La construction d’une problématique de recherche : de l’histoire d’une femme atteinte de sclérose en plaques à une recherche en sciences infirmières dans le domaine de la santé sexuelle

Rech Soins Infirm. 2020;139(4):123-143. doi: 10.3917/rsi.139.0123.
[Article in French]

Abstract

The problematic, an essential step in the scientific research process, includes different components that must be articulated in the same temporality, hence its complexity. There is no consensus on definitions and a relatively short description of construction modalities in the literature. The problematization process is an intellectual, reflexive, questioning, documentation, and choice process aimed at moving from an idea or subject to a specific research question to be answered. The construction of the problem makes it possible in particular to specify the theoretical, methodological, and analytical orientation of the research. This step is an essential step which positions research in a continuum of disciplinary knowledge, and in this case, in the history of nursing knowledge. The objective of this article is to show, using a concrete example, how the analysis of clinical observations allows the development of a nursing research problem that integrates a project and then a research program. The clinical situation concerns the sexual health of women with multiple sclerosis. Beyond personal experience and the narrative of a singular, reinterpreted approach, it is a twofold movement to illustrate concretely, based on a situation and empirical observations, abstract elements and to transform them with the support of theoretical knowledge into communicable and transferable information useful in the construction of the research problem. The presentation of the invisible history of the construction of this problem can have an impact on teaching but also reflects the conceptual framework drawn from nursing sciences and mobilizable in this context of care. Through this example, it is therefore necessary to illustrate, through a retrospective analysis, the construction of nursing knowledge both on research methods and on theoretical models useful for care.

Publication types

  • English Abstract