Participant observation in nursing home research: Who was that masked woman?
Marian Bland
Nurse Educator, Palmerston North, New Zealand; Candidate, University of Newcastle, NSW
PP: 042 - 048
Abstract
Undertaking fieldwork in nursing home environments can present researchers with many challenges, particularly when the researcher also happens to be a registered nurse.
This article discusses the issues that one nurse researcher faced during participant observation in three New Zealand nursing homes. These include the complexity of the nurse researcher role, the blurring of role boundaries, and various ethical concerns that arose, including the difficulties of ensuring that all those who were involved in the study were kept informed as to the researcher's role and purpose.
Strategies used to maintain ethical and role integrity are outlined, with further debate and discussion around fieldwork issues and experiences for nurse researchers called for.
Keywords
nursing research; participant observation; research ethics; fieldwork
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