What are the differences between the 4 Levels of Nursing Theory

[Samian Q]

Okay, so I'm supposed to read this PDF file for a class as an intro to nursing theory. And I'm not really getting past the arcane jargon here.

So for instance, it lists 4 levels of nursing theory:

1) Metatheory

2) Grand Nursing Theory

3) Middle-Range Theory

4) Practice Theory

The written definitions here look like gobbledygook

Can someone explain the differences between these 4 levels, in layman's terms?

(Btw, Wikipedia is down due to the SOPA protests)

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

tell you what, you give us the definitions they gave you and we'll help you make sense of them. might also help you with more jargon down the road... there's a lot of jargon in any profession, and nursing is not different from, oh, architecture in that regard.