An experiential method for teaching research to graduate nursing students

This article provides a creative and interactive method for teaching a metaparadigm of inquiry that values and embraces both naturalistic and positivistic approaches to research. The author outlines an experiential method for teaching graduate level research that blends opportunities to meet the needs of students with either global or analytic information processing styles, as well as varying student learning styles. The method involves a semester-long journey whereby students cognitively and viscerally begin to understand the interconnectedness of all research knowledge, and consists of five elements: 1) creating a nonthreatening environment; 2) using guided imagery; 3) teaching research along the "Continuum of Inquiry"; 4) take-home and midterm exams based on hypothetical clinical situations; and (5) developing a written research proposal.