Critical ethnography: an under-used research methodology in neuroscience nursing

Critical ethnography: an under-used research methodology in neuroscience nursing

Critical ethnography is a qualitative research method that endeavours to explore and understand dominant discourses that are seen as being the ‘right’ way to think, see, talk about or enact a particular ‘action’ or situation in society and recommend ways to re-dress social power inequities. In health care, vulnerable populations, including many individuals who have experienced neurological illnesses or injuries that leave them susceptible to the influence of others, would be suitable groups for study using critical ethnography methodology. Critical ethnography has also been used to study workplace culture. While ethnography has been effectively used to underpin other phenomena of interest to neuroscience nurses, only one example of the use of critical ethnography exists in the published literature related to neuroscience nursing. In our “Research Corner” in this issue of the Canadian Journal of Neuroscience Nursing (CJNN) our guest editors, Dr. Cheryl Ross and Dr. Cath Rogers will briefly highlight the origins of qualitative research, ethnography, and critical ethnography and describe how they are used and, as the third author, I will discuss the relevance of critical ethnography findings for neuroscience nurses.
Germov (2009) noted that the use of statistical, categorical and deductive methodologies for studying nursing practice fails to acknowledge the intuitive and personalized ways of doing nursing that embody many of the central tasks performed. Additionally, the complexity and diversity in the environments where nursing work is undertaken, is not easily translated into quantitative measures. Qualitative methodologies, when used in nursing research, are able to explore such diversity and complexities, through working with people in their natural setting to understand and describe the prevailing culture and social context, in their own language (Denison, 1996).
In choosing a methodology it is important to ensure a fit with the researcher, the participants, and the problem. Roper and Shapira (2000) emphasize synergy between nursing and ethnography. Nursing work requires observation, data collection, interaction, and interpretation. Ethnographers follow a similar reflexive process. Therefore, there is a natural progression from nursing practice to ethnography research.

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