THEORY IN EDUCATIONAL
RESEARCH
© LOUIS COHEN, LAWRENCE MANION AND
KEITH MORRISON
STRUCTURE OF THE CHAPTER
• What is theory?
• Why have theory?
• What makes a theory interesting?
• Types of theory
• Where does theory come from?
© 2018 Louis Cohen, Lawrence Manion and Keith Morrison; individual chapters, the contributors
WHAT IS THEORY?
• A statement, suggestion or proposition that brings together concepts and constructs
into a coherent whole, framework or system which has clearly set limits and
assumptions.
• A theory specifies the relationship between its elements or component parts,
concepts and constructs.
• A theory describes.
• A theory explains.
• A theory predicts.
• A theory is a generalized and generalizable statement, i.e. it holds true across
contexts beyond those that gave rise to the theory and beyond the specific case in
question.
• A general set of principles that are independent of the specific case, situation,
phenomenon or observation to be explained.
• A way of looking at, and seeing things, conducting research (methodologies, methods,
warrants and truth tests) and setting research agendas: what to research and how.
© 2018 Louis Cohen, Lawrence Manion and Keith Morrison; individual chapters, the contributors
WHY HAVE THEORY?
• A theory helps us to select, classify and organize ideas, processes
and concepts.
• A theory helps us to explain, clarify and articulate the heart of the
issue.
• Theory helps us to formulate and find causal relationships.
• Theory helps us to understand what, how and why observed
phenomena and regularities occur.
• Theory helps us to predict, for example, outcomes, relationships.
• Theory guides the direction of the research, identifying key fields,
methods of working, key concepts; in other words, it serves as a
basis for action.
• Theory connects the researcher to existing knowledge in the field.
© 2018 Louis Cohen, Lawrence Manion and Keith Morrison; individual chapters, the contributors
WHY HAVE THEORY?
• Theories can identify new issues and areas in that field.
• Theories provide a basis for hypothesis formulation and testing.
• Theoretical frameworks identify key variables operating in a
phenomenon, key concepts and the conceptual basis and framework
of the research.
• Theory identifies and articulates research problems/questions and
how to research them.
• A theoretical framework clarifies which facts and evidence will and will
not be relevant and important in the research and what are the
important research questions that need to be posed to understand
and explain an issue.
• Theory enables the researcher to move to generalization and to
identify some of the limits of a generalization.
© 2018 Louis Cohen, Lawrence Manion and Keith Morrison; individual chapters, the contributors
WHAT ARE INTERESTING THEORIES?
• Those that expose, challenge or problematize our taken-for-
granted assumptions in some significant way.
• Those that develop and evaluate an alternative ground of
assumptions.
• Those that move beyond ‘gap-spotting’ theories and avoid
working within given agendas rather than challenging them.
• Those that act as a bridge between two or more different
theories.
• Those that identify redundant or incorrect earlier theories.
• Those that generate their own terms and laws.
© 2018 Louis Cohen, Lawrence Manion and Keith Morrison; individual chapters, the contributors
© 2018 Louis Cohen, Lawrence Manion and Keith Morrison; individual chapters, the contributors
WHERE DOES THEORY COME FROM?
© 2018 Louis Cohen, Lawrence Manion and Keith Morrison; individual chapters, the contributors
QUESTIONS FOR THE ROLE OF THEORY IN
EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH
• What definition of theory are you using?
• What is your theory (state it clearly)? Is it a hypothesis, a set of related
concepts, a value system, a political/ideological agenda, an explanatory
framework, a possible explanation, an opinion, an approach etc.?
• What is the theory/theoretical framework in which you are working?
What are its key components, constructs, concepts and elements, and
how do they relate to each other logically and coherently?
• What is your theory seeking to describe (‘what’), explain (‘how’, ‘why’,
‘when’), predict (‘what if’), generalize, i.e. what is it a theory of, and why
is this relevant for your research?
• What makes your theory interesting?
• How important is theory in your research? (Why) Do you need to make it
explicit?
• What theories are you using, and why these: how relevant are they to
© 2018 Louis Cohen, Lawrence Manion and Keith Morrison; individual chapters, the contributors
your study?
QUESTIONS FOR THE ROLE OF THEORY IN
EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH
• What is the purpose of your research with regard to theory, e.g. to test,
apply, explain, understand, generate, critique, validate, extend, refine,
refute a theory?
• What is the relationship between your theory, your research and your
research question(s)?
• What type of theory are you using (e.g. empirical, grand, normative,
middle range, critical, grounded)?
• What methodologies are you using to work with your theory (e.g.
empirical testing, hermeneutic interpretation and explanation, ideology
critique)?
• What criteria are you using to validate your theory (e.g. compatibility with
empirical data, logical coherence and adequacy, explanatory potential,
achievement of transformative and emancipatory potential etc.)? How
will you validate your theory?
• How does your theory give rise to testable propositions/hypotheses, or
