Philosophy of Science and Theory

Catalog description

This course focuses on both the history of philosophy of science and the philosophical and theoretical issues involved in the discovery and verification of theory. Selected writings of Popper and Kuhn are discussed in relationship to how they guided nursing research development. Readings from the nursing literature will focus specifically on how the philosophers impacted nursing knowledge and research. Methods of theory development and concept analysis are analyzed. The contextual relevance and application of theory to research is discussed. The course begins the process of looking at various theories as a guiding foundation for research.