HOW IS THE CRITERION OF INTERNAL CONSISTENCY OF A MIDDLE-RANGE THEORY APPLIED?
Internal consistency draws attention to the comprehensibility of the middle-range theory. Application of the criterion of internal consistency helps determine whether enough information about the theory concepts and propositions is given in the research report. Enough informa- tion means that you can identify each concept and how the concepts are described and linked. The same amount of information about internal consistency should be included in reports of both theory-generating research and theory-testing research.
The criterion of internal consistency is met when you can answer yes to three questions:
• Is each concept of the middle-range theory explicitly identified and clearly defined? • Are the same term and same definition used consistently for each concept? • Are the propositions of the middle-range theory reasonable?