Apophenia, unconscious bias and reflexivity in nursing qualitative research.Nurses routinely engage in pattern recognition and interpretation in qualitative research and clinical practice.  Although all people are prone to this cognitive bias of "apophenia", nurses may be at increased risk because they commonly produce or at least use qualitative research that can be highly interpretive.  Qualitative researchers have been silent on the risk of apophenia and hence on exploring how attention to apophenia could help to indicate and manage such unconscious biases.  Therefore this conceptual paper suggests how, in disciplines like nursing, researchers could attend to and use reflexivity on signs of possible apophenia to help bring unconscious biases to awareness.  This expansion of researchers' consciousness of bias could inform the management of apophenia and enhance the quality of qualitative research and modern nursing practice.
Apophenia
Apophenia, unconscious bias and reflexivity in nursing qualitative research.Nurses routinely engage in pattern recognition and interpretation in qualitative research and clinical practice.  Although all people are prone to this cognitive bias of "apophenia", nurses may be at increased risk because they commonly produce or at least use qualitative research that can be highly interpretive.  Qualitative researchers have been silent on the risk of apophenia and hence on exploring how attention to apophenia could help to indicate and manage such unconscious biases.  Therefore this conceptual paper suggests how, in disciplines like nursing, researchers could attend to and use reflexivity on signs of possible apophenia to help bring unconscious biases to awareness.  This expansion of researchers' consciousness of bias could inform the management of apophenia and enhance the quality of qualitative research and modern nursing practice.
Apophenia
Apophenia, unconscious bias and reflexivity in nursing qualitative research.Nurses routinely engage in pattern recognition and interpretation in qualitative research and clinical practice.  Although all people are prone to this cognitive bias of "apophenia", nurses may be at increased risk because they commonly produce or at least use qualitative research that can be highly interpretive.  Qualitative researchers have been silent on the risk of apophenia and hence on exploring how attention to apophenia could help to indicate and manage such unconscious biases.  Therefore this conceptual paper suggests how, in disciplines like nursing, researchers could attend to and use reflexivity on signs of possible apophenia to help bring unconscious biases to awareness.  This expansion of researchers' consciousness of bias could inform the management of apophenia and enhance the quality of qualitative research and modern nursing practice.
Apophenia
Apophenia, unconscious bias and reflexivity in nursing qualitative research.Nurses routinely engage in pattern recognition and interpretation in qualitative research and clinical practice.  Although all people are prone to this cognitive bias of "apophenia", nurses may be at increased risk because they commonly produce or at least use qualitative research that can be highly interpretive.  Qualitative researchers have been silent on the risk of apophenia and hence on exploring how attention to apophenia could help to indicate and manage such unconscious biases.  Therefore this conceptual paper suggests how, in disciplines like nursing, researchers could attend to and use reflexivity on signs of possible apophenia to help bring unconscious biases to awareness.  This expansion of researchers' consciousness of bias could inform the management of apophenia and enhance the quality of qualitative research and modern nursing practice.
Apophenia
Apophenia, unconscious bias and reflexivity in nursing qualitative research.Nurses routinely engage in pattern recognition and interpretation in qualitative research and clinical practice.  Although all people are prone to this cognitive bias of "apophenia", nurses may be at increased risk because they commonly produce or at least use qualitative research that can be highly interpretive.  Qualitative researchers have been silent on the risk of apophenia and hence on exploring how attention to apophenia could help to indicate and manage such unconscious biases.  Therefore this conceptual paper suggests how, in disciplines like nursing, researchers could attend to and use reflexivity on signs of possible apophenia to help bring unconscious biases to awareness.  This expansion of researchers' consciousness of bias could inform the management of apophenia and enhance the quality of qualitative research and modern nursing practice.
Apophenia
Apophenia, unconscious bias and reflexivity in nursing qualitative research.Nurses routinely engage in pattern recognition and interpretation in qualitative research and clinical practice.  Although all people are prone to this cognitive bias of "apophenia", nurses may be at increased risk because they commonly produce or at least use qualitative research that can be highly interpretive.  Qualitative researchers have been silent on the risk of apophenia and hence on exploring how attention to apophenia could help to indicate and manage such unconscious biases.  Therefore this conceptual paper suggests how, in disciplines like nursing, researchers could attend to and use reflexivity on signs of possible apophenia to help bring unconscious biases to awareness.  This expansion of researchers' consciousness of bias could inform the management of apophenia and enhance the quality of qualitative research and modern nursing practice.
Apophenia