COGNITIVE PATHWAYS AND HISTORICAL RESEARCH

The nursing literature is replete with articles detailing the logical reasoning processes required by the individual scientist to implement the rigors of research and theory development. Much less attention has been focused on creative and critical thinking as modes for deriving explanations, inferences, and conclusions essential to science as a pr oduct. Historical research, as a particular kind of qualitative resear ch, is dependent on and compatible with such mental strategies as logi cal, creative, and critical thinking. These strategies depict an intel lectual framework for the scientist examining archival data and offer a structure for such inquiry. A model for analyzing historical data de lineating the cognitive pathways of logical reasoning, creative proces sing, and critical thinking is proposed. Copyright (C) 1997 by W.B. Sa unders Company.