Publisher's Synopsis
This book encompasses formal and inductive reasoning applied to nursing practice, theory and research. The scope of the book includes the use of language and distinction made between description, judgement, factual and verbal disputes, and between reportive and persuasive definitions and slogans. In part one the authors emphasize practical reasoning, the elements of reasoning and their relationship to nursing to evaluate good and bad arguments. Part two discusses the use of deductive reasoning in nursing, distinguishing between valid and invalid, sound and unsound. The third part looks at inductive reasoning, analogies, certainty, uncertainty and cause-effect relationships. Providing over 300 exercises with answers to all the questions, and glossary of key terms, the book is designed to help the learning process.