THEORY IN NURSING RESEARCH

Prerequisites & course information

Requisites: Graduate/professional standing Course Designation: Grad 50% - Counts toward 50% graduate coursework requirement Repeatable for Credit: No Last Taught: Summer 2026 Learning Outcomes: 1. Discuss foundations of nursing theory, their structure and scope, and the importance of theory in nursing science Audience: Graduate 2. Evaluate methods of theory development including positivistic and inductive approaches, and examples of extending and refining theory over time Audience: Graduate 3. Critically analyze the utility of various theories, including the application and operationalizability of theory in research Audience: Graduate 4. Appraise theory from nursing, biological, behavioral, and other sciences Audience: Graduate 5. Select or adapt an existing theory or create a beginning conceptual framework to guide the student’s early research efforts Audience: Graduate Learning Outcomes: 1. Discuss foundations of nursing theory, their structure and scope, and the importance of theory in nursing science Audience: Graduate 2. Evaluate methods of theory development including positivistic and inductive approaches, and examples of extending and refining theory over time Audience: Graduate 3. Critically analyze the utility of various theories, including the application and operationalizability of theory in research Audience: Graduate 4. Appraise theory from nursing, biological, behavioral, and other sciences Audience: Graduate 5. Select or adapt an existing theory or create a beginning conceptual framework to guide the student’s early research efforts Audience: Graduate