Theoretical substruction: a guide for theory testing research

Area of Science:

• Nursing Theory
• Epistemology
• Research Methodology

Background:

• Theory testing is crucial for scientific advancement.
• Orem's self-care deficit theory provides a framework for nursing research.
• Ensuring internal consistency in model testing is a methodological challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate theoretical substruction as a guide for theory testing research.
• To present a method for substructing research hypotheses and entire studies.
• To apply substruction to test hypotheses from Orem's self-care deficit theory.

Main Methods:

• Utilized theoretical substruction at various levels of abstraction.
• Developed a method for substructing research hypotheses and study design.
• Applied the substruction method to a study testing Orem's proposition two.

Main Results:

• Theoretical substruction effectively guided the theory testing research process.
• The method ensured internal consistency in the model testing.
• Substruction facilitated hypothesis generation and study design.

Conclusions:

• Theoretical substruction is a valuable tool for rigorous theory testing in nursing.
• This approach aligns with the coherence theory of truth.
• The application of substruction contributes to the advancement of nursing epistemology.