What is theory?
be used in the same way as a concept, but A grand theory is composed of concepts
A theory is a set of concepts and we should recognize that we cannot
propositions that provide an orderly way to directly observe different levels of source
view phenomena. credibility in individuals. However, we can
“The purpose of a theory in scientific observe the various parts which make up
disciplines is to guide research to enhance the construct individually, and then
the science by supporting existing combine them to get some overall
knowledge or generating new knowledge” summary. Constructs are built from the
(Parse, 1987 p. 3) logical combination of a number of more
A theory not only helps us to organize our observable concepts. In the case of source
thoughts and ideas, but it may also help credibility, we could define the construct
direct us in what to do and when and how as the combination of the concepts of
to do it. expertise, objectivity, and status.
Each of these concepts can be more
Identify the building blocks of theory. directly observed in an individual. Of
course, we might also consider some of
A concept is the basic building block of a these terms to be constructs themselves,
theory. A concept is a vehicle of thought. and break them down into combinations of
According to Chinn and Kramer (1995, p. still more concrete concepts, as illustrated
78), the term concept refers to a “complex in Figure 2-1. What we see if we do this is
mental formulation of . . . [our] perceptions a set of constructs at decreasing levels of
of the world.” A concept labels or names a abstraction. Only at the bottom of this
phenomenon, an observable fact that can hierarchy are directly observable concepts.
be perceived through the senses and From a practical point of view, it matters
explained. A concept assists us in little whether we call the verbal building
formulating a mental image about an blocks concepts or constructs. It is more
object or situation. Concepts help us to useful to consider every concept to be at
name things and occurrences in the world some particular level of
around us and assist us in communicating abstraction. This level is determined by the
with each other about the world. distance of the concept from the directly
Independence, self-care, and caring are observable ideas at the bottom of the
just a few examples of concepts frequently hierarchy. To simplify discussion, in the
encountered in health care. Theories are future we will use the term concepts to
formulated by linking concepts together. refer to either concepts or constructs,
The basic building blocks of theories are recognizing that any concept can really be
concepts. A concept is a verbal abstraction a very abstract idea built from the
drawn from observation of a number of combination of many less abstract (more
specific cases. The critical term here is concrete) concepts.
“observed”, because it means that there is A proposition (another structural element
a direct link between the concept (the of a theory) is a statement that proposes a
abstraction) and its referents (the reality). relationship between concepts. An
For instance, we can observe a number of example of a nonnursing proposition might
particular instances where individuals be the statement “people seem to be
receive varying amounts of money for the happier in the springtime.” This
work they have done over a given period proposition establishes a relationship
of time. From these particulars we distill an between the concept of happiness and the
abstraction and label it “income”. time of the year. A nursing propositional
Similarly, we observe individuals and find statement linking the concept of
some of them short, some tall and more of helplessness and the concept of loss might
them in between; from these observations be stated as “multiple and rapid losses
we generate the concept “height”. predispose one to feelings of
A construct serves the same function as a helplessness.” Propositional statements in
concept, but it is more abstract. It is not a theory represent the theorist’s particular
characterized by a direct link between the view of which concepts fit together and, in
abstraction and its observed most theories, establish how concepts
manifestations. For instance, “source affect one another.
credibility” is a construct which has been
used in studying persuasion. This term can Discuss the different types of theory.
think you are, it is impossible for a human
representing global and extremely
complex phenomena. It is the broadest in
scope, represents the most abstract level
of development, and addresses the broad
phenomena of concern within the
discipline. Typically, a grand theory is not
intended to provide guidance for the
formation of specific nursing interventions,
but rather provides an overall framework
for structuring broad, abstract ideas
(Fawcett, 1993). An example of a grand
theory is Orem’s Self-Care Deficit Theory
of Nursing.
A theory that addresses more concrete
and more narrowly defined phenomena
than a grand theory is known as a middle-
range theory. Descriptions, explanations,
and predictions put forth in a middle-range
theory are intended to answer questions
about nursing phenomena, yet they do not
cover the full range of phenomena of
concern to the discipline. A middle-range
theory provides a perspective from which
to view complex situations and a direction
for interventions (Fawcett, 1993). An
example of a middle-range theory is
