Rodgers’ evolutionary concept analysis – a valid method for developing knowledge in nursing science

Abstract

In nursing science, concept development is a necessary prerequisite for meaningful basic research. Rodgers' evolutionary concept analysis is a method for developing knowledge in nursing science. The purpose of this article is to present Rodgers' evolutionary concept analysis as a valid scientific method. A brief description of the evolutionary process, from data collection to data analysis, with the concepts' context, surrogate and related terms, antecedents, attributes, examples and consequences, is presented. The phases used in evolutionary concept analysis are illustrated with eight actual studies (1999-2009) from nursing research. The strength of the method is that it is systematic, with a focus on clear-cut phases during the analysis process, and that it can contribute to clarifying, describing and explaining concepts central to nursing science by analysing how a chosen concept has been used both within the discipline itself and other health sciences. While an interdisciplinary perspective which stresses the similarities and dissimilarities of how a concept is used in various disciplines can increase knowledge of a concept, it is important to clarify the specific with the discipline. Nursing research should focus on the unambiguous use of concepts, for which Rodgers' method constitutes a possible method. The importance of using quality criteria to determine the inclusion of material should, however, be emphasised in the continued development of the method.

Concept Clarification of Moral Case Deliberation

“…From this, in a second step, defining and analyzing attributes of the concept were generated, in part through comparison with related concepts. In a third stage, the concept is further exemplified through discussion of examples or cases that are exemplary, related or contrary [16]. In a fourth and final stage, the antecedents and consequences of the use of the concept are described (Table 2).…”

A Concept Analysis of Interdisciplinary Collaboration in Mental Healthcare

“…Rogers defined antecedents as the events or phenomena that have to be present prior to the existence of a concept [31]. In the context of mental healthcare, the antecedents for the concept IDC include patients' multidimensional needs, fragmented mental health services, inter professional education, conflict management and shared leadership (Figure 2).…”

Movement as a critical concept in model generation to attain wholeness

“…Walker and Avant (2011) state that "in many cases the critical attributes and empirical referents will be identical". This means that the themes from the data, the dictionary and subject literature perspectives were integrated into a definition of the main concept thereby meeting the requirements of Tofthagen (2010) that a definition:…”

“…It required the researcher to adhere to clear and precise definitions of the identified concepts. This allowed the researcher to attain and construct an accurate and true reflection for the theoretical foundation of the development of the model (Tofthagen, 2010;Walker & Avant, 2011). In this phase, concepts pertinent to the lived experience of the belly dancer were isolated.…”