[Introduction to ethnographic decision tree modeling].

Abstract

With rapid advances in healthcare technology, patients are increasingly compelled to make medical decisions in unfamiliar and highly stressful situations. Nurses, therefore, have a responsibility to understand the medical options, and consequences of each, in order to help patients make the best decisions for themselves. Ethnographic decision tree modeling is a research "triangulation" tool conducted in two stages. The first stage uses ethnographic fieldwork techniques to determine the criteria used by insiders (i.e., decision makers) to make a real-world decision. These criteria are combined into a decision tree. The second stage applies a quantitative research method to verify the degree of predictive accuracy of the decision tree. This method addresses the meaning and predictability of decision-making. This paper introduces ethnographic decision tree modeling and provides a perspective on inquiring about the bases of patient decision-making.