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

n/a not available