TO USE OR NOT TO USE THEORY: IS THAT THE QUESTION?

Abstract

“Theory” is one of the most commonly used terms in academic research. Faculty extol the value of theory, critics rail against it as a constraint, and practitioners often believe it is useless. Students attempt to learn theories as undergraduates, and graduate students create and apply them. Authors of research texts, journal articles, and books all refer to their theoretical underpinnings and assert their work to be of superior quality because of this foundation. Professionals refer to their own theories of “how things really work.”