The whole story: towards an ethical research methodology

In this paper Alex Carson and Gavin Fairbairn argue that closer links between nursing education, research and practice may be developed through the use of a narrative methodology. The debate is cited in the wider practical and political context of a more democratic model of healthcare delivery. The authors provide a rationale for the use of stories in both nursing research and nursing practice by suggesting that each rests upon an ethic of helping whole people, rather than simply amounting to a technical undertaking. They suggest that the relationship between the ethical and the technical should be a more explicit feature in discussions of methodological issues in nursing research. They locate ideas about narrative research outside both qualitative and quantitative paradigms. Finally, they offer a philosophical and methodological argument for the use of narratives as an approach to research in which respect for people is central.