Monash Institute for Health and Clinical Education, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing & Health Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.
Eastern Victoria GP Training, Churchill, Victoria, Australia.
Med Educ. 2019 May;53(5):443-457. doi: 10.1111/medu.13793. Epub 2019 Feb 5.
The use of theory in research is reflected in its presence in research writing. Theory is often an ineffective presence in medical education research papers. To progress the effective use of theory in medical education, we need to understand how theory is presented in research papers. This study aims to elicit how theory is being written into general practice (GP) vocational education research papers in order to elucidate how theory might be more effectively used. This has relevance for the field of GP and for medical education more broadly.
This is a scoping review of the presentation of theory in GP vocational education research published between 2013 and 2017. An interpretive approach is taken. We frame research papers as a form of narrative and draw on the theories of Aristotle's poetics and Campbell's monomyth. We seek parallels between the roles of theory in a research story and theories of characterisation.
A total of 23 papers were selected. Theories of 'reflective learning', 'communities of practice' and 'adult learning' were most used. Six tasks were assigned to theory: to align with a position; to identify a research problem; to serve as a vehicle for an idea; to provide a methodological tool; to interpret findings, and to represent an object of examination. The prominence of theory in the papers ranged from cameo to major roles. Depending on the way theory was used and the audience, theory had different impacts. There were parallels between the tasks assigned to theory and the roles of four of Campbell's archetypal characters. Campbell's typology offers guidance on how theory can be used in research paper 'stories'.
Theory can be meaningfully present in the story of a research paper if it is assigned a role in a deliberate way and this is articulated. Attention to the character development of theory and its positioning in the research story is important.
理论在研究中的应用体现在其在研究写作中的存在。理论在医学教育研究论文中常常表现得不够有效。为了促进医学教育中理论的有效应用，我们需要了解理论是如何在研究论文中呈现的。本研究旨在探讨理论是如何融入普通实践（GP）职业教育研究论文中的，以阐明如何更有效地使用理论。这对于 GP 领域以及更广泛的医学教育领域都具有重要意义。
这是对 2013 年至 2017 年期间发表的关于 GP 职业教育研究中理论呈现的范围综述。采用解释性方法。我们将研究论文视为一种叙述形式，并借鉴亚里士多德诗学和坎贝尔神话学的理论。我们在研究故事中理论的作用与角色理论之间寻求相似之处。
共选择了 23 篇论文。“反思学习”、“实践共同体”和“成人学习”理论的使用最为广泛。理论被赋予了六项任务：与立场保持一致；确定研究问题；作为一个想法的载体；提供方法论工具；解释研究结果，并代表一个研究对象。理论在论文中的突出程度从客串到主要角色不等。根据理论的使用方式和受众，理论产生了不同的影响。理论赋予的任务与坎贝尔原型人物的四个角色的角色有相似之处。坎贝尔的类型学为理论在研究论文“故事”中的应用提供了指导。
如果以一种深思熟虑的方式赋予理论角色，并明确表达其作用，那么理论就可以在研究论文的故事中具有意义。关注理论的角色发展及其在研究故事中的定位非常重要。
