The use of the qualitative research interview to uncover the essence of community psychiatric nursing: methodological reflections.

During the last decade in the Nordic countries, the qualitative research interview (QRI) has become a fruitful method for the study of how people experience their life-world, especially in social and professional contexts. The essential features and structural components of the QRI have been well developed, and various aspects of the interpretation of interview texts have been analyzed and theoretically assessed from the hermeneutic-phenomenological point of view. The validity, reliability, and fruitfulness of the method also have been constructively scrutinized. The present study, which examines the choice of appropriate QRI strategy and technique as illustrated with concrete examples, focuses on the specific area of psychiatric nurses' professional thoughts and experiences in community psychiatric nursing. This scientific article seeks to stimulate and illuminate the right use of QRI.