Commentary: Metaphor in nursing research – a tool for meaning-making, reflection and critical engagement
Sarah Bekaert · 2026
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Description
Sarah Bekaert wrote a 2026 commentary on a paper by Byrne and Mulvogue about using metaphor in nursing research degrees. A metaphor describes one thing in terms of another, and the original paper argues it helps researchers shape understanding, organize ideas, and communicate complex concepts. It offers an eight-step framework for using metaphor on purpose, from clarifying why to use one, to finding the right one, to using it as a signpost and a closing thread.
Bekaert stresses that metaphor is already woven through nursing language, as when illness is called a journey or treatment a battle. Used deliberately, she argues, it can reveal emotional and systemic sides of care that plain technical analysis may miss. Examples include a study using metaphor analysis to uncover nurses' perceptions of missed care. She links the approach to deeper thinking for both researcher and reader.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Sarah Bekaert |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 9078 |
| LICENSE | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |