ABSTRACT

A crucial part of theory-driven realist thinking is retroduction, the process of looking backwards for explanation of how and why things may be. Conducted early in the realist evaluation process, it provides a foundation for evidenced ‘theory gleaning’. Despite retroduction being an inherent part of the realist process, it is often ‘hidden’ in realist reports. This paper explains the thinking behind, alongside an example of, a framework created by the authors to make transparent the retroductive process as used in a realist evaluation of two community End of Life Care services. The approach makes visible the application of the ‘sociological imagination’ and lends robustness to hypotheses by establishing how the authors utilised: wide-ranging potential generative causation; stakeholder and Patient and Public Involvement feedback; literature scoping; and substantive theories at the middle range, specifically Transitions Theory. These stages led to the development of Initial Programme Theories, with a clear history of genesis.

摘要

理论驱动的现实主义思维的一个关键部分是回溯，即向后看以解释事物可能的方式和原因的过程。它在现实主义评估过程的早期进行，为有证据的“理论收集”提供了基础。尽管倒退是现实主义过程的固有部分，但它经常“隐藏”在现实主义报告中。本文解释了作者创建的框架背后的想法以及一个示例，该框架使追溯过程透明化，该过程用于对两个社区临终关怀服务的现实主义评估。该方法使“社会学想象力”的应用变得可见，并通过确定作者如何使用来增强假设的稳健性：广泛的潜在生成因果关系；利益相关者以及患者和公众参与的反馈；文献范围界定；和中间范围的实质性理论，特别是过渡理论。这些阶段导致了初始程序理论的发展，具有清晰的起源历史。