LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

THEORY IN  By the end of this lecture, you will be able to:

NURSING
DeHne theory theoretianarameware
Identify the role of theory in research can.am

RESEARCH
Know the purposes of theories and conceptual models
Understand the relationship between theory and research

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DiLerentiate between theories in qualitative and quantitative
research
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ask.jo Know the criteria to determine if a theory/model is being tested
Write a research study’s theoretical framework
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DEFINITION OF THEORY IN THEORY IN NURSING
RESEARCH Haram.is
RESEARCH
 Theories can be useful to nurse-researchers as guides for
 Scientists have used theory to refer to an abstract generalization that
conducting research
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oLers a systematic explanation about how phenomena are interrelated
 Theory building depends not only on the observable facts in our
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 A theory oLers a set of concepts and propositions that can be
environment but also on the originator’s ingenuity in pulling those facts applied consistently and examined systematically across
together and making sense of them studies of clinical problems
 Theory construction is a creative and intellectual enterprise that can be  Admittedly, not all research should be theory-guided; some
engaged in by anyone who is insightful, has a solid knowledge base, and
has the ability to knit together observations and evidence into an
research is conducted to generate theory about new
intelligible pattern phenomena
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 TENTATIVE NATURE OF PURPOSES OF THEORIES AND
THEORIES CONCEPTUAL MODELS
 A theory is a scientist’s best eLort to describe and explain phenomena;  Theoretical and conceptual frameworks play several interrelated roles in
today’s successful theory may be discredited tomorrow the progress of a science
.‫هذا قد يحدث إذا كانت هناك أدلة جديدة أو مالحظات تقوض نظرية مقبولة سابقًا‬
 This may happen if new evidence or observations undermine a previously  Their overall purpose is to make research Hndings meaningful and
accepted theory generalizable
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 Or, a new theoretical system might integrate new observations with an  Theories allow researchers to knit together observations and facts into an
existing theory to yield a more parsimonious explanation of a phenomenon orderly scheme
 Theories are never considered Hnal and veriHed  They are e\cient mechanisms for drawing together accumulated facts,
 There always remains the possibility that a theory will be modiHed or sometimes from separate and isolated investigations
discarded  Theories and models can guide a researcher’s understanding of not only
the what of natural phenomena but also the why of their occurrence.

PURPOSES OF THEORIES RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THEORY AND

AND CONCEPTUAL MODELS
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 Theories often provide a basis for predicting the occurrence of phenomena
.‫نظرية الفائدة العمومية لديها القدرة على إحداث تغييرات مرغوبة في سلوك الناس أو صحتهم‬
 A utilitarian theory has potential to bring about desirable changes in
people’s behavior or health
 Theories and conceptual models help to stimulate research and the
extension of knowledge by providing both direction and impetus
 Theories may serve as a springboard for advances in knowledge and the
accumulation of evidence for practice
RESEARCH
 Concepts and relationships that are validated empirically through research
become the foundation for theory development
 The theory, in turn, must be tested by subjecting deductions from it
(hypotheses) to further systematic inquiry
 Thus, research plays a dual and continuing role in theory building and
testing
 Theory guides and generates ideas for research; research assesses the
worth of the theory and provides a foundation for new theories

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 In nursing research, many facts still need to be accumulated, and purely
descriptive inquiries may well form the basis for subsequent theoretical
developments

