Dimensional analysis has been proposed by Schatzman as an alternate method for the generation of grounded theory. The intent of this article is to trace the evolution of dimensional analysis and describe it in relation to traditional grounded theory method. Analytic processes that characterize dimensional analysis will be reviewed, and a research exemplar is presented to illustrate the application of the dimensional analysis method.

In this study a dimensional analysis approach was used to explore the clinical reasoning of nurses who care for hospitalized older adults to identify factors that might explain their failure to detect acute confusion and to distinguish it from dementia in this patient population. Data analysis yielded a grounded theory of situated clinical reasoning, which proposes that the ability of nurses to identify acute confusion varies widely. This variation can be attributed to the differences in nurses' philosophical perspectives on aging. According to this theory, three distinct perspectives are unwittingly embraced by nurses who care for older patients. These perspectives influence how nurses characterize aging and the aged and condition the ways in which they judge and ultimately deal with older adults in clinical situations.

This qualitative study, utilizing the dimensional analysis approach, was conducted to generate a substantive theory about the description and meaning of functional health from the perspectives of older Anglo and Latino women. Through focus group interviews with older Anglo and Latino women and data analysis, the investigators learned that the women's perceptions of functional health were vastly different. As planners and providers, we usually are trained in a health culture that is predominantly based on White, middle-class values. This ethnocentrism can act as a barrier leading us to disregard the notion that concepts such as health are not universally perceived. Findings from this study may enable us to achieve a closer approximation of the real experiences of our clients and to sensitize us to different world views.

In an article on a previous study involving hospitalized older adults (McCarthy, 2003), it was argued that the theory of situated clinical reasoning explains why nurses often fail to recognize acute confusion. Further, the theory illuminates how nurses' perspectives toward health in aging affect the ways they regard and ultimately deal with older people in this particular clinical situation. The purpose of the current study was to challenge and refine the theory by exploring the influence of different care environments on clinical reasoning related to acute confusion. Following a period of participant observation, a purposive sample of 30 nurses, 10 each from a teaching hospital, a long-term facility, and a home care agency, participated in semistructured interviews. Dimensional analysis provided the methodological framework for data collection and interpretation. The results reinforce prior findings that the ability of nurses to recognize acute confusion and to distinguish it from dementia can be attributed to their personal philosophies about aging. Care environment was identified as a factor that influenced clinical reasoning in limited ways under certain conditions and within certain contexts.