In this research, Stanton, Dittmar, Jezewski and Dickerson (1996) conducted a qualitative methods study to examine whether a convenience sample of military nurses (N=22) had common service experiences regardless of differences in the particular conflict in which they served (WWII, Korea, Vietnam or Operation Desert Storm). Methods consisted of group review and consensus regarding themes present in transcribed interviews held with nurses.
Review of these interviews were said to reveal that nurses shared five common experiences that transcended the differences in conflicts. These five experiential themes were said to be:
(1) Personal reactions to the war experience.
(2) General life experiences common to the military.
(3) Experiences related to the development of meaning and significance of military nursing.
(4) Experiences specifically related to the social context of war.
(5) Experiences related to the general images and sensations of war.
The title is not really as informative as it could be. In this regard, the title is, "Shared Experiences and Meanings of Military Nurse Veterans;" however, the study's unique contribution involves the fact that these experiences and meanings are shared despite service in different military conflicts. The title should have reflected the fact that the experiences being discussed were transcendent, e.g., "Common Experiences of Military Nurse Veterans Despite Differences in the Conflicts in which they Served."
The abstract is excellent in that it is informative as to all basic elements of the research. Specifically, the abstract is divided into six sections (Objective, Design, Population/Sample/Setting; Methods; Conclusions; Clinical Implications), each of which contains about one or two sentences of information. The result is that the reader is given a brief but relatively thorough overview that clearly reflects the research focus and intent. On the other hand, wh...