[Analysis of doctoral theses in nursing science produced in Finland in the years 1982-1987]

Licentiate theses in nursing science produced in Finland in 1982-87 are analysed in terms of their frame of reference, methodology, data collection techniques and analytical methods. The data were gathered by means of a content analysis using a list of themes specially constructed for this purpose and classified qualitatively on the basis of statements appearing in the theses. The majority of the theses were of a descriptive nature, usually employing a survey method. The most common means of data collection was by questionnaire, typically combining a number of such methods within the same work. The material was largely analysed by quantitative methods, with a qualitative approach adopted in only two cases. The theoretical frame of reference consisted of the theories of nursing science and the behavioural sciences, but two theses were found which did not make use of information from nursing science at all in their frame of reference, and three which developed their own theoretical models.