The science and art of theory development and evaluation

The science and art of theory development

Introduction on theory development.

The strength that human beings use to come up with theories supported by sciences with the sole aim of understanding the habits, behaviors, and ways of the human being. These theories are accumulated in one’s mind and expected to satisfy specific needs. A theory describes the observations made by people and what the theorist has understood after assessing particular data relevant to the theorist’s agenda. Theories constitute several supporting documents like research that supports the theory, the presentations made by other scholars on the theory, other theories associated with similar content, and new ideas on the said theory. To develop a theory, thorough and detailed research should be compiled on the subject of the theory. Although the process of formulating a theory is a science, it can be described as an art because it inspires the theorist’s determination and love of the subject theory (Rivard, 2021)

Elements of science and art of developing theories

A conceptual model, a theory, and empirical indicators are the three major elements that make up the science and art of generating theories. The conceptual-theoretical-empirical (C-T-E) structure consists of these elements. Inductive reasoning from a specific idea to a generic one occurs during the process of building a theory (Butts and Rich,2017The conceptual model come first in the C-T-E structure for developing a theory, which also includes empirical data and suggestions for new theories. For instance, the concept of adaption modes from the Roy model was to simplify the analysis of data gathered from people with multiple sclerosis utilizing interview guides. The empirical indicators were interviewing guidelines.

Additionally, the C-T-E framework for theory development identifies the conceptual model idea first, directing the choice of the empirical indicators required for data gathering (Butts & Rich, 2017). The core idea of the theory must be established before the C-T-E structure enters the competition. Whenever theory verification is used to build a theory, deductive reasoning frequently moves from a general idea to a particular set of ideas and assertions. Hypotheses are accomplished during research to produce a descriptive, interpretative, or prophetic theory. To connect a methodological approach with the theory, utilize one of the three approaches indicated below. The idea is obtained from the nursing concept that was first adopted. This approach ensures that the theory and the framework have correlations. Secondly, when the model and the theory agree, a theoretical model is selected and linked to a recognized nursing theory. Therefore, it is connected to a theory that already exists and uses the same conceptual framework as the chosen conceptual model. Hence, theory testing is complete once the theory’s ideas are connected to the empirical indicators.

Stages of theory evaluation

Five stages are required for theory evaluation in science and art. The C-T-E structure’s linkages must first be evaluated as a first step. The person focuses on specified suitability, which stresses knowledge used to produce the C-T-E structure specifically, and linkage sufficiency, which openly and thoroughly looks at the validity of the conceptual model, theory, and empirical indicator links. Evaluating the theory is the next stage. An assessment of a theory is to determine its relevance to a specific set of goals. Thus, consumers must be notified about the theories, promoting growth, evolution, and utilization. The examination of empirical research methodologies is the third step.

Moreover, it establishes the indicators’ operational suitability as a theoretical concept assessment. To enable that theory evaluation, empirical indicators must be dependable and valid. In the fourth stage, the component theory of the C-T-E is examined to evaluate the research results (Butts & Rich, 2017).

In order to establish whether the created theory agrees with the notions, propositions, and facts from the investigation are analyzed. Finally, assessing the usefulness and legality of the conceptual model to ascertain which study’s results support the model’s significance for developing C-T-E structures for theory testing after generation and, therefore, its legitimacy.

References

Rivard, S. (2021). Theory building is neither an art nor a science. It is a craft. Journal of Information Technology, 36(3), 316–328.  /orders/doi.org/10.1177/0268396220911938 (Links to an external site.)

Butts, J. B., & Rich, K. L. (2021). Philosophies and theories for advanced nursing practice. Jones & Bartlett

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