The vignette revisited: evil and the forensic nurse

Abstract

The vignette is a valuable and flexible research tool in behavioural sciences and health care. Joel Richman and Dave Mercer outline the variable application of this method and propose a classification in terms of the form and use of the vignette. The discussion is illustrated with an example of the way that vignettes provided access to the discursive structures of forensic mental health nurses in one maximum secure psychiatric hospital. It is suggested that this methodology, within the broader aims of the study, revealed an ordered and taxonomic discourse of evil, with significant implications for professional practice.

The Effect of Scaffolded Vignette Instruction on Student Mastery of Subject Matter

“…We agree with Richman and Mercer's (2002) view of the vignette assessment task as a flexible and fertile component to complement more traditional forms of assessment of content or skill mastery, and we extend the effective application of the vignette to encompass scaffolded instruction as well. The impact of vignettes on classroom teaching practices extends to its successful and efficient use Downloaded by [University of Minnesota Libraries, Twin Cities] at 15:41 04 November 2014 as a part of scaffolded instruction and as a reliable assessment tool.…”

“…The vignette has been used as a tool to model, teach, and research behavior and understanding in general education (e.g., Jeffries & Maeder, 2004, 2006, health sciences (e.g., King, Murray, Salomon, & Tandon, 2002), social sciences (e.g., Hughes & Huby, 2002), and behavioral sciences (e.g., Richman & Mercer, 2002).…”

Vignette Methodology and Culture-Relevance: Lessons Learned through a Project on Successful Aging with Iranian Immigrants to Sweden

“…Vignettes are, for example, no longer administered exclusively in written form nor are they only used within the context of survey research (see, for example, Alves and Rossi 1978;Samphier 1983 and1984;Finch 1987;Nosanchuk 1972;Rossi et al 1974;West 1984 andWest et al 1984). Nowadays, they are utilized in face-to-face interviews (see Hughes 1998 andRichman andMercer 2002) and are sometimes presented through videotape (see Cohen and Strayer 1996;Johnson 2000;McKinstry 2000 andSleed et al 2002), audiotape (see Sigelman et al 1992 andWard et al 1994) and computers (see Stolte 1994).…”

“…Flaskerud 1979;Hughes and Huby 2002;Richman andMercer 2002 andSleed et al 2002). Vignettes have been used to explore, for example: suicide (Kalafat et al 1993); mental illness and drug use (Link et al 1999); the relationship between drug injection and HIV risk taking behavior (Hughes 1998); family obligations (Finch 1987); caregivers' coping strategies (Rahman 1996); issues related to sexuality and sexual behavior (Bettor et al 1995 andHall andHirschman 1994); end of life decision-making (Denk et al 1997); menopause (Muhlenkamp et al 1983) and the manner in which nurses respond to pain communication from patients (Dillon McDonald et al (2007).…”

“…This is the case because, when used within the context of qualitative interviews, vignettes can work as facilitators that elicit subtleties that are sometimes unintelligible to 'outsiders' and/or to those on the 'periphery'. Richman and Mercer (2002) have argued, for example, that vignettes allow for certain kinds of open-ended questions to be asked, and make it possible to cut through complex issues in a shorter amount of time. They allow us, in other words, to zero in on the issues that are central to the study question fairly easily since they help us direct the attention of the informant to what is interesting without necessarily imposing a particular and/or specific line of reasoning.…”