Discourse analysis as a methodology for nursing inquiry.

Discourse analysis is a relatively recent form of inquiry without a strict step-by-step method. The methodology of discourse analysis has a longer history in Continental Europe than in other countries. The complex theoretical assumptions, the goals and the target (discourse) have been explicated, but the methodology may be applied in different ways. This paper will describe discourse analysis and give examples of some of the possible variations. It is the claim of this paper that discourse analysis deserves consideration as a methodology for nursing inquiry.