The role of theory in research Prof Brian van Wyk POSTGRADUATE ENROLMENT AND THROUGHPUT (PET) * Outline for workshopWhat is theory?Characteristics of theoryFunctions of theory in researchHow to evaluate the quality of a theory (explanation)Theory in research OR research and theory? * What is theory?A model or framework for observation and understandingshapes both what we see and how we see it;allows the researcher to make links between the abstract and the concrete, the theoretical and the empirical, thought statements and observational statements. Generalising statements that assert a connection between two or more types of phenomena Explains and predicts the relationship between variables A system of interconnected abstractions or ideas that condenses and organises knowledge about the world * Characteristics of theoryTheory guides research and organises its ideas. i.e. bricks lying around haphazardly in the brickyard: ‘facts’ of different shapes and sizes have no meaning unless they are drawn together in a theoretical or conceptual framework. Empirically relevant Always tentative, never proven Becomes stronger as more supporting evidence is gathered; provides a context for predictions Has the capacity to generate new research. * Theory vs. hypothesisAn hypothesis is an educated guess. It usually predicts the relationship between two or more variables. Hypotheses are more specific than theories. Multiple hypotheses may relate to one theory. * Remember theory can operate on different levelsMicro-level theory seeks to explain behaviour at the level of the individual or family environment e.g. psychology – Frustration-Aggression hypothesis or Sternberg’s theory of love Meso-level theory seeks to explain the interactions of micro-level organisms e.g. social institutions, organisations, communities Macro-level theory seeks to explain behaviour at the level of large groups of people e.g. ethnicity, class, gender – Conflict Theory * How to evaluate a theoryIs the theory or explanation logical and coherent?Is it clear and parsimonious?Does it fit the available data?Does it provide testable claims?Have theory-based predictions been tested and supported?Has it survived numerous attempts by researchers to identify problems with it or to falsify it?Does it work better than competing or rival theories or explanations? * Is it general enough to apply to more than one place, situation, or person? Can practitioners use it to control or influence things in the world a good theory of teaching helps teachers to positively influence student learning; a good theory of counseling helps counselors to positively influence their clients’ mental health * Theory and research OR theory in research?There is a two-way relationship between theory and research. Social theory informs our understanding of issues, which, in turn, assists us in making research decisions and making sense of the world. The experience of.

1. The role of theory in research
Prof Brian van Wyk
POSTGRADUATE ENROLMENT AND THROUGHPUT (PET)
*
Outline for workshopWhat is theory?Characteristics of
theoryFunctions of theory in researchHow to evaluate the
quality of a theory (explanation)Theory in research OR research
and theory?
*
What is theory?A model or framework for observation and
understandingshapes both what we see and how we see it;allows
the researcher to make links between the abstract and the
concrete, the theoretical and the empirical, thought statements
and observational statements.
Generalising statements that assert a connection between two or

2. more types of phenomena
Explains and predicts the relationship between variables
A system of interconnected abstractions or ideas that condenses
and organises knowledge about the world
*
Characteristics of theoryTheory guides research and organises
its ideas. i.e. bricks lying around haphazardly in the brickyard:
‘facts’ of different shapes and sizes have no meaning unless
they are drawn together in a theoretical or conceptual
framework.
Empirically relevant
Always tentative, never proven
Becomes stronger as more supporting evidence is gathered;
provides a context for predictions
Has the capacity to generate new research.
*
Theory vs. hypothesisAn hypothesis is an educated guess. It
usually predicts the relationship between two or more variables.
Hypotheses are more specific than theories.
Multiple hypotheses may relate to one theory.

3. *
Remember theory can operate on different levelsMicro-level
theory seeks to explain behaviour at the level of the individual
or family environment e.g. psychology – Frustration-Aggression
hypothesis or Sternberg’s theory of love
Meso-level theory seeks to explain the interactions of micro-
level organisms e.g. social institutions, organisations,
communities
Macro-level theory seeks to explain behaviour at the level of
large groups of people e.g. ethnicity, class, gender – Conflict
Theory
*
How to evaluate a theoryIs the theory or explanation logical and
coherent?Is it clear and parsimonious?Does it fit the available
data?Does it provide testable claims?Have theory-based
predictions been tested and supported?Has it survived numerous
attempts by researchers to identify problems with it or to falsify
it?Does it work better than competing or rival theories or
explanations?
*

4. Is it general enough to apply to more than one place, situation,
or person?
Can practitioners use it to control or influence things in the
world a good theory of teaching helps teachers to positively
influence student learning; a good theory of counseling helps
counselors to positively influence their clients’ mental health
*
Theory and research OR
theory in research?There is a two-way relationship between
theory and research.
Social theory informs our understanding of issues, which, in
turn, assists us in making research decisions and making sense
of the world.
The experience of doing research and its findings also
influences our theorising.
*
Deductive theoryEmpirical results affect the way theory is
expanded and altered. In a deductive approach, researchers use
theory to guide the design of a study and the interpretation of

