The knowledge base for evidence-based nursing: a role for mixed methods research

Evidence-based nursing is central to the knowledge base for nursing practice. Critics of evidence-based nursing dislike the central role that randomized controlled trials (RCTs) take in providing evidence for nursing, claiming that the context and experience of nursing care are removed from evaluation. Many nursing decisions involve questions regarding the effectiveness of interventions, best evaluated by RCTs. This article explores the epistemological and practical feasibility of combining qualitative research with RCTs (mixed methods research) in evaluations of nursing practice. Through theoretical and practical examples, it proposes that mixed methods research has the potential to enhance the evidence base for nursing.