Friday, September 27, 2002: 3:00 PM-4:30 PM

From Concept to Practice: Innovative Techniques for Advancing Nursing Science

Concepts are the basic units of scientific inquiry, however, when poorly developed or under-developed concepts are used for scientific purposes, the results can be misleading or disappointing. Many of the well-known methods fall short, as they combine analysis and development, resulting in concepts that remain poorly developed. Many times these poorly developed concepts are applied without a true understanding of their meaning and conceptual components. As a result, subsequent investigations using the immature concept results in studies that are not theoretically sound and have little pragmatic utility. This symposium will focus on techniques of advancing concepts beyond the initial analysis stage to clinical utilization. That is, the process of moving a concept or moving toward maturity, or the state in which the concept is usable in scientific research and in practice. This process is a long and tedious one, as numerous studies are undertaken to address overall conceptual maturity, gaps in the principles of maturity, and the goals of the research project. When multiple studies are completed, the question asked is: How does a researcher integrate multiple studies to enhance advance a conceptual toward maturity? Such an endeavor is complicated as different types of data sets, different methods, and seemingly disparate findings are encountered along the way. This presentation will examine the methods of building of a concept toward scientific maturity from the baseline of concept analysis methods, to innovative methods of concept advancement. Following this discussion of methods, two programs of research demonstrating the application of these techniques of analysis and advancement are presented to demonstrate their potential for developing concepts that support the advancement of nursing science and practice. In paper 1, the state of concept analysis techniques based on Wilsonian-derived methods will be introduced and critiqued and will give an overview of innovative techniques for concept analysis. Paper 2, describes qualitative techniques of concept advancement to be used after a concept analysis has been completed. Paper 3, describes a series of studies through which the importance of the concept of uncertainty was identified, the maturity of the concept was analyzed, and then, through a series of small projects, the concept was advanced toward clinical utility. Paper 4, will demonstrate how the methods for concept advancement, through a series of studies were used to advance the concept of trust to the point of clinical utilization, and how studies with different types of data can be theoretically integrated.
Organizer:Janice Penrod, PhD, assistant professor
Establishing the State of the Science through Techniques of Concept Analysis
Katherine Curci, MS, doctoral student, Judith Hupcey, EdD, assistant professor, Janice Penrod, PhD, assistant professor
Extending the State of the Science toward Utility in Practice
Chin-Fang Liu, MSN, PhDc, doctoral student, Janice Penrod, PhD, assistant professor, Judith Hupcey, EdD, assistant professor
Integrating Multiple Methods of Concept Advancement: Uncertainty
Janice Penrod, PhD, assistant professor
Multiple Methods of Concept Advancement: Trust
Judith Hupcey, EdD, assistant professor

The Advancing Nursing Practice Excellence: State of the Science