Steven Campbell and Iain Graham discuss mixed methods research and the quantitative-qualitative, process-context debate

THERE IS a need to solve the context and process debate, or at least move the debate forward. Nurse investigators must be secure and confident in the rigour and science of the methods they are using. The investigation of nursing, with its complexities of dealing with the human condition, will always require triangulation and the mixing of methods to establish the truth, which in turn can be taught as practice. This is a necessary evolutionary step for nursing as it continues to build its own knowledge base and uses it to direct the care of patients. Nursing has yet to establish a robust interpretation of itself as a practice, and the Sayers et al (2016) and Thomas et al (2016) papers give an opportunity to reflect on this challenge.