Livskvalitetsforskning: En diskusjon om hvordan ulike faktorer påvirker kunnskap om livskvalitet

Quality of life is an important aspect of health sciences such as nursing science. Traditionally, quantitative methods have been used to assess quality of life, but it has been claimed that these methods are not suitable for describing the phenomenon. Moreover, factors other than methods influence scientific knowledge. The aim of the present paper is to discuss what characterises the quality of life research conducted in the field of nursing science today, and how different factors influence the development of relevant knowledge. The following factors are discussed: truth criteria, language and context, research communities, the dependence of data on theory, methods and descriptions of results. The present paper concludes that it is essential to be cognisant of the above-mentioned factors when conducting empirical studies on quality of life. Both quantitative and qualitative studies have limitations. It is important for quality of life research in nursing science to draw on the methods, which are most appropriate at any given time and in any given context.