The primary struggle in nursing has been to develop a generalizable knowledge base without sacrificing what can be known through individual encounters. This struggle has forced a questioning of methods used in nursing inquiry. The dissertation proposes that narrative as a method of aesthetic inquiry can address uniqueness and the commonality in the experience of health and transition.

Since contemporary nurse scholars have defined nursing as science, the dissertation clarifies the relationship of nursing's scientific aspects to its aesthetic nature by focussing on the issues of rigor and ethics in narrative inquiry. The paper addresses the issue of rigor by expanding the concept of knowledge beyond certainty to include verstehen, understanding. Credible and trustworthy narrative, as a natural human stance to the world, can foster understanding of nursing as a caring profession.

Narrative forms of inquiry have a strong history in nursing scholarship. Varied storied forms, such as journal, "patient as text," paradigm cases, qualitative interview, and "telling your own story," are examined for similarities and important differences in the generation of knowledge.

Any method of inquiry entails ethical concerns. Ethical use of story is explored in nursing research, practice and education.

A method of inquiry that investigates the experiences of women, children, and families, can also be scrutinized for its ability to be liberating. A feminist critique of the use of narrative as inquiry supports the proposal of the dissertation to incorporate aesthetic methods of inquiry, such as narrative, into the mainstream of nursing research.

The unique contribution of this dissertation to nursing knowledge is the inclusion of original works of fiction in a scholarly investigation of narrative as aesthetic method. The original works of fiction were developed through an active aesthetic process of inquiry. Implications of these stories for nursing research, theory, and practice which follow are based on reflection of the aesthetic process and nursing practice. Aesthetic process such as narrative inquiry can expand nursing's knowledge of particular situations which will expand the experience of commonalities of women and families in health and transition.