Hermeneutics as Research Approach: A Reappraisal

Abstract

Hermeneutics as a research practice, if it is to remain true to its philosophical origins, involves reappraisal and reinterpretation in relation to its cultural contexts. Among the threads of connection affecting hermeneutic practice are the exigencies of academic institutions and evolving cross-cultural perspectives. This article addresses these issues from the perspective of exploring hermeneutics for a research study of nurses' relational practice on acute care mental health units from Buddhist perspectives. The exploration is, as hermeneutics must be, both a review and a refashioning, a looking back in order to look forward.