title: An introduction to unique adequacy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To introduce nurse and healthcare researchers to the ethnomethodological (EM) criteria of the unique adequacy (UA) requirement of methods and to provide guidance on conducting UA research.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Despite the recent shift in emphasis from quantitative to qualitative methods in nursing research, the practice of EM has been largely overlooked.
  
  
  METHODS
  Published work in EM.
  
  
  METHODS
  The paper draws on discussions of UA and related concepts in foundational texts of the discipline, as well as the few examples that exist in nursing research.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  EM is a challenging practice to master but when understood and practised properly, it can yield findings that are unavailable to other approaches. UA insists simultaneously on a day-to-day familiarity with the research setting and a principled refusal of explanatory theories that are not native to that setting. Thus, in the UA requirement, EM provides criteria for effectively identifying problems and analysis without recourse to theoretical commitments that might distort or obscure the reality of the research/setting.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  With regards to the increasing call for more appropriate ways of combating the challenges associated with conducting real-world research, EM provides an effective and alternative method. In EM, nurse researchers can find the potential to develop practical solutions that are sensitive to the setting in which problems occurs. This can underpin the development of an approach to nurse research that is tailored to the principles and practices of the profession.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Conformance to the UA requirement enables an exclusive focus on workplace issues. UA research provides an account of those issues as they are known and understood to members of the workplace setting. UA directs attention to the detailed analysis of work practices, providing a basis for practical solutions and innovations.
authors.affiliation: Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust, Manchester, UK.
authors.forename: Clementinah Ndhlovu
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Rooke
authors.affiliation: Manchester, UK.
authors.forename: John Alfred
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Rooke
mesh_terms: D003625:Data Collection / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D015399:Nursing Research / Q000379:methods*; D012108:Research Personnel / Q000193:education*
keywords: EM; Ethnomethodology; healthcare research; nursing research; strong requirement; unique adequacy; weak requirement