Different Types of Theories by Level of Abstraction in Nursing: A Discussion Paper

Despite different labels used to refer to different types of nursing theories by different authors, agreements were made on three major types of theories by level of abstraction. The purpose of this analysis was to discuss the characteristics of the three major types of nursing theories by level of abstraction that were published in refereed journals and to propose directions for future theoretical development in nursing.

An integrated literature review was conducted using PUBMED, CINAHL, and PsycINFO. A total of 116 articles were included in this analysis. The retrieved articles were sorted by the type of theories (by level of abstraction), and analyzed in terms of scope, theorizing process, specificity and abstraction, contextual understanding, links to research and practice, and diversity and generalizability. Finally, themes reflecting the characteristics of the three major types of nursing theories were extracted and discussed.

A total of 17 themes were found. Although most of the themes reflected what were known about these theories, there were three new findings. First, all the grand theories that were reviewed tended to have more specific foci rather than explaining general nature, mission, or goals of nursing. Second, middle-range theories were developed based on various types/levels of theories using various sources for theorizing. Third, situation-specific theories began to be used to generate propositions and tested through statistical and qualitative analyses.

The efforts to try to link nursing theories to nursing practice need to be continued through further development and evaluation of the theories regardless of the types of theories.