (1978) as systematic knowledge of sciences is interesting, given that it uses philosophies and method‐
the empirical world, frequently builds on knowledge from medicine, ologies from both types of science. Due to the fact that both per‐
biology, epidemiology and sometimes psychology. Aesthetic knowl‐ spectives are important in nursing science, we agree with Gortner’s,
edge, what is considered the art of nursing and is often developed (1993) argument that no single worldview should dominate the prac‐
by apprenticeship (Carper, 1978), can be developed out of psychol‐ tice and science of nursing. Unless nursing makes a radical shift in
ogy, education and anthropology. Sociopolitical knowledge, which is practice towards one of the types of science described by Gadamer,
based on disparities of power and health (Clements & Averill, 2006), nursing must be willing to incorporate the different worldviews into
draws on anthropology and sociology. Ethical knowledge, which their research (Gadamer et al., 2004; Gortner, 1993).
deals with moral ambiguity and uncertainty (Carper, 1978), is devel‐ This integration of worldviews can be aided by Gadamer’s defini‐
oped from logic, philosophy and/or religion. Personal knowledge, tion of understanding and interpretation. For him, the two concepts
which is about knowing the self (Carper, 1978), is built on psychology are bound together. Interpretation is an always‐evolving process,
as well as self‐reflection. The nurse is as concerned with their pa‐ and as a result, is never certain (Laverty, 2003). By constantly ques‐
tient’s cell structure as they are with their patient’s social activities tioning the worldviews and paradigms associated with natural and
(Gortner, 1993). Ultimately, the nurse is concerned with what affects human science, we maintain a process of continual re‐evaluation and
their patient’s well‐being. refinement.
The constant evolution of the nursing sciences is necessary,
given that the focus of nursing is on the patient. The non‐realist
6 | FU T U R E CO N C E P T UA LIZ ATI O N O F perspective argues that the people whom nurses care for are not
N U R S I N G R E S E A RC H immutable, rather they are fluid (Flaming, 2004). Nursing practice
and research are reaction to the needs of the people. It is then rea‐
The definition of such a broad question and scope for nursing re‐ sonable to assume that practice and research must remain as fluid
search lead to the problem of how we should conceptualize nursing as the people that nurses serve and that the boundaries of nursing
research. There are different mechanics for incorporating a larger research will shift over time.
scope into nursing research. For example, the Canadian Common
Curriculum Vita (CCCV) (Canadian Common Curriculum Vita, 2013)
website arranges areas of research as sectors of discipline (Arts and 7 | CO N C LU S I O N
Literature, Health Sciences, Human and Social Sciences, and Natural
Sciences and Engineering), which each has a number of fields. Nursing history shows us that science has long been a part of the pro‐
Medical Sciences, Nursing, and Physical Education and Rehabilitation fession of nursing. However, despite the call 25 years ago for a central
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6 of 7       MOULTON et al.

question of nursing science, none have been proposed. This paper i j p o L t q DX X N R y zL pW T 0 QX h av Ee U I 0 X z V h ‐ q c Q h H T M j EyX
proposes “how can the well‐being of a person, family, community 95vAO 0 D j w n p x AG _ N ‐ c E Z 8 v s e vJ ‐ K 9 S z u B k _ G e 2 f g 4 H t u l B
13cDLuDRO6nOkBQlGNRRD_j1AkSy_LbY1khcyQ3OG3TkDrSB_
or population be improved?” as a central question for nursing. This
nE Jw8nr9OUtCoUV_hIui9‐qkj50 mraxV4BaV Y YccHTFlUgqpt
question also takes into account the various types of health and well‐ M6L zO pTa5KoY W6hsG ‐nW 72L9_CMXd5EdSjGEBn9bG2dz_
ness that affect people, and it is focused on patients, who have always BHZ8uXqSX
been the focus of nursing work. This question allows for a broad range Flaming, D. (2004). Nursing theories as nursing ontologies. Nursing
Philosophy, 5(3), 224–229. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1466-769X.
of nursing research, which complements nursing practice. Adopting
2004.00191.x.
this central question will mean accepting the various worldviews, Flexner, A. (2001). Is social work a profession? Research on Social
methodologies and philosophies that have informed nursing over the Work Practice, 11(2), 152–165. https://doi.org/10.1177/104973
years. Defining what drives nursing research will make it easier to ex‐ 150101100202
Gadamer, H. G., Weinsheimer, J., & Marshall, D. G. (2004). Truth and
plain nursing research to the scientific community and will help situate
method, 2nd rev edn. New York, NY: Continuum.
nursing within interdisciplinary practice and research. Gortner, S. R. (1983). The history and philosophy of nursing science
and research. Advances in Nursing Science, 5(2), 1–8. https://doi.
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Heath, H. (1998). Reflection and patterns of knowing in nurs‐
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Elizabeth Moulton  http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7885-8686 of nurse healers, a hermeneutic phenomenological investigation.
Rosemary Wilson  https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3262-243X (Doctor of Philosophy), Southern Cross University, Australia.
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Pilar Camargo Plazas  https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8349-7723 nursing. Nursing Outlook, 48(4), 179–183. https://doi.org/10.1067/
mno.2000.105248
Kathryn Halverson  http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1844-9733
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