Leininger espoused that when studying cultures, researchers are likely to discover authentic and credible data when they are viewed by the participants as trusted friends. The Stranger to Trusted Friend Enabler was formulated to guide researchers in identifying indicators that a researcher has become the participants' trusted friend. This article presents my reflections on using Leininger's Stanger to Trusted Friend Enabler as a novice ethnonursing researcher. From my own experience, I have identified four hallmarks of a trusting relationship during fieldwork that correspond with the indicators of a trusting relationship identified by Leininger: (1) participants voluntarily share information about their culture and their personal experiences; (2) participants express concern for the researcher's welfare through their words and actions; (3) participants give the researcher a sense of community identity, such as a native name; and (4) participants suggest steps to further improve the trustworthiness of the study.

One of the limitations of the Stranger to Trusted Friend Enabler, however, is the fact that it only focuses on assessing the participants' trust towards the researcher. A successful ethnographic research requires mutual trust between the researcher and participants. From my experience in conducting an ethnonursing research, I have noted that aside from the participants' trust towards me, my trust towards them was also essential in obtaining rich and accurate data. Furthermore, the transition from being a stranger to a trusted friend is not a linear process in ethnonursing and in other types of ethnographic research. As a researcher transitions to become a trusted friend, he or she does not totally abandon his or her sense of alienation to the researched. The scientific nature of ethnography requires researchers to be a stranger and a trusted friend at the same time.

Human ; Anthropology, Cultural ; Nursing Research ; Nursing