Houghton Catherine, Hunter Andrew, Meskell Pauline
School of Nursing and Midwifery, National University of Ireland, Galway.
Nurse Res. 2012;20(2):34-9. doi: 10.7748/nr2012.11.20.2.34.c9439.
To explore the use of paradigms as ontological and philosophical guides for conducting PhD research.
A paradigm can help to bridge the aims of a study and the methods to achieve them. However, choosing a paradigm can be challenging for doctoral researchers: there can be ambiguity about which paradigm is suitable for a particular research question and there is a lack of guidance on how to shape the research process for a chosen paradigm.
The authors discuss three paradigms used in PhD nursing research: post-positivism, interpretivism and pragmatism. They compare each paradigm in relation to its ontology, epistemology and methodology, and present three examples of PhD nursing research studies to illustrate how research can be conducted using these paradigms in the context of the research aims and methods. The commonalities and differences between the paradigms and their uses are highlighted.
Creativity and flexibility are important when deciding on a paradigm. However, consistency and transparency are also needed to ensure the quality and rigour necessary for conducting nursing research.
IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH/PRACTICE: When choosing a suitable paradigm, the researcher should ensure that the ontology, epistemology and methodology of the paradigm are manifest in the methods and research strategies employed.
探讨将范式用作开展博士研究的本体论和哲学指南。
范式有助于弥合研究目的与实现这些目的的方法之间的差距。然而，对于博士研究生而言，选择范式可能具有挑战性：对于特定研究问题适合哪种范式可能存在模糊性，并且在如何为所选范式塑造研究过程方面缺乏指导。
作者讨论了博士护理研究中使用的三种范式：后实证主义、诠释主义和实用主义。他们就每种范式的本体论、认识论和方法论进行了比较，并给出了三个博士护理研究的例子，以说明如何在研究目的和方法的背景下使用这些范式进行研究。强调了范式之间的异同及其用途。
在决定采用何种范式时，创造性和灵活性很重要。然而，为确保进行护理研究所需的质量和严谨性，一致性和透明度也是必要的。
对研究/实践的启示：在选择合适的范式时，研究者应确保该范式的本体论、认识论和方法论体现在所采用的方法和研究策略中。
