Abstract
The value of a research study rests in large part on the selection and implementation of appropriate, rigorous research methods. In this sense, when talking about research methods, I am not only considering the study design but also things like participant recruitment and retention strategies, data collection and measurement approaches, and innovative data management and analysis methods. While authors often report on these aspects of their study methods when reporting the results of their study, there is usually insufficient room for adequate detail to inform others about these methodological innovations. Also, since the findings are usually more of the focus than the methods, readers whose research interests are in other topics will be unlikely to find information about these methods. Thus, there is great value in writing and publishing methods-focused papers to disseminate information about novel methodological approaches, as well as the pros and cons of particular approaches.
In this issue of the Western Journal of Nursing Research, we include two methodology articles that are good examples of articles designed to share the authors’ experiences with particular research methodologies and provide information that will help other researchers learn from the authors’ experiences. While many journal editorials address methodological issues, it is helpful to have papers that provide more concrete examples, best-practice recommendations, and structured guidelines for various methodological approaches.
WJNR welcomes methodology manuscripts, but before submitting a methodology manuscript, authors should first do a thorough search to see whether their topic has been addressed already in the literature. Sometimes, as in the manuscript by Stuifbergen and colleagues in this issue, it is time for an update to an earlier methodology article. In other cases, such as that reported by Dolan and colleagues, the manuscript is reporting on a methodological innovation that is relatively new and may be useful to future researchers. Yet other methodology manuscripts might be reviewing and comparing different measurement options for a particular construct. But if someone else has already reported on your methodology innovation or reviewed the different methodology or measurement options you are reviewing, then the manuscript will not be particularly novel, and reviewers may consider it an unnecessary addition to the literature.
It is also important that the methodology manuscript topic be relatively generalizable to other researchers. If the topic of the methods manuscript is so focused that it is not applicable outside of the author’s study or some other narrowly defined context, then the impact on the nursing science literature will be limited. These are questions that will be asked when manuscripts are reviewed by journal editors and manuscript reviewers, so it is important that authors have considered and addressed these questions prior to submission.