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Middle-range theories as models: New criteria for analysis and evaluation
Mark Risjord1,2
1Institute for the Liberal Arts, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.
Nursing Philosophy : an International Journal for Healthcare Professionals
|September 29, 2018
Summary
This essay proposes viewing middle-range theories as models, not simplified grand theories. This new perspective enhances their analysis, evaluation, and usefulness in nursing research and practice.
Area of Science:
- Nursing Theory
- Philosophy of Science
Background:
- Current evaluation criteria for middle-range theories in nursing are inadequate.
- This inadequacy stems from a misunderstanding of the nature of middle-range theories.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose a new perspective for analyzing and evaluating middle-range theory.
- To introduce a novel method for analyzing middle-range theories.
- To present new criteria for evaluating middle-range theories.
Main Methods:
- Conceptual analysis of middle-range theory.
- Re-framing middle-range theories as models.
- Development of new analytical and evaluative criteria.
Main Results:
- Middle-range theories are best understood and evaluated as models, not as limited versions of grand theories.
- A new method for analyzing middle-range theories has been developed.
- New criteria for evaluating middle-range theories have been proposed.
Conclusions:
- Viewing middle-range theories as models enhances their scholarly and clinical utility in nursing.
- Adopting a model-based approach can improve the application and understanding of nursing theories.
- This revised perspective offers a more effective framework for theory development and utilization in nursing.
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