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CHAP TER

Theory Development Process

Sonya R. Hardin

“Nursing’s potential for meaningful human service rests
on the union of theory and practice for its fulfillment.”
(Rogers, 1970, p. viii)

heory development in nursing is an essential Deductive reasoning is narrow and goes from general
Tcomponent in nursing scholarship to advance the to specific. In the clinical area, nurses often have ex-
knowledge of the discipline. The legitimacy of any perience with a general rule and apply it to a patient.
profession is built on its ability to generate and apply Inductive reasoning is much broader and explor-
theory (McCrae, 2011, p. 222). Nursing theories that atory in nature as one goes from specific to general.
clearly set forth understanding of nursing phenomena Abductive reasoning begins with an incomplete set of
(i.e., self care, therapeutic communication, chronic observations and proceeds to the likeliest possible
sorrow) guide scholarly development of the science of explanation for the set. A medical diagnosis is an
nursing through research. Once a nursing theory is application of abductive reasoning: given this set
proposed addressing a phenomenon of interest, sev- of symptoms, what is the diagnosis that would best
eral considerations follow, such as its completeness explain most of them? One aspect they have in com-
and logic, internal consistency, correspondence with mon is to approach theory development in a precise,
empirical findings, and whether it has been operation- systematic manner, making the stages of development
ally defined for testing. Analyses of these lead logically explicit. The nurse who systematically devises a the-
to the further development of the theory. Scientific evi- ory of nursing and publishes it for the nursing com-
dence accumulates through repeated rigorous research munity to review and debate engages in a process
that supports or refutes theoretical assertions and that is essential to advancing theory development. As
guides modifications or extensions of the theory. Nurs- scholarly work is published in the literature, nurse
ing theory development is not a mysterious activity, but theoreticians and researchers review and critique the
a scholarly endeavor pursued systematically. Rigorous adequacy of the logical processes used in the develop-
development of nursing theories, then, is a high priority ment of the theory with fresh eyes in relation to prac-
for the future of the discipline and the practice of the tice and available research findings.
profession of nursing.
It is important to understand the concept of sys-
tematic development since approaches to construction Theory Components
of theory differ. A theory may emerge through deduc- Development of theory requires understanding of
tive, inductive, or retroductive (abductive) reasoning. selected scholarly terms, definitions, and assumptions

Previous author: Sue Marquis Bishop.

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