Table 6 Criteria ranking (n = 175)
Criterion | First most important (%) | Second most important (%) | Third most important (%) | Total (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Empirical support | 16.57 | 11.43 | 5.14 | 33.14 |
Application to a specific setting/population | 13.71 | 8.00 | 4.57 | 26.29 |
Explanatory power/testability | 12.57 | 5.71 | 6.29 | 24.57 |
Description of a change process | 10.86 | 9.14 | 4.57 | 24.57 |
Analytic level | 8.00 | 11.43 | 7.43 | 26.86 |
Specificity of a causal relationship among constructs | 6.86 | 5.71 | 6.29 | 18.86 |
Logical consistency/plausibility | 6.29 | 5.71 | 5.71 | 17.71 |
Generalizability | 5.14 | 5.14 | 9.71 | 20.00 |
Process guidance | 5.14 | 7.43 | 10.86 | 23.43 |
Outcome of interest | 4.00 | 3.43 | 4.57 | 12.00 |
Other criteria | 4.00 | 3.43 | 4.00 | 11.43 |
Disciplinary approval | 2.86 | 4.57 | 3.43 | 10.86 |
Associated research method | 1.14 | 6.29 | 6.29 | 13.71 |
Simplicity/parsimony | 1.14 | 4.00 | 5.14 | 10.29 |
Disciplinary origins | 0.57 | 1.14 | 2.29 | 4.00 |
Falsifiability | 0.57 | 2.86 | 1.14 | 4.57 |
Inclusion of change strategies/techniques | 0.57 | 2.86 | 4.00 | 7.43 |
Fecundity | 0.00 | 1.71 | 0.57 | 2.29 |
Inclusion of a diagrammatic representation | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.57 | 4.57 |
Uniqueness | 0.00 | 0.00 | 1.71 | 1.71 |
None of the above | n/a | n/a | 1.71 | 1.71 |