Combining Critical Ethnography and Critical Discourse Analysis in Mental Health Nursing Research.

BACKGROUND: It is uncommon to combine critical ethnography with critical discourse analysis in health research, yet this combination has promise for managing challenges inherent in critical mental health nursing research.

OBJECTIVES: This paper describes a methodologically innovative way to address issues that arise in the context of critical mental health nursing research.

METHODS: This paper draws on two studies that each employed a combination of critical ethnography and critical discourse analysis (CDA) in the context of mental health nursing research, discussing the challenges and implications of this approach.

RESULTS: Although the combination critical ethnography and CDA presents several challenges, it also provides a framework for researchers to sustain a critically reflective stance throughout the research process. This facilitates the process of reanalyzing and reflecting on how health care practices and knowledge both support and are constrained by hegemonic discourses.

DISCUSSION: This combination has the potential to facilitate the production of new, emancipatory knowledge that will assist nurses in understanding issues of structural inequity within the health care system.