INSTRUCTIONS:

• Students are to identify their specialty area and population of care.
• Students are to identify a phenomenon of interest in the care of this population.
• Students are to review the middle range theories in their course readings that relate to phenomenon of interest
• Students are to select one theory related to the population and phenomenon of interest and critique the theory as per the criteria identified below for Part 1, 2, and 3.

Part 1: Identify and Describe the Theory

1. Discuss the development of the Theory – when, why, by whom, what discipline, revisions (include dates and description of changes)
2. What is the purpose of the Theory?
3. What are the assumptions of the Theory?
4. What are the key concepts and propositions of the Theory?

Part 2: Critique of the Theory

1. Are the origins, background, philosophy, and values of the theory clear and understandable?
2. Are the structural components of the theory (assumptions, concepts and propositions) well-articulated and logical?
3. How simple or complex is this theory?
4. What is the theory’s unique focus?
5. Is the theory general or explicit to an area of specialization?
6. What is the significance of the theory?
7. Has the theory advanced nursing education, research, or clinical practice?

Part 3: Application of the Theory in Nursing Research

1. Identify one published article that has used the theory you selected within your specialty area and your population of interest. Provide an APA reference for the article.
2. Based on the article discuss how the theory guided the research study. Did the theory guide the research question or study hypotheses? Did the theory guide the design of the study, sample, setting, instruments selected, data analyses or interpretation of the results, if the study was a quantitative study (i.e. using statistics)? If the study was a qualitative study (i.e. interviews or observations), did the theory guide the research question, qualitative design selected, how to analyze the data, and the interpretation of the study results?
3. For either quantitative or qualitative studies, were the concepts and propositions of the theory supported based on the study’s results? Did the authors discuss the results within the context of the theory? If so, what was stated by the authors to support or refute the theory? Were any modifications to the theory suggested or future research studies suggested to advance the theory?

GRADING RUBRIC

Assignment Criteria

Points

Introduction to Your Specialty and Phenomenon of Interest

1 point

Identify and Describe the Theory

5 points

Critique of the Theory

6 points

Research Article Review: Application of the Theory in Nursing Research

6 points

APA Format

2 points

Total

20 points