A FRAMEWORK FOR ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION OF NURSING THEORIES QUESTIONS FOR ANALYSIS
Step 1: Theory Scope
• What is the scope of theory?
Step 2: Theory Context
• Which metaparadigm concepts are addressed by the theory?
• Does the theory deal with human beings?
• Does the theory deal with the environment?
• Does the theory deal with health?
• Does the theory deal with nursing processes or goals?
• Which metaparadigm propositions are addressed by the theory?
• Does the theory deal with human processes of living and dying?
• Does the theory deal with patterning of human health experiences within the context of the environment?
• Does the theory deal with nursing actions or processes that are beneficial to human beings?
• Does the theory deal with the human processes of living and dying, recognizing that human beings are in a continuous relationship with their environments?
• On what philosophical claims is the theory based?
• What world view is reflected in the theory?
• From what conceptual model was the theory derived?
• What antecedent knowledge from nursing and adjunctive disciplines was used in the development of the theory?
Step 3: Theory Content
• What are the concepts of the theory?
• What are the propositions of the theory?
• Which propositions are nonrelational?
• Which propositions are relational?
QUESTIONS FOR EVALUATION Step 1: Significance
• Are the metaparadigm concepts and propositions addressed by the theory explicit?
• Are the philosophical claims on which the theory is based explicit?
• Is the conceptual model from which the theory was derived explicit?
• Are the authors of antecedent knowledge from nursing and adjunctive disciplines acknowledged and are bibliographical citations given?
Step 2: Internal Consistency
• Are the context (philosophical claims and conceptual model) and the content (concepts and propositions) of the
theory congruent?
• Do the concepts reflect semantic clarity and semantic consistency?
• Do the propositions reflect structural consistency?