This article examines reliability and validity as ways to demonstrate the rigour and trustworthiness of quantitative and qualitative research. The authors discuss the basic principles of reliability and validity for readers who are new to research.

The development of the Measure of Job Satisfaction (MJS) for use in a longitudinal study of the morale of community nurses in four trusts is described. The review of previous studies focuses on the use of principal component analysis or factor analysis in the development of measures. The MJS was developed from a bank of items culled from the literature and from discussions with key informants. It was mailed to a one in three sample of 723 members of the community nursing forums of the Royal College of Nursing. A 72% response rate was obtained from those eligible for inclusion. Principal component analysis with varimax rotation led to the identification of five dimensions of job satisfaction; Personal Satisfaction, Satisfaction with Workload, Satisfaction with Professional Support, Satisfaction with Pay and Prospects and Satisfaction with Training. These factors form the basis of five subscales of satisfaction which summate to give an Overall Job Satisfaction score. Internal consistency, test-retest reliability, concurrent and discriminatory validity were assessed and were found to be satisfactory. The factor structure was replicated using data obtained from the first three of the community trusts involved in the main study. The limitations of the study and issues which require further exploration are identified and discussed.

traynor m., boland m. & buus n. (2010) Autonomy, evidence and intuition: nurses and decision‐making. Journal of Advanced Nursing 66(7), 1584–1591. Abstract Title.  Autonomy, evidence and intuition: nurses and decision‐making. Aim.  This paper is a report of a study conducted to examine how nurses represent professional clinical decision‐making processes, and to determine what light Jamous and Peloille’s ‘Indeterminacy/Technicality ratio’ concept can shed on these representations. Background.  Classic definitions of professional work feature autonomy of decision‐making and control over the field of work. Sociologists Jamous and Peloille have described professional work as being high in ‘indeterminacy’ (the use of tacit judgements) relative to technicality (activity able to be codified). The rise of the evidence‐based practice movement has been seen as increasing the realm of technical decision‐making in healthcare, and it is relevant to analyse nurses’ professional discourse and study how they respond to this increase. Method.  Three focus groups with qualified nurses attending post‐qualifying courses at a London university were held in 2008. Participants were asked to talk about influences on their decision‐making. The discussions were tape‐recorded, transcribed and subjected to discourse analysis. Findings.  Participants described their decision‐making as influenced by both indeterminate and technical features. They acknowledged useful influences from both domains, but pointed to their personal ‘experience’ as the final arbiter of decision‐making. Their accounts of decision‐making created a sense of professional autonomy while at the same time protecting it against external critique. Conclusion.  Pre‐ and post‐registration nurse education could encourage robust discussion of the definition and roles of ‘irrational’ aspects of decision‐making and how these might be understood as components of credible professional practice.

This paper is a report of an interview study exploring psychiatric hospital nursing staff members' reflections on participating in supervision. Clinical supervision is a pedagogical process designed to direct, develop, and support clinical nurses. Participation rates in clinical supervision in psychiatric settings have been reported to be relatively low. Qualitative research indicates that staff members appreciate clinical supervision, but paradoxically, do not prioritize participation and find participation emotionally challenging. Little is known about these contradictory experiences and how they influence participation rates. Twenty-two psychiatric hospital nursing staff members were interviewed with a semistructured interview guide. Interview transcripts were interpreted by means of Ricoeur's hermeneutic method. The respondents understood clinical supervision to be beneficial, but with very limited impact on their clinical practice. Neither management nor the staff effectively prioritized clinical supervision, which added to a downward spiral where low levels of participation undermined the potential benefits of clinical supervision. The respondents embraced and used alternative forums for getting emotional support among peers, but maintained that formalized supervision was the only forum for reflection that could solve the most difficult situations.

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