ABSTRACT
Research in the social sciences has a relatively short history in comparison to the natural sciences. Their relative ‘immaturity’ in theoretical and methodological terms has been emphasized by their critics. It is proposed that nursing research represents an interesting case example of an emergent academic discipline; one that may have similarities with other essentially professional groups such as education, social work and para-medical therapies. The development of nursing research over a relatively short period reflects in microcosm the more general development of social science research. This paper aims to explore the emergence and development of British nursing research as a separate academic entity. It will emphasize the historial, political and social context in which nursing research is embedded. It will describe a number of tensions in nursing research in its search to identify and legitimize a separate focus, theoretical basis and methodology which have parallels in other social sciences. Nursing research has drawn many of its theoretical foundations and methodological approaches from the natural and social sciences. It is proposed that broadly three phases can be identified; an early use of natural science methods which aimed to establish academic credibility, the subsequent influence of social scientific paradigms, and the current challenges presented to disciplinary integrity by health services research. This has culminated in a claim that there is ‘no such thing’ as nursing research (Stacey, 1994). I will argue that the research agenda and methodologies adopted by nurses are not situated in isolation or even in ‘best practice’ but in what is timely, trendy and funded.