5. results. As researchers continue to conduct empirical research in
testing a theory, they develop confidence that some parts of it
are true.
Researchers may modify some propositions of a theory or reject
them if several well-conducted studies have negative findings.
*
Inductive theoryInductive theorising begins with a few
assumptions and broad orienting concepts. Theory develops
from the ground up as the researchers gather and analyse the
data. Theory emerges slowly, concept by concept, and
proposition by proposition, in a specific area. Over time, the
concepts and empirical generalisations emerge and mature.
Soon, relationships become visible and researchers weave
knowledge from different studies into more abstract theory.
*
Home Task Formulate your key research question: what are you
ultimately trying to answer? What are some of the sub-questions
to this bigger question?Attempt to provide a response or
explanation for your bigger research question as well as the
sub-questions.Think about what it is that you are drawing on in
developing these responses. Develop a list of factors that have
influenced your response.Ask your partner to ‘critique’ and
point out any assumptions in your response. Do you need to
research any of these assumptions before you can proceed with

6. addressing your research question? What level of explanation do
you think will be most appropriate for researching your topic?
(micro, meso, macro)Will you be trying to explain causal links?
Or people’s own meanings (phenomenological)? Or historical
developments?Have you read any books or journal articles
which could support and help you to develop your argument? If
so, which? Were these authors working in similar or different
contexts to you?Are there any theorists who refute your
arguments or take a different perspective? If so, who? Do they
work in similar or different contexts to you?
*
Levels of Theory
Level Focus How They Are Used
Metatheory These are the theories that deal with the nature
of knowledge or the nature of reality. They are
really more “world views” that theories in most
senses of the term.
They inform your stance about what it is possible to know and
about how
you go about doing research. For example, as a scientific
realist, I would
argue that human ideas are “real,” just as “real” as trees and
such.
However, I would also argue that not all human ideas are
worthy of equal
attention – that not “each and every reality” is equally valid or

7. important.
They become important, for a scientific realist, when they are
translated
into action or event. Hitler’s ideas were “weird” in my book,
and would
have been completely uninteresting to me had the social
conditions in
which he existed not caused them to be “turned into historical
events.”
Grand These theories are concerned with the “broad
sweep” of human society, with how human social
structures and processes in general “work” or
evolve. I think of them more as “theoretical
stance” or “theoretical perspective” than “working
theory.” Early social theorists developed most of
these – Marx, Durkheim, DuBois – as they
struggled to understand “society.” So did early
biological theorists like Darwin.
These grand theories are not very useful for the kind of research
that you
will want to do. We may never be able to decide whether Marx
or Weber
was “right” about what they thought were the key driving forces
in the
development of society. However, most of us do draw on their
ideas
every day and their original key constructs (like race, class,
social
networks) remain the cornerstones of most social science, just
as
“selection” remains a key for biology. Between them, six or
seven major
theoretical perspectives have contributed enormously to much
of social

8. theory.
Mid-Range These theories deal with specific aspects of
human behavior – like conflict or social
networking. They do NOT deal with a specific
topic (like drinking). There is no theory of
drinking; there are several theories of risk-taking
behavior or of personality disorders, all of which
could be applied to understand why people binge
drink.
These are the theories that we use in the vast majority of social
(or
biological or physical) research. Most of them in the social
sciences grew
out of the grand theories. For example, Simmel introduced the
concept of
social networks. Later theorists took this idea and developed a
whole set
of theories called “exchange theory” that explored the role of
social
exchange as a fundamental component of human interaction.
These are
still “pretty grand” theories, but individual researchers apply
these ideas
to specific problems, topics or situations. For example, many
health
workers use exchange theory to understand health behaviors and
fashion
interventions to change that behavior. They focus on the role of
social
networks and social support in health behaviors. You need a
mid-range
theory for your work this semester.
Micro These may not be “theories” in the usual sense

9. of the term because they focus on understanding
or explaining the processes or phenomena that
occur under a specific set of conditions (in one
place, with one group of people).
Micro-theories focus on explaining what happened at this place,
with
these people, at this time – not offering general explanations.
Often,
these theories arise because we see something that our existing
theories
simply cannot explain. We develop a micro-theory – sort of a
disconnected piece of a theory in many cases – to describe what
we
have observed. Over time, research may show that our “piece of
a
theory” or micro-theory fits into other theories, or we “add
pieces” and
end up with a new model or theory.