Is Each Middle-Range Theory Concept Explicitly Identified and Clearly Defined?
The criterion of internal consistency requires every concept of the theory to be explicitly iden- tified and clearly defined. This requirement, which is called semantic clarity (Chinn & Kramer, 2004; Fawcett, 1999), is met when each concept can be identified and both theoret- ical and operational definitions for each concept are included in the research report. An exam- ple from Newman’s (2005) study of correlates of functional status of caregivers of children in body casts is given in Box 6–6. (Recall from Chapter 2 that a constitutive definition provides meaning for a concept, and an operational definition indicates how the concept was measured.)
Semantic clarity requires that even concepts that are generally understood in everyday language must be clearly defined when used in theories. As Chinn and Kramer (2004) pointed out,
Words like stress and coping have general common language meanings, and they also have specific theoretic meanings. . . . If words with multiple meanings are used in the- ory and not defined, a person’s everyday meaning of the term, rather than what is meant in the theory, often is assumed; therefore, clarity is lost. (p. 110)
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