Briefly explain the role of Theory in research?
Theories are designed to explain, predict and understand the phenomena to challenge and extend known knowledge within limits of critical bounding assumptions. The framework introduces and describes the theory that ensures why a research problem exists.
The six roles of theory will be discussed below:
1) Guide for the conduct of a research
Significant guide and flow of conduct of research by indicating the main areas that are directed towards the research findings. A detailed theoretic system narrows down the range of the facts that can be studied between relationship of variables.
2) Signifies the purpose of a study.
Theories typically enhances the significance of research since there are unrelated findings of isolated studies.
3) Linkage to a specific empirical finding
A secure ground for predictions with empirical findings rather than an extrapolation from previous trends.
4) Validity of hypothesis
A hypothesis is much confirmed by fitting it into a theory which further validated by evidence of other hypotheses.
5) Identify gaps in the research
Theory helps us to identify gaps in our knowledge and seek to bridge them up with intuitive, impressionistic or extensional generalizations. As Karl Jaspers said, “It is only when using methodologically classified sciences that we know what we know and what we do not know.” This way, theory constitutes a crucially important guide to designing of fruitful research.
