Learning Objective #1: Describe three ways that the critical incident technique can be used in nursing research

Learning Objective #2: Formulate strategies for incorporating the critical incident technique into a research design

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Background: As the preliminary step to the development of the Interpersonal Communication Assessment Scale (ICAS), a qualitative approach using critical incident technique was employed. This technique has been used as early as the 1950's as a means of collecting direct observations of human behavior in order to formulate a description of successful behavior. There is also an extensive body of research demonstrating the successful use of this technique for the development of evaluation tools. More recently critical incidents have been used to generate qualitative data for the purpose of exploring the deeper levels of social processes.

Purpose: This presentation will report on a literature review that examined uses of the critical incident technique in health care research in the past decade. Additionally, the results of the ICAS critical incident data analysis will be reported.

Methods: The sample for the critical incident study included full-time nursing faculty (n = 20), a sample of graduate students (n = 10), and a sample of nurse executives from the community (n = 11). These nurses were asked to describe two scenarios: one in which a nurse demonstrated appropriate interpersonal communication behaviors that lead to positive outcomes, and one in which the nurse demonstrated inappropriate interpersonal communication behaviors that lead to negative outcomes.

Results: The scenarios were subjected to content analysis in order to derive dimensions of interpersonal communication. These dimensions, in addition to dimensions identified from the review of the interpersonal communication literature, served as the structure for the development of the ICAS . Some items for the ICAS were generated directly from scenario data. Quotations from the scenarios that illustrate each dimension and exemplar items will be reported.

Conclusion: The critical incident technique is a viable method for qualitative research and, in particular, is a productive starting point for instrument development.