Philosophy and quality? TAPUPASM as an approach to rigour in critical realist research
Intended for healthcare professionals
Evidence and practice    

Philosophy and quality? TAPUPASM as an approach to rigour in critical realist research

Gemma Ryan Lecturer in nursing, Open University, WELS, Milton Keynes, England
Jane Rutty Principal lecturer in adult nursing, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, De Montfort University, Leicester, England

Background Philosophical principles should guide how research is designed, conducted and appraised. The more traditional and commonly used approaches to positivist (validity and generalisability) or interpretivist (trustworthiness) research do not necessarily complement the philosophical principles of post-positivist critical realism.

Aims To discuss an approach to ensuring scientific rigour in post-positivist critical realist research using an enhanced version of the quality assurance model, TAPUPAS, that has an additional criterion: modified objectivity.

Discussion The authors present examples of the quality framework TAPUPASM in the planning, design, conduct and dissemination of a realist research study. These strategies include choices about the collection and analysis of data, as well as how to disseminate findings using methods other than traditional academic approaches. They also provide a practical example of how they used TAPUPASM to ensure rigour in a critical realist ethnographic study in pre-registration nurse education.

Conclusion TAPUPASM provides a framework for quality in post-positivist critical realist research.

Implications for practice Nurse researchers can use the strategies provided to plan, design, conduct and disseminate critical realist research.

Nurse Researcher. doi: 10.7748/nr.2019.e1590

Peer review

This article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and has been checked for plagiarism using automated software

Correspondence

g.s.ryan@open.ac.uk

Conflict of interest

None declared

Ryan G, Rutty J (2019) Philosophy and quality? TAPUPASM as an approach to rigour in critical realist research. Nurse Researcher. doi: 10.7748/nr.2019.e1590

Published online: 17 January 2019

Want to read more?

RCNi-Plus
Already have access? Log in

or

3-month trial offer for £5.25/month

Subscribe today and save 50% on your first three months
RCNi Plus users have full access to the following benefits:
  • Unlimited access to all 10 RCNi Journals
  • RCNi Learning featuring over 175 modules to easily earn CPD time
  • NMC-compliant RCNi Revalidation Portfolio to stay on track with your progress
  • Personalised newsletters tailored to your interests
  • A customisable dashboard with over 200 topics
Subscribe

Alternatively, you can purchase access to this article for the next seven days. Buy now


Are you a student? Our student subscription has content especially for you.
Find out more