Nursing Theory

Purpose and Process

You will choose a concept for analysis from the list that is provided in the NU601 Moodle site. Each student must select a different concept for their concept analysis assignment. In other words, no concept can be selected by more than one student. The concepts are related to nursing practice, education, and/or administration. For example, if you are planning to be a family nurse practitioner, you might choose the concept of family support. In this assignment, you will review the literature related to the study of your concept from different disciplines. Doing so will help illuminate the meaning of the concept. View it as helping you build the foundation for your nursing research proposal in NU 631, Advanced Nursing Research, and adding to your body of knowledge. For example, a former student who planned to specialize in women’s health, chose the concept of postpartum depression for her concept analysis for an NU601 course. For NU631, she focused her research proposal on the same concept.

Paper Guidelines

  1. Introduction (5 points): This section informs the reader of the purpose and focus of your paper. In addition, this section also explains what a concept analysis is, according to the literature. Then, describe why you chose your concept and its application to nursing research and another area in nursing, such as nursing administration, nursing practice, or nursing education.
  2. Review of the Literature (15 points): This is the main section of your paper which identifies all uses of the concept. First, begin with the dictionary and lay sources, then move to academic literature. Review the nursing literature related your topic, as well as two other disciplines, such as biology, psychology, or law. The selected literature should mainly be scholarly, peer reviewed journal articles and textbooks. Provide a brief summary of each of these articles and connect them together as a synthesis. For example, for postpartum depression, you would review the literature in nursing, and two other possible disciplines such as  psychology and social work. Generally, use references published within the last five years, unless there is a landmark piece of literature (for example, Peplau’s theory of interpersonal relationships). Use at least three scholarly articles from each discipline. Write a synthesis of these articles (for example, compare and contrast focus and/or findings). For more information, examine Nursing: How to Write a Literature Review.
  3. Defining attributes (15 points): From your literature review of uses of the concept (sources such as the dictionary and the thesaurus [lay sources] and academic articles), determine the defining attributes of your concept. In order to accomplish this, make sure to do the following for each of your selected sources (academic articles, dictionaries, textbooks):(1) read them entirely, (2) highlight or underline the definitions in each  source to keep track of the various definitions used to define your concept, and (3) extract the definitions from all sources for a comprehensive list of attributes that define your specific concept. Two or three defining attributes may exist for one concept, whereas for another concept, there could be seven or eight defining attributes. Do a comprehensive review of the literature within your selected sources prior to deciding on the final list of defining attributes, to capture the essence or meaning of your concept.
  4. Definition of the Concept (5 points): Write a definition that incorporates all the concept’s defining attributes in one-to-two paragraphs.
  5. Cases (35 points): Ensure your cases fit your designated case types. Also, be sure to provide a rationale for why your case meets that criterion. In the example of a model case, first describe what a model case is according to the literature, then describe your model case and why it meets that criterion. Be specific. You should follow this method with each of your cases.
    1. Model Case: (15 points)
    2. Borderline, Related, Contrary, Illegitimate, and Invented Cases. (Each section is worth 4 points; 20 points for this component.)
  6. Antecedents and Consequences (Each section is worth 5 points; 10 points for this component.): Antecedents are the events/required elements that occur before the concept can happen. Consequences are the events/outcomes that take place after the concept occurs. Antecedents and consequences cannot be the same. They also cannot be the concept itself, but the events/required elements that take place before or after the concept is evident.
  7. Empirical Referents (5 points): Describe how the concept is measured by two research tools. Define the concept that the researcher used and the purpose and structure of the tool (that is, number of items), and then note one study where the tool was used and include its purpose, sample, method, and main findings. This information can come from your literature review.
  8. Summary (5 points): Summarize your paper and do not provide new information. You should not leave the reader in suspense, as if there would be a sequel.
  9. Format (5 points): Your paper should use current APA formatting for its all components and formal writing mechanics, and be free of spelling and grammar errors.

Other Requirements

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