untitled

You would like to begin your search with pri-
mary references and realize that a time-saving strat-
egy would be to locate the nurse theorist’s home
page on the Internet. You discover that nursing
theory meta-sites provide links to the majority of
nursing theory home pages and begin your journey
through each home page. You discover that not all
Web sites are created equal. Although some sites are
exciting to visit, the information is less substantive,
less scholarly, or less specific on some nursing
theorist Web sites than on others. Given the multi-
tude of Web sites, you wonder how you can distin-
guish which sites are the most valuable sources of
information in the electronic domain. You also
wonder about the credibility of Web site informa-
tion that might be used as a scholarly, authoritative
reference.
Unsubstantiated information worries you. It oc-
curs to you that the information authority on some
nursing theory Web sites may be tenuous and may
constitute a weak link in your research methodol-
ogy. You conclude that evaluation of nursing theory

Evaluation of nursing theory resources is

of major importance in laying groundwork

for consistent, credible, and authoritative

research findings.

resources is of major importance in laying ground-

work for consistent, credible, and authoritative

research findings. This is a good time to reflect, and

• clarify and adjust your expectations,


• clarify and adjust your needs, and


• clarify and adjust your methods.

There is little to show for your efforts except ex-

perience and rapidly accumulating wisdom. You

decide that in addition to gaining more experience

in literature searches, you need a way to distinguish

credible and authoritative resources and to flexibly

evaluate nursing theory resources across several

types of media.

Using the Guide for Evaluating

Theory (GET) Resources

Carefully consider the GET Resourcesin Table 4–2

and read each question. Choose as an exemplar for

evaluation a Web site from a theorist in one of the

chapters of this book. Begin evaluating this nursing

theorist’s Web site and as you thoughtfully consider

each question, assess whether or not the informa-

tion you gather from the resource meets the crite-

ria. Make decisions based on your knowing. All

CHAPTER 4 Evaluating Nursing Theory Resources 33

Table 4–2 Guide for Evaluation of Theory Resources (GET Resources)

Guiding Questions Evaluation

REFLECTIONS ON AUTHORITY

Is the owner or author of this Web site or media resource

the theory author?

Who are authoritative sources who speak, write about, and

use this theory? Are they contributors to the content on

this Web site or media?

What are the professional qualifications of these contribu-

tors? Have they written about this theory in other works

not presented here?

What are other major resources on this theory that are au-

thoritative? Books? Articles? Audiovisual media? Web sites?

What service and academic programs are authoritative

sources?

What nursing societies/organizations share and support the

work of this theory? Do they also have a Web site?

EVALUATION OF AUTHORITY

Authoritative sources are known.Yes/No

The owner/author is the theorist.Yes/No

Nursing authorities contribute to content.Yes/No

Practitioners of nursing contribute to the content.

Yes/No

Other organizations use, refer to, or maintain links to

the content.Yes/No

Evaluation of Authority:

Acceptable/Not Acceptable

(Continued)