Concept analysis: method to enhance interdisciplinary conceptual understanding

This article is a presentation of a method of concept analysis designed to assist in understanding the unique manner in which various disciplines use the same word or group of words to describe differing conceptual ideas. Nurse researchers often borrow research instruments developed in other disciplines. However, research instruments are developed in accordance with the philosophical underpinnings of a specific discipline with the intent to contribute to the knowledge base of that discipline. Therefore, it is uncertain whether research instruments borrowed from other disciplines actually measure the conceptual phenomenon from a nursing perspective.