Reference no: EM133270829
Purpose
A concept analysis, concept development, and concept synthesis is described by McEwen and Willis (2019) as the "rigorous process of bringing clarity to the definition of the concepts used in science. Concept analysis is used to promote understanding." Under-standing how concepts are used within nursing is critically important because how a concept is understood and used in nursing is not necessarily the same as how that concept is understood and used in other disciplines. Some concepts relevant to nursing are coping, quality of life, abuse, self-esteem, spirituality, health, nursing, managed care, and parenting.
A concept analysis is the first step in communicating meanings, understandings and feelings. The purpose of concept analysis is to "clarify, recognize, and define concepts that describe a phenomenon". A concept is usually a measurable variable in a hypothesis, assumption, or proposition. Remember, the study of theoretical knowledge as an advanced degree nurse is to prepare you for abstract thinking skills in problem solving and to advance your understanding of how theories are the basis for practice. Concept analysis can be used to evaluate the level of development of nursing concepts by:
• Identifying gaps in nursing knowledge
• Determining the need to refine or clarify a concept when it appears to have several meanings
• Evaluate the adequacy of competing concepts in their relation to other phenomena
• Examine the congruence between the definition of the concept and the way it has been operationalized
• Determine the fit between the definition of the concept and its clinical application (Morse et al., 1996)
Activities and Directions
To begin the process, choose a concept you are interested in, e.g. a term you encounter with your work or one which you would like to research. Look for the measurable quality in your topic of interest, problem or question.
1. Read the published concept analysis papers. By reading the articles, this will help your understanding of the concept analysis assignment. Remember you are focusing on the concept. So if the concept is quality of life, focus on quality of life generally and not the nurse's role in treatment or quality of life among the elderly.
2. The focus of this paper is to select and analyze a concept of interest to you and the discipline of nursing. See examples of theoretically and operationally defined concepts in McEwen and Willis on pg. 53. You will need to describe the concept in clear and simple language, and why it is of interest to you.
3. You must obtain faculty approval prior to beginning your assignment.
4. State the purpose of the analysis. Clearly identify the concept to be analyzed.
5. Review the literature for definitions. State the databases used. This should be done in a formal way- don't just write Galileo because this is a repository of databases and you would want to identify specific databases used to help narrow down this information. Google Scholar is acceptable to use but not Google.
6. Identify all the uses of the concept.
7. Describe defining attributes (how do you know it when you see it).
8. Give an exemplar (model case) of the concept from your practice. Include empirical findings if located. Give real life examples.
9. Identify a choice of 2 of these: borderline, related, contrary, invented, and illegitimate cases.
10. Identify the antecedents and consequences of the concept.
11. Determine empirical referents for the concept (how is the occurrence of the concept measured?).