Nursing theories are organized frameworks of purposes and concepts to guide nurs

Nursing theories are organized frameworks of purposes and concepts to guide nursing practice. There are three classifications of nursing theories. The middle range theory can be defibbed as the link connecting practice and research. They provide several implications for advanced practice nurses (Smith, 2019). Compared to the grand theories, the middle range theories have greater specificity, narrower scope, and greater ease of concept application. Evaluating these theories is a significant component of developing the nursing discipline. Evaluation of middle-range theories can occur through either internal or external criticism.
Internal criticism refers to the internal construction of how the different components of a theory fit together. This is different from external criticism, which considers the relationship of an idea and its association to individuals, health, and nursing. However, both aspects of internal and external criticism need to be considered while evaluating the middle-range nursing theories. Numerous questions are addressed in the internal criticism of the middle range theory. These questions include the consistency of the middle-range theory and whether the approach has a logical flow given the theorists underlying assumptions (Bredow et al., 2018). The things assessed in external criticism are whether the assumptions made by the theories represent the real world, especially that of nursing. The criteria for evaluating middle-range theories include external and internal criticism founded on specific criteria. The criteria for assessing the different approaches for internal criticism include consistency, clarity, logical development, adequacy, and level of theory development (Bredow et al., 2018). The criteria to evaluate middle-range theories using external criticism include utility, reality convergence, discrimination significance, complexity, and scope of the approach.
Internal criticism is first evaluated when examining a middle-range theory. This is first done by deciding on the clarity of the approach. The research determines if the theory clearly states the main components to be considered to determine this. Also, an assessment is done to determine whether the reader quickly understands the theory before its use. The consistency of the approach is then determined (Bredow et al., 2018). This is done by determining whether the theory has congruent use of terms, principles, interpretations, and methods. This is also done by ensuring that the description of the theory continues to maintain the definitions of the vital concepts throughout the theory’s explanations (Bredow et al., 2018). The adequacy of the theory is then assessed by determining whether there are gaps that need to be filled through the refinement of the theory (Bredow et al., 2018). The sufficiency is also established by determining whether it accounts for the subject matter. The logical development is also determined by establishing whether the approach follows a line of thought of previous work and whether the arguments are well supported.
The significance of the middle range theory depends upon the extent to which it meets the internal and external criticisms after evaluation. An approach that meets the various criteria discussed is effective for use in geniting testable research hypotheses and also significantly affect the practice of nursing.
References
Bredow, T. S., Peterson, S. J., & Bredow, T. S. (2018). Analysis, evaluation, and selection of a middle range nursing theory. Middle range theories: Application to nursing research, 46-60. https://dl.uswr.ac.ir/bitstream/Hannan/138864/1/9781608318001.pdf
Smith, M. C. (2019). Nursing Theories and Nursing Practice. In Google Books. F.A. Davis. https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=GjHEDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=Analysis