In this analysis, the applicability of orthodox qualitative research traditions to the questions of nursing science is considered from a critical perspective. The theoretical traditions of ethnography, phenomenology, and grounded theory are examined in light of their relationship to the larger projects of anthropology, philosophy, and sociology. From that perspective, the questions inherent to nursing science are distinguished, revealing major departures from the process, product, and even purpose of the original inquiries. This analysis provides a platform on which the possibilities for a uniquely nursing approach to qualitative inquiry can be envisioned. In this spirit, ideas about what that methodological perspective might entail are proposed.
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