Theory Development and Evaluation
In the field of nursing, it’simportant to examine the science and art of theory development and evaluation.One of the most critical components to nursing is the idea of theory development as it helps to advanceknowledge of the discipline.Historically, mostnursingtheorists did not set out to create a nursing theory. Most published authorsbeganbuilding a theoryas a way toimprove care delivered topatients, either throughimprovingdirect clinical practice or by educating futurenurses(Alejandro,2017). Thesetheorists wereconsideredrisk takers withlifetimecommitments to the nursingprofessionas a whole(Alejandro,2017). By seeking to improve and change the waynurses’practice, researchers have been able to study ways in which to create standard works fromevidence-basedpractice as a working theory(Butts& Rich, 2015). The differentcomponents of a theory such as the concepts,statements, and theoretical assertionsfurther explain the said theory and its importance. 
Furthermore, nursing theoriessetforth into motion the better understanding of nursing phenomena and guide scholarly developmentof the science of nursing practice through research(Butts& Rich, 2015).A nursing theory aims to address a phenomenonof a particular interest that is being proposedwithseveral considerations follow, such as its completeness and logic, internal consistency, and correspondence with empirical findings. The basics of the theory also need to be determinedwhether it has been defined operationally for testing(Butts& Rich, 2015).By analyzing in this way, the researcheris able tofurther develop the theory in a logical manner(Butts& Rich, 2015).The theory is developed by accumulatingscientificevidence with rigorous research to either refute or support the proposed statements.Nursing theory development is nothard to understand,they are created in a pursuedsystematic scholarly effort.Strict development of nursing theories, then, is a high priority for the future of the discipline and the practice of nursing profession(Alejandro,2017).
Overall, the systematic development of theoriesallowsfor best implementation and peer evaluation.The one aspect thatall theorieshave in common,of eachapproachingtheory development in a precise, systematic manner,allows for one tomake thestages of development explicit.Nurses must systematicallyassess their proposed theory of nursing and then publish it for the nursing community to review and debate engages in a process that is criticalto advancement of theory development(Alejandro,2017).Then, asthescholarly work is publishedas literatureand peer-reviewed,othernurse theoreticians and researchers review and critique the adequacy of the logical processes used in the development of the theory (Alejandro,2017). These unbiased reviewersare able toevaluate with fresh eyestherelationof the theoryto practice andotheravailable research findings(Gray, Grove, & Sutherland, 2018).Overall, theories are explicit and open to question and examinationas part of their development andimplementation (Nilsen,2015). However, if deductions from a theory are incorrect, the theory can be adapted, extended or abandoned. Theories are more consistent with existing facts,which usually means a hypothesis based on anestablished theory is a more educated guess(Gray, Grove, & Sutherland, 2018).Furthermore, theories give individual facts a meaningful context and contribute towards building an integrated body of knowledge (Alejandro,2017).
References
Alejandro,J. (2017, February). Lessons learned through nursingtheory :Nursing2020. Retrieved December 3, 2020, from https://journals.lww.com/nursing/Fulltext/2017/02000/Lessons_learned_through_nursing_theory.12.aspx
Butts, J. & Rich, K. (2015). Philosophies and Theories for Advanced Nursing Practice (3rd edition) Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Learning ISBN:978-1-284-11224-5
Gray, J., Grove, S. & Sutherland, S. (2018). Burns and Grove’sThePractice of Nursing Research: Appraisal, Synthesis, and Generation of Evidence (8th ed.).St.Louis, Missouri: Elsevier. ISBN: 978-0323377584
Nilsen, P. (2015). Making sense of implementation theories, models and frameworks.Implementationscience :IS,10, 53.https://doi.org/10.1186/s13012-015-0242-0(Links to an external site.)