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THEORIES AND
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
 Theory is almost always present in studies that are embedded
in a qualitative research tradition such as ethnography or
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 As previously noted, these research traditions inherently
provide an overarching framework that give qualitative studies
a theoretical grounding
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TESTING A THEORY
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 In testing a theory, researchers deduce implications and develop
research hypotheses, which are predictions about the manner in
which variables would be related if the theory were correct
 The focus of the testing process involves a comparison between
observed outcomes with those predicted in the hypotheses
 If studies repeatedly fail to disconHrm a theory, it gains support
and acceptance
 If you are testing a speciHc theory or conceptual model, be sure to
read about it from a primary source
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 It is important to understand fully the conceptual perspective of
the theorist, and the detailed explication of key constructs
THEORIES IN QUANTITATIVE
RESEARCH
 Quantitative researchers, like qualitative researchers, link
research to theory or models in several ways
 The classic approach is to test hypotheses deduced from a
previously proposed theory
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USING A MODEL OR THEORY AS AN
ORGANIZING STRUCTURE
 Many researchers who cite a theory or model as their
framework are not directly testing the theory
 The most common use of nursing models in empirical studies
was to provide an organizing structure
 Most quantitative studies that oLer models and theories as
their conceptual frameworks are using them primarily as
organizational or interpretive tools
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 CRITERIA TO DETERMINE IF A DESCRIBING HOW TO CHOOSE A
THEORY/MODEL IS BEING TESTED THEORY
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1. Is the purpose of the study to determine the validity of a theory’s assumptions
 There are several strategies that researchers can use to choose a theory to
guide their studies:
or propositions?
2. Does the report explicitly note that the theory is the framework for the Researchers can consider whether or not a given theory has concepts and
research? propositions that adequately capture the nature of the clinical problem and
3. Is the theory discussed in su\cient detail that the relationship between the the proposed relationships among such concepts
theory on the one hand and the study hypotheses or research questions on the They can review whether or not alternative theories are credible, clear, and
other is clear? parsimonious with regard to their phenomena
4. Are study hypotheses directly deduced from the theory?
Researchers can consider whether concepts and propositions from
5. Are study hypotheses empirically tested in an appropriate manner, so as to promising theories are congruent not only with their clinical problem but
shed light on the validity of the theory? also with the culture of the population to be studied
6. Is the validity of the theory’s assumptions or propositions supported (or
challenged) based on evidence from the empirical tests?
7. Does the report discuss how evidence from empirical tests supports or refutes
the theory, or how the theory explains relevant aspects of the Hndings?

GUIDELINES FOR WRITING ABOUT GUIDELINES FOR WRITING ABOUT

A RESEARCH STUDY’S A RESEARCH
E STUDY’S
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
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 Introduce the framework

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 Explain how data collection methods (such as questionnaire items) reject
 Briejy explain why it is a good Ht for the research problem area
the concepts in the framework
 At the end of the literature review  In the study’s discussion section
 Thoroughly describe the framework and explain its application to the  Describe how study Hndings are consistent (or inconsistent) with the
present study framework

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 Describe how the framework has been used in studies about similar  OLer suggestions for practice and further research that are congruent with
problems the framework’s concepts and propositions
 In the study’s methodology section
 Explain how the framework is being operationalized in the study’s design
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WHY ARE NURSING THEORIES IMPORTANT?
 Nursing theories help recognize what should set the
foundation of practice by explicitly describing nursing
 By deHning nursing, a nursing theory also helps nurses
understand their purpose and role in the healthcare setting
 Theories serve as a rationale or scientiHc reasons for nursing
interventions and give nurses the knowledge base necessary
for acting and responding appropriately in nursing care
situations
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 Nursing theories provide the foundations of nursing practice,
further knowledge, and indicate which direction
nursing should develop in the future (Brown, 1964)
WHY ARE NURSING THEORIES
IMPORTANT?
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 By providing nurses a sense of identity, nursing theory can help patients,
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managers, and other healthcare professionals to acknowledge and
understand the unique contribution that nurses make to the healthcare
service (Draper, 1990)
 Nursing theories prepare the nurses to reject on the assumptions and in
question the nursing values, thus further deHning nursing and increasing
the knowledge base
 Nursing theories aim to deHne, predict, and demonstrate nursing
phenomenon (Chinn and Jacobs, 1978)
 It can be regarded as an attempt by the nursing profession to maintain and
preserve its professional limits and boundaries
 In many cases, nursing theories guide knowledge development and directs
education, research, and practice, although each injuences the others.
(Fitzpatrick and Whall, 2005)