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Nursing Times Research
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Ethnomethodology-The problems of unique adequacy

Ann Wakefield, PhD, MSc, RGN, RMN, RCNT, RNT, Cert. Ed.

School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting, The University of Manchester

This paper has been developed from an ethnomethodological study examining the practicalities of organising surgical nursing work. The discussion explores the extent to which ethnomethodology can be employed to extrapolate data from the investigative domain. The concept of 'unique adequacy' has been examined in considerable detail, as this element of the methodology created significant problems when analysing the data. 'Unique adequacy' is defined here as the researcher's ability to analyse the encountered social world from practitioner research rather than from 'classical social theorising' (Cuff et al., 1992) perspectives. The debate focuses particular attention on highlighting the difficulties encountered when attempting to achieve 'ethnomethodological indifference' (Garfinkel, 1986), that is, the researcher's ability to remain non-judgemental when reporting on the findings.

Key Words: Ethnomethodology • Unique adequacy • Field work • Participant observation

Nursing Times Research, Vol. 5, No. 1, 46-53 (2000)
DOI: 10.1177/136140960000500109
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