Critical realist ethnography: from philosophy to the practice of research analysis.

Background: There are few realist ethnographic studies in nursing and the majority employ traditional approaches to analysis; reflecting the principles of interpretivist or positivist research paradigms. Aim: Present the development and application of a novel approach to realist ethnographic analysis to a research project that sought to explain how student nurses become socialised into online social networks. Method: Realist ethnography sought to explain the relationship between online social networks and professional socialisation. Results: The findings show how this novel approach to analysis led to the proposition of a new and original concept of ‘online socialisation’. Conclusion: This article informs nurse and healthcare researchers how to apply an analysis approach to realist ethnographic study based on the principles of Bhaskarian philosophy