ABSTRACT
Procedures The researchers first obtained permission from the
college Research Ethics Committee to carry out this study. A seven-item, open-ended questionnaire was
140 used to survey student nurses' perceptions of alternative medicine (see the Appendix). The fmdings discussed in this article are the responses to one question from the larger study: How would you define the relationship between alternative medicine and allopathic
145 medicine? Various nursing instructors distributed the ques-
tionnaire in their classes between January and December 2000. A cover letter to potential respondents stressed that participation was voluntary and anony-
Data Analysis Responses to the study question were analyzed us-
ing schema analysis as described by Ryan and Bernard (2000). Two of the study authors compared and coded
155 the responses in an effort to find common themes. These themes were developed inductively by carefully reading and comparing the responses, looking for repetitions of words and phrases. Responses that were judged similar and frequently mentioned formed the
160 basis for the content of major themes. The themes discussed are illustrated with direct quotes from study participants in an effort to faithfully represent their discourse (Stryker, 1980).
