Theory
A theory is an abstract set of interrelated ideas and concepts that help us to organize the complexities of our reality.
Formal Definitions
- Definition #1 - A theory is a set of propositions that are logically related, expressing the relation(s) among several different constructs and propositions. In other words, a theory is an abstract description of the relationships between concepts that help us to understand the world. - Varpio, et al.
- Definition #2 - Theories provide complex and comprehensive conceptual understandings of things that cannot be pinned down: how societies work, how organisations operate, why people interact in certain ways. Theories give researchers different “lenses” through which to look at complicated problems and social issues, focusing their attention on different aspects of the data and providing a framework within which to conduct their analysis. - Reeves, et al.
- Definition #3 - A theory is an organised, coherent, and systematic articulation of a set of issues that are communicated as a meaningful whole. - Reeves, et al.
- Definition #4 - An organized, coherent, and systematic articulation of a set of statements related to significant questions in a discipline that are communicated in a meaningful whole. It is a symbolic depiction of aspects of reality that are discovered or invented for describing, explaining, predicting, or prescribing responses, events, situations, conditions, or relationships. Theories have concepts that are related to the discipline's phenomena. These concepts are related to each other to form theoretical statements. - Bradbury-Jones, et al.
- Definition #5 - At its most basic level, theory is an explanation. It is an account of a phenomenon: its nature, its causes, its function, and its observable properties…According to this perspective, a hallmark of good theoretical explanation is functional relevance. - Cianciolo, et al.
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- Varpio, L., Paradis, E., Uijtdehaage, S., & Young, M. (2019). The Distinctions Between Theory, Theoretical Framework, and Conceptual Framework. Academic Medicine, 95(7), 989–994. https://doi.org/10.1097/acm.0000000000003075
- Reeves, S., Albert, M., Kuper, A., & Hodges, B. D. (2008). Why use theories in qualitative research? BMJ, 337(Aug 07), a949. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.a949.
- Bradbury-Jones, C., Taylor, J., & Herber, O. (2014). How theory is used and articulated in qualitative research: Development of a new typology. Social Science & Medicine, 120, 135–141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.09.014
- Cianciolo, A. T., Eva, K. W., & Colliver, J. A. (2013). Theory Development and Application in Medical Education. Teaching and Learning in Medicine, 25(sup1), S75–S80. https://doi.org/10.1080/10401334.2013.842907
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