title: [Introduction to ethnographic decision tree modeling].
abstract: With rapid advances in healthcare technology, patients are increasingly compelled to make medical decisions in unfamiliar and highly stressful situations. Nurses, therefore, have a responsibility to understand the medical options, and consequences of each, in order to help patients make the best decisions for themselves. Ethnographic decision tree modeling is a research "triangulation" tool conducted in two stages. The first stage uses ethnographic fieldwork techniques to determine the criteria used by insiders (i.e., decision makers) to make a real-world decision. These criteria are combined into a decision tree. The second stage applies a quantitative research method to verify the degree of predictive accuracy of the decision tree. This method addresses the meaning and predictability of decision-making. This paper introduces ethnographic decision tree modeling and provides a perspective on inquiring about the bases of patient decision-making.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan, ROC. hsiuli@mail.cug.edu.tw
authors.forename: Hsiu-Li
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Mei
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chang Yeh
mesh_terms: D000884:Anthropology, Cultural; D003663:Decision Trees; D006801:Humans; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009732:Nursing Care