Critique resides at the heart of the development, quality, and relevance of nursing science. Nurses prepared at the doctoral level can maximize their contribution to the science of the discipline by learning the skills of critique. Expansion of the discipline's knowledge base increases demands on doctorally-prepared nurses to assess scientific proposals and products, invite critique of their ow...

This paper argues that more critique is required in our nursing journals. I begin by distinguishing between conservative 'old' critique which functions to maintain the status quo in the academic discipline of nursing, and radical 'new' critique which challenges it and pushes at its boundaries. I then identify three reasons why I believe so little radical critique is published in nursing journal...

3.1 HUMAN AGENCY: CLAIMING CAUSATION THROUGH INTERVENTION 15 3.1.1 CRITIQUE #1: LACK OF EXTERNAL VALIDITY (ACCIDENTALITY) 16 3.1.2 CRITIQUE #2: THREATS TO INTERNAL VALIDITY 16 3.1.3 CRITIQUE #3: PRE-EMPTION 17 3.2 GENERATIVE CAUSATION: THE DESCRIPTION OF THE CAUSAL MECHANISM 18 3.2.1 HOW CAUSATION IS CLAIMED: DIGGING DEEP 20 3.2.2 QUALITY OF INFERENCE 21 3.2.3 MECHANISMS HAVE PARTS: COMPONENT C...