THE QUALITATIVE-QUANTITATIVE DEBATE - MOVING FROM POSITIVISM AND CONFRONTATION TO POST-POSITIVISM AND RECONCILIATION

Critiques of logical positivism form the foundation for a significant number of nursing research papers, with the philosophy being inappropr iately deemed synonymous with empirical method. Frequently, proposing an alternative method to those identified with the quantitative paradi gm, these critiques are based on a poor foundation. This paper highlig hts an alternative philosophy to positivism which can also underpin em pirical inquiry, that of post-positivism. Post-positivism is contraste d with positivism, which is presented as an outmoded and rejected phil osophy which should cease to significantly shape inquiry. Though some acknowledgement of post-positivism has occurred in the nursing literat ure, this has yet to permeate into mainstream nursing research. Many s till base their arguments an a positivistic view of science. Through a chievement of a better understanding of post-positivism and greater fo cus on explicating the philosophical assumptions underpinning all rese arch methods, the distinctions that have long been perceived to exist between qualitative and quantitative methodologies can be confined to the past. Rather methods will be selected solely on the nature of rese arch questions.