Peplau’s Theory of Interpersonal Relations.
A micro-range theory is the most concrete
and narrow in scope. A micro-range
theory explains a specific phenomenon of
concern to the discipline (Fawcett, 1993),
such as the effect of social supports on
grieving and would establish nursing care
guidelines to address the problem.
What is a theoretical framework.
A theoretical framework is a collection of
interrelated concepts, like a theory but not
necessarily so well worked-out. A in research to outline possible courses of
theoretical framework guides your
research, determining what things you will
measure, and what statistical relationships
you will look for.
Theoretical frameworks are obviously
critical in deductive, theory-testing sorts of
studies (see Kinds of Research for more
information). In those kinds of studies, the
theoretical framework must be very
specific and well-thought out.
Surprisingly, theoretical frameworks are
also important in exploratory studies,
where you really don't know much about
what is going on, and are trying to learn
more. There are two reasons why
theoretical frameworks are important here.
First, no matter how little you think you
know about a topic, and how unbiased you
being not to have preconceived notions,
even if they are of a very general nature.
For example, some people fundamentally
believe that people are basically lazy and
untrustworthy, and you have keep your
wits about you to avoid being conned.
These fundamental beliefs about human
nature affect how you look things when
doing personnel research. In this sense,
you are always being guided by a
theoretical framework, but you don't know
it. Not knowing what your real framework
is can be a problem. The framework tends
to guide what you notice in an
organization, and what you don't notice. In
other words, you don't even notice things
that don't fit your framework! We can
never completely get around this problem,
but we can reduce the problem
considerably by simply making our implicit
framework explicit. Once it is explicit, we
can deliberately consider other
frameworks, and try to see the
organizational situation through different
lenses.
Proponents claim that when purpose and
framework are aligned, other aspects of
empirical research such as methodological
choices and statistical techniques become
simpler to identify.
What is a conceptual framework.
A conceptual framework is a structure
that links global concepts together and
represents the unified whole of a larger
reality.
A conceptual framework is used
action or to present a preferred approach
to an idea or thought. For example, the
philosopher Isaiah Berlinused the
"hedgehogs" versus "foxes" approach;[1] a
"hedgehog" might approach the world in
terms of a single organizing principle; a
"fox" might pursue multiple conflicting
goals simultaneously. Alternatively,
an empiricist might approach a subject by
direct examination, whereas
an intuitionist might simply intuit what's
next.[2]
Conceptual frameworks (theoretical
frameworks) are a type of intermediate
theory that attempt to connect to all
aspects of inquiry (e.g., problem definition,
purpose, literature review, methodology,
data collection and analysis). Conceptual
frameworks can act like maps that give on a graph to indicate the break-even
coherence to empirical inquiry. Because point, for instance. Pie charts, bar charts,
conceptual frameworks are potentially soand histograms can all model some real
close to empirical inquiry, they take situation, but really bear no physical
different forms depending upon the resemblance to anything.
research question or problem. Diagrams, drawings, and blueprints also
Several types of conceptual frameworks are versions of schematic models. These
have been identified,[3][4] such as are pictorial representations of conceptual
 Working hypothesis relationships. This means that the model
depicts a concept such as chronology or
 Descriptive categories sequence. A flow chart describing a
 Practical ideal types computer program is a good example. The
 Models of operations research precedence diagrams used in project
management or in assembly-line balancing
 Formal hypotheses show the sequence of activities that must
These are linked to particular research be maintained in order to achieve a
purposes such as:[5]
desired result.
 Exploration or Exploratory
research
 Description or Descriptive
research
 Gauging
 Decision making
 Explanation
 Prediction

What are conceptual models and

schematic models?
A model is an abstraction of reality or a
representation of a real object or situation.
In other words, a model presents a
simplified version of something.

C.M. People receive information, process

this information, and respond accordingly
many times each day. This sort of
processing of information is essentially a
conceptual model (or mental model) of
how things in our surrounding environment
work. Descriptive model of a system based
on qualitativeassumptions about
its elements, their interrelationships, and
system boundaries.

S.M. Schematic models are more abstract

than physical models. While they do have
some visual correspondence with reality,
they look much less like the physical
reality they represent. Graphs and charts
are schematic models that provide
pictorial representations of mathematical
relationships. Plotting a line on a graph
indicates a mathematical linear
relationship between two variables. Two
such lines can meet at one exact location