CARE AND RESEARCH: METHODOLOGICAL CHALLENGES IN NURSING

In spite of the methodological pluralism in research on nursing care, there are some challenges that should be considered to continue developing and enhancing the body of knowledge of the discipline. This article points to some of these like: going from mono-disciplinary to inter- and trans-disciplinary studies, developing research proposals as a routine practice with an essentially transforming that improve the quality of everyday care in health care services, and learning to gather nursing care experiences to systematize them and, thereby, generate knowledge through this process. All these challenges should constitute rigorous exercises seeking to give greater validity to the research being conducted on health care to create and maintain a sound scientific basis, which promotes better results in caring for individuals and which not merely reflects the exercise of a scientifically based practice, but also the development of an autonomous profession.