ABSTRACT
The message of qualitative research in nursing science is of no use unless it is delivered to the patients, their loved ones and their caregivers: DENUNTIATIO SOLUM TRANSLATA VALET.
The aim of this chapter is to discuss two decades of qualitative nursing research, and the qualitative methodological developments in nursing science in Finland and Sweden. In Finland, the term for nursing science in Finnish is “hoitotiede” and in Finland-Swedish, which is the second official language, the term is “vårdvetenskap.” In Sweden, there is no consensus on the correct vocabulary, as several terms for nursing science are used with different connotations, including “omvårdnad,” “omvårdnadsvetenskap” and “vårdvetenskap.” To further complicate the disciplinary differences, both “nursing science” and “caring science” are used in English to depict the discipline. There are differing views on the ontological and epistemological foundations, as well as the desirable development of qualitative research, which are intertwined with the disciplinary and educational development. Here, the term “qualitative research” refers to approaches and methods that search for an understanding and illumination of the human experience from a nursing or caring science perspective in all its different variations through description, exploration and interpretation. In research, studies are always rooted in epistemological beliefs, i.e. the view of knowledge, whether explicitly written or possible to read between the lines (Bondas, 2011; Bondas & Hall, 2007b).
