Identifying alternative linkages among philosophy, theory and method in nursing science

Abstract

The major concerns expressed in the literature regarding the development and expansion of nursing science stem from questions related to 'what sorts of science' and 'which scientific methods' are appropriate for nursing. While there is a sector of nursing's scientific community that advocates a unified approach to philosophy and method, a growing sentiment for the position of philosophical and methodological pluralism is apparent. This paper addresses the nature of scientific pluralism by presenting a framework for alternative linkages possible among the philosophy, theory and method appropriate for nursing science. The nature of nursing knowledge that is produced within the discipline will thus depend on various forms of alternative linkages adopted by nursing scientists in addressing nursing's scientific questions. In turn, such pluralism presents problems of choice to nurses in practice with respect to knowledge utilization.