RESEARCH PAPER Analysing oral history: A new approach when linking method to methodology Kolleen Miller-Rosser PhD-Candidate MSN Grad Dip (Peds) RN Education Coordinator, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Suzanne Robinson-Malt PhD Director—Nursing Research and Practice, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Ysanne Chapman RN PhD MSc (Hon) BEd (Nsg) GDE DNE DRM MRCNA Associate Professor, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Monash University—Gippsland Campus, Churchill, Victoria, Australia Karen Francis RN PhD MHlthScNsg MEd BHlthScNsg DipHlthScNsg FRCNA Professor of Rural Nursing, Head of School, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Monash University—Gippsland Campus, Churchill, Victoria, Australia Accepted for publication July 2009 Miller-Rosser K, Robinson-Malt S, Chapman Y, Francis K. International Journal of Nursing Practice 2009; 15: 475–480 Analysing oral history: A new approach when linking method to methodology This paper discusses a pragmatic and innovative approach to the data analysis of oral testimonies when used within a methodological framework of Historiography. Oral testimony is increasingly perceived as an exciting research method within the nursing discipline. However, the availability of a clear method to guide the researcher in their analysis of oral testimonies as the primary data for a Historiography is limited. A practical approach to the interpretation of oral testimony is needed to ensure the continued and successful use of Historiography as a valued research methodology in nursing science. The primary discussion revolves around the explication of a four-stage method proposed as a pragmatic tool for the analysis of oral testimonies. Theoretical literature from the Historian, Paul Thompson and Pragmatist Philosopher, Richard Rorty is drawn upon to bring validity and reliability to the proposed method of analysis. This new technique can be easily used by nurses and many other disciplines in their efforts to efficiently analyse the qualitative data obtained from oral testimonies. Key words: analysis, history, methodology, oral testimony. INTRODUCTION Historiography, as a methodology, has been successfully used by nurse researchers to carefully explicate the history of nursing. The value of this method of inquiry lays with an appreciation that understanding the past can guide us in our decision-making for the future. According to Sarnecky, 1 a leading nurse historian, the scientific and artistic dimensions of nursing can be revealed and defined through nursing’s history, whereas Lynaugh 2 describes nursing history as ‘our source of identity, our cultural DNA’. Correspondence: Kolleen Miller-Rosser, MBC#63, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, PO Box 3354, Riyadh 11211, Saudi Arabia. Email: konky40@yahoo.com International Journal of Nursing Practice 2009; 15: 475–480 doi:10.1111/j.1440-172X.2009.01793.x © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd