A critique of compromise: beyond the methods debate.

One resolution to the debate about whether quantitative or qualitative methods are appropriate or adequate for nursing's research concerns has been to argue that either or both are legitimate, depending on the research problem. This article suggests that the overt debate is a manifestation of more fundamental differences over ontologies, epistemologies, values, and intentions, and that the compromise solutions mask basic issues that nursing needs to address as nursing science is advanced. Several of the hidden choices in the debate about methods are made explicit, and their implications for nursing practice are identified.