What is it about?
Nursing has traditionally drawn on qualitative approaches to understand people's experiences of health, illness and care. This commentary discusses findings from an international review of doctoral nursing theses, which showed that quantitative research now dominates doctoral nursing scholarship across several countries. We consider what this trend means for the future of nursing science and argue that doctoral programmes should continue to support qualitative and mixed-methods research alongside quantitative approaches.
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Why is it important?
Many of the questions that matter most to nursing concern human experiences, relationships, family care, communication and the contexts in which care is delivered. While quantitative methods are vital for measuring outcomes and evaluating interventions, they cannot always capture the complexity of lived experience. If doctoral nursing research becomes increasingly focused on numerical measurement alone, there is a risk that important aspects of patient and family care will be overlooked. Supporting methodological diversity helps ensure that nursing research remains relevant, person-centred and capable of addressing the realities of clinical practice.
Perspectives
This commentary highlights the importance of maintaining balance within doctoral nursing education. Rather than privileging one methodological approach over another, future nurse researchers should be supported to choose methods that best answer their research questions. For a profession grounded in relationships, care and context, qualitative and mixed-methods approaches remain essential for generating knowledge that improves outcomes for patients, families and communities. Sustaining this methodological plurality will be critical to ensuring that nursing research continues to reflect the full complexity of contemporary healthcare.
Prof Michael J Tatterton
University of Bradford
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Doctoral nursing research remains dominated by quantitative designs, risking a disconnect with the profession’s qualitative epistemological strengths, Evidence-Based Nursing, August 2026, BMJ,
DOI: 10.1136/ebnurs-2026-104607.
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