Middle Range Theory for Nursing, 3rd edition

Book Preface

The interest in middle range theory continues to grow, as demonstrated by the increased number of published theories and the desire among nursing faculty and researchers to use theories at the mid-range level to guide practice and research. This book is based on the premise that students come to know and understand a theory as the meaning of concepts are made clear, and as they experience the way a theory informs practice and research in the everyday world of nursing. Over the years, we continue to hear from students and faculty telling us that the book is user friendly and truly reflects what they need as a reference to move middle range theory to the forefront of research and practice.

Middle range theory can be defined as a set of related ideas that are focused on a limited dimension of the reality of nursing. These theories are composed of concepts and suggested relationships among the concepts that can be depicted in a model. Middle range theories are developed and grow at the intersection of practice and research to provide guidance for everyday practice and scholarly research rooted in the discipline of nursing. We use the ladder of abstraction to articulate the logic of middle range theory as related to a philosophical perspective and practice/research approaches congruent with theory conceptualization.

The middle range theories chosen for presentation in this book cover a broad spectrum—from theories that were proposed decades ago and have been used extensively, to theories that are newly developed and just coming into use. Some of the theories were originated by the primary nurse–author who wrote the chapter, and some were originally created by persons outside of nursing. After much thought and discussion with colleagues and students, we have come to the conclusion that theories for nursing are those that apply to the unique perspective of the discipline, regardless of origin, as long as they are used by nurse scholars to guide practice or research and are consistent with one of the paradigms presented by Newman, Sime, and Corcoran-Perry (1991). These paradigms, which are recognized philosophical perspectives unique to the discipline, present an ontological grounding for the middle range theories in this book. By connecting each theory with a paradigmatic perspective, we offer a view of the middle range theory’s place within the larger scope of nursing science. This view was included to create a context for considering theories other than those developed by nurses, which have been used to guide nursing practice and research.