Use Of Theories In Research

Contents

TOC o “1-3” h z u Introduction PAGEREF _Toc381193032 h 1Presentation of theories in research articles PAGEREF _Toc381193033 h 1Theory development PAGEREF _Toc381193034 h 2Role played by theories in research articles PAGEREF _Toc381193035 h 3Conclusion PAGEREF _Toc381193036 h 4

IntroductionThe development of theories is probably the main and most important thing when it comes to the creation of a business research project that is to be successful .this is due to the fact that it pushes the author towards taking stock of other knowledge which has been produced previously and is relevant.it also assists authors to make identification of gaps, strengths, deliver constructs which are clear and at the same time ensure that there is the channeling of theoretical developments that will lead to the production of new knowledge which is valuable within the field. They also help in providing a comprehensive and complex conceptual understanding of certain things which can not be pinned down .theories therefore give a new lens to researchers through which they can be able to look into problems that are complicated thus shifting their focus on the different aspects of the data thus providing a framework through which analysis can be conducted. The generation of theories is done through deductive means through an act of creativity that has been empirically formed .therefore we can say that theories are created from a process of deduction and induction.

Presentation of theories in research articles

It has been an observation that development of theories is not something that is not anything that is unique.as a matter of fact it comes from the universal need in humans to explain and order their personal experiences. A theory is a system of knowledge which is organized which is applicable in various circumstances in order to explain a particular set of phenomena. Theoretical models on the other hand involve constructs which act as a representation of some physical, social or biological processes that comprise of a set of variables and logical and quantitative relationships found between them. The construction of the models is done so that it is possible for reasoning to be done within a particular framework which is idealized.

A dilemma that always presents itself is whether focusing on making attempts towards the production of ground breaking work which violently breaks away from what is convection or otherwise continue theoretical work that has been started by others who worked on a similar thing within their field. The most common form of theory development is that of the incremental improvement of the middle range theories that exist. Though most scholars have the dream of the creation of a theoretical perspective that is full-blown, wholly new and broad-gauged only a few of them end up with the realization of the dream. Instead theory development done by most of the researchers comprises of the improvement on extant explanations for what can already be observed through a process that involves empirical, logical or practical tests. When it comes to business research there is the anticipation of new conceptualizations of leadership, motivation, strategy or group dynamics hence this form of theorizing should not be termed as primary domain of theory development which is a scholarly craft.

Theory developmentAt the beginning of writing a business research, writers should ensure that their main focus is the development of the theories which are related to their specific area of expertise where they can easily express a practical understanding that they have gained as they have studied or have been working. Theory can be termed as practical since it is quite useful when it comes to guiding practice.at the same time it is only a good theory that can be practical but bad theories often end up being quite dysfunctional and they might even turn out to be harmful. The effective development of practices leads to the production of theories which end up lending themselves for more development. Once there has been a general familiarization with bodies of work that have been peer reviewed in a specific subject matter then the process of theorizing starts off through activities such as abstracting ,relating ,generalizing, selecting, synthesizing ,explaining and idealizing. All these activities involve an intermittent spin out of reference lists, diagrams, lists of variables and hypothesis. The products that emerge give a summary of the progress, give directions and act as place makers. They comprise of vestiges of theories but in the real sense they are not theories on their own.

The analysis of theory development done by researchers that is done through the use of graphical methods is among the most effective ways of making a quick comparison on various frameworks that have been peer-reviewed. The use of graphical models is also simple and compelling since it guides the process of theory development since its features for representing and constituting theories are meant to exemplify the actual qualities of the ideal theory. The graphical model is a natural way of lending itself towards the development of conceptualizations which are both systematic and complete. The production of a literature review is something that many researchers do not do right. Researchers can not produce good research if they are not able to understand the work that has been previously done in the same field. Lack of this prior understanding makes the researcher be disadvantaged. Therefore, doing literature review requires a good theory development since it is going to be based on work that has been done before.

Role played by theories in research articlesA good theoretical model in research articles has various characteristics. Theories have to give a meaning, they should also enable people understand and make an interpretation of data. The theories give a specification of the important variables and give a reason for this. They also give an explanation and description of relationships which give a link to the variables. They also identify the existing boundary conditions under which variables are supposed to or not supposed to be related. Theories also help in the identification and definition of problems, give a prescription of solving the problem and lead to the facilitation of the problem responses. They also allow the generalization that goes beyond the sample that is immediate and at the same time make it possible to make predictions. Any research article that is written without theory is termed as being trivial a technical feat which is likely to lead to confusion and boredom.in contracts, research articles that are guided by theories or involve theory development lead to the generation of excitement and understanding.

Good theory guides both readers and researchers into something new which they would not be bale to learn from anywhere else. When it comes to reading, good theory leads to the development of a sense of illumination and discovery. Good theory leads to creation of clear and coherent world processes through the simplification and structuring their understanding. Basically in research articles theories can be used in designing of research questions, give a guide for the selection of data which is relevant ,interpretation of data and finally give propositions to explanations of causes which that are underlying or have an influence on the phenomena that has been observed.

ConclusionTheory development is very important in any research article .this means that any research that is done should always encompass the development of theory if researchers want to successfully carry out the research. This should hence be embraced by all researchers and be part and parcel of every research article.