This paper explores the quality of nursing research in 1992. A meta-analysis of the nursing literature was conducted using the Journal of Advanced Nursing, the International Journal of Nursing Studies and the Journal of Clinical Nursing. For comparative purposes the British Medical Journal was selected. The survey examined a number of research indicators such as sample size, sample selection, research methods, country of origin of author and types of study populations. The analysis indicates that nursing and medicine have some mutual concerns and that both professional groups could learn from each other in order to extend the effectiveness of their research.