Chapter 5

Question 1

What is the different structures of nursing knowledge ?

Answer 1

1. The Metaparadigm: which is the broad conceptual boundaries of nursing knowledge which is human being, health, nursing, and environment
2. Nursing Philosphy: Philosphy is an abstract type that sets forth the meaning of nursing phenomena through analysis, reasoning, and logical presentation
3. Nursing Conceptual Models: comprises nursing works by theorists referred to by some as pioneers - The nursing conceptual models have explicit theories derived from them by theorists or other nurse scholars and implicit theories within them yet to be
   developed
4. Grand Theory: derives from the conceptual model and porposes abstract testable theory - these theories have the ability to threaten the solvency of the concepual theories they are derived from the reason being they test the major premise of the conceptual model
5. Nursing Theory: comprises of works derived from working philosphies, conceptal models, grand theories, or works in other disciplines - work classified as a nursing thoery is developed from some comceptul framework or grand theory and is not a specific as a middle range theory (Example: Roys work is a nursing theory derived from grand theory or Meleis transition theory)
6. Middle Range Theory: has the most specific focus and is concree in terms of abstraction - these theories propose precise testable nursing practice questions - They address the specifics of nursing situations within the perspective of the model, grand theory, or theory from which they originate - specifics in middle-range theories are such things as the age group of the patient; the family situation; the patient’s health condition; the location of the patient; and, most important, the action of the nurse

Question 2

What are the different aspects to examine when analyzing a theory ?

Answer 2

1. Clarity: Clarity & structure are rewviewed in the terms of semantic clarity and consistency and structural clarity and consistency - clarity is refering to the meaning of terms used - definitional consistency and structure speak to the cinsistent structural forms of terms in theory - words should be defined specifically according to the framework - clarity & cinsustency are facilitated with diagrams and examples
2. Simplicity: is highly valued in nursing theory developement
3. Generality: speaks to the scope of application and the purpose within the theory - generality of a theoretical work varies by how abstract or concrete it is - this has faciliatted the use of abstract frameworks and middle range theories - ( Example: Rogers’ (1986) theory of accelerating change is an example of an abstract theory from which numerous middle-range theories have been generated.
4. Accessibility: addresses the extent to which empiric indicators for the concepts can be identified and to what extent the purposes of the theory can be attained - accessibility facilitates testing, because the empirical indicators provide linkage to practice for testability and testability and ultimate use of a theory to describe and test aspects of practice
5. Importance: parallel can be drawn from outcome and importance - Because research, theory, and practice are closely related, nursing theory lends itself to research testing, and research testing leads itself to knowledge for practice. Nursing theory guides research and practice, generates new ideas, and differentiates the focus of nursing from other service professions