Use of Nursing Theory to Guide Doctoral Research: An Exploratory Study.
Nurs Sci Q 2023;
36:381-386. [PMID:
37800713 DOI:
10.1177/08943184231187868]
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Abstract
It is unclear whether doctoral nursing students are using nursing theory to guide their research. This descriptive, exploratory study involved a review of 747 doctoral papers to determine whether nursing students are using nursing or non-nursing theory to guide their research. The findings revealed that although 86.9% of doctoral students used theory, just 31.7% used nursing-specific theory to guide their dissertation study or capstone project. The disproportionate relationship between the use of nursing and non-nursing theory at the doctoral level poses both challenges and opportunities.
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