Abstract
This chapter aims to explain nursing theory development, including theory testing, and provide several relevant examples of the process. One reason why researchers carry out scientific work is to develop theories. A wide array of theories are developed in the field of nursing science, with the abstraction level varying based on the aim. Some of nursing research is very theoretical and aims to develop the fundamental basis of science or draw an ideal picture of nursing care. However, other theories of nursing science are more concrete and can be tested and used in practice. Theories comprise concepts and their definitions, along with indications of the connections between concepts. Scholars have long argued about the definition of theory, as some feel that a researcher should be able to statistically test any developed theory whereas others have stated that a theory does not have to be statistically tested. This chapter adopts the former definition, i.e., it must be possible to statistically test a theory. The chapter begins by presenting a definition of theory and examples of theory development strategies, after which the structure of theory and using content analysis to create theory concepts are discussed. This provides a sound basis for an example of a multi-phase theory development process that includes inductive strategy, deductive strategy and theory testing.
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Kyngäs, H. (2020). Theory Development from the Results of Content Analysis. In: Kyngäs, H., Mikkonen, K., Kääriäinen, M. (eds) The Application of Content Analysis in Nursing Science Research. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-30199-6_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-30199-6_7
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