DOI: https://doi.org/10.14710/nmjn.v9i1.23485

Purpose, Quality, and Value in Critical Realist Research within Nurse Education

*Phil Coleman  -  Staff Tutor/Senior Lecturer, School of Health, Wellbeing & Social Care Faculty of Wellbeing, Education & Language Studies The Open University, United Kingdom
Open Access Copyright (c) 2019 Nurse Media Journal of Nursing

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Abstract

Background: There have been a wide range of practice fields in nursing research including education; however, the quality of research in these disciplines has often failed to provide a sufficiently robust foundation.     

Purpose: This paper explores the purpose of educational research, how quality can be assured in such research and how the value of a research study in nurse education can be determined; focusing predominantly on arguments associated with the use of qualitative, and to a lesser extent, mixed methods research.  

Methods: A Critical Realist review drawing upon relevant literature from the fields of nursing, education, and healthcare was undertaken to examine issues of purpose, quality, and value in such research.

Results: A wide range of criteria were identified to evaluate the purpose, quality, and value of Critical Realist research using qualitative and mixed methods research within nurse education.

Conclusion: The holistic, theoretically-eclectic, pragmatic, and solution-focused nature of nursing as a discipline means that Critical Realist research in nursing, and more specifically, nurse education should explicitly reflect these principles.
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Keywords: Critical realist; nurse education; research
Funding: None

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