Critical ethnographic methodology in nursing research: issues and solutions

Five methodological issues were encountered in a study using critical ethnography to investigate nurses' attitudes, knowledge and practices towards patients with alcohol and drug related problems in a general hospital. These issues related to the recording of field notes, over-identification with participants, the role of being a researcher, the effect of the researcher's presence - the Hawthorne effect, and cultural differences. The latter issue was viewed from the personal perspective as an international student from Denmark conducting the research in an Australian setting. This paper discusses the issues in turn and concludes with recommendations on how they might be effectivley addressed by other researchers considering to use critical ethnography.