Words in Science Can Include, Exclude, or Obscure

Abstract

Words in Science Can Include, Exclude, or Obscure "Must a name mean something?" Alice asks Humpty Dumpty, only to get this answer: "When I use a word…it means just what I choose it to mean-neither more nor less." 1 I n scientific writing, a common statement is that there are no right or wrong words but there are better and worse choices. 2 This means that choice of words, or even of a word, matters. Worse word choices are those that do not add clarity to an important topic and thereby risk obscuring truth. Vague words in science very likely create or add to misunderstandings about health, illness, and disease, making vague words wrong words. We have no room for vague words and misunderstandings in oncology nursing or in nursing research or practice generally. We need specificity and explicitness so that we know to whom we may fittingly apply research findings and to whom we may not. Our commitment as nurse scientists and nurses in cancer care must go beyond attentiveness to choosing the right or wrong word-we must also be sure that we have not omitted words that would add understanding and avoid misunderstanding.But words about data can be forceful. We have learned with certainty during this pandemic that scientific thought alone, or data alone, do not alter human behavior. Relatedly, scientific thought and data do not alone dissipate human bias directed toward other humans. Because of word potency, we as oncology nurse researchers and nurses must consciously use words with purpose that accurately include and exclude persons with clear justification and clarify and specify evidence-based findings. Doing so increases the chances of research findings helping others. Equally so, we must be explicit about when our findings do not apply to certain groups of humans and thus may not help them.In oncology nursing, we have the skills and ability to affect the health and well-being of individuals from birth to end of life and that of the communities and nations wherein these individuals reside. 3 To fully maximize this ability, we need our research and our practice to be as inclusive of others as they can be. New knowledge from all could mean care and benefit for all. All should benefit from our knowledge generation and knowledge application efforts.Being inclusive is a treasured value in our research and our practice. But inclusiveness is best when it reflects explicitness about who participated in the research, who the findings represent, and who the findings do not represent. In oncology, we have confirmed and refined information about human characteristics that are risk features for certain cancers such as race, ethnicity, age, and gender. Additional essential words in oncology nursing research are about important life descriptors such as faith beliefs, culture, economics, and family and friend relations. These words also represent risk features that can influence disease and treatment outcomes. If we do not study the meaning of these words in our care recipients, we lose the chance to influence their health behaviors ...