The authors suggest that findings of independent, similar research articles may be aggregated into a cohesive study. Such a procedure greatly enhances the generalizability of the original studies and produces a relatively solid mid-range theory. In this article, the criteria for selecting studies, possible problems inherent in the aggregation approach, and potential areas for application are discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Aamodt, A. M. (1991). Ethnography and epistemology: Generating nursing knowledge. In J. M. Morse (Ed.), Qualitative nursing research: A contemporary dialogue (rev. ed., pp. 40-53). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
2.
Chenitz, W. C. , & Swanson, J. M. (1986). From practice to grounded theory: Qualitative research in nursing. Menlo Park, CA: Addison-Wesley.
3.
Corbin, J. (1980). Protective governing: Strategies for managing a pregnancy-illness. Doctoral dissertation, University of California, San Francisco.
4.
Corbin, J. (1986). Qualitative data analysis in grounded theory. In W. C. Chenitz & J. M. Swanson (Eds.), From practice to grounded theory: Qualitative research in nursing (pp. 91-101). Menlo Park, CA: Addison-Wesley.
5.
Glaser, B. G. (1978). Theoretical sensitivity. Mill Valley, CA: Sociology Press.
6.
Glaser, B. G. , & Strauss, A. L. (1%7). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. Chicago: Aldine.
7.
Field, P. A. , & Marck, T. (1994). Uncertain motherhood: Negotiating risk in the childbearing years. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
8.
Field, P. A. , & Morse, J. M. (1985). Nursing research: The application of qualitative methods. London: Croom Helm.
9.
May, K. A. (1994). Abstract knowing: The case for magic in method. In J. M. Morse (Ed.), Critical issues in qualitative research methods (pp. 10-21). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
10.
Mitchell, G. J. , & Cody, W. K. (1992). The role of theory in qualitative research. Nursing Science Quarterly, 6, 170-178.
11.
Morse, J. M. (1989). Strategies for sampling. In J. Morse (Ed.), Qualitative Nursing Research: A contemporary dialogue (pp. 117-131). Rockville, MD: Aspen.
12.
Morse, J. M. (1994). "Emerging from the data": The cognitive processes of analysis in qualitative inquiry. In J. M. Morse (Ed.), Critical issues in qualitative research methods (pp. 23-43). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
13.
Morse, J. M. , & Johnson, J. L. (1991). The illness experience: Dimensions of suffering. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
14.
Noblit, G. W. , & Hare, R. D. (1988). Meta-ethnography: Synthesizing qualitative studies. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
15.
Pelto, P. J. , & Pelto, G. H. (1978). Anthropological research: The structure of inquiry. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
16.
Sandelowski, M. (1993). Theory unmasked: The uses and guises of theory in qualitative research. Research in Nursing and Health, 16, 213-218.
17.
Strauss, A. , & Corbin, J. (1990). Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
18.
Thorne, S. (1994). Secondary analysis in qualitative research: Issues and implications. In J. M. Morse (Ed.), Critical issues in qualitative research methods (pp. 263-279). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.