Clinical application research: a hermeneutical approach to the appropriation of caring science

Clinical caring science researchers contribute, by means of various participatory research efforts, to bring clinical practice closer to the ideals of caring. These research efforts have in the main been developed from classical action research rooted in critical theory. In this article, the authors launch an alternative research approach called clinical application research, the basis of which can be traced to the interpretative paradigm, or hermeneutics. The basic cornerstones of this research approach are ontology, context, and appropriation as well as understanding, interpretation, and application. Using an example from ongoing clinical research, the authors demonstrate the utility of this approach. Their aim in this article is to contribute to the development of methods within clinical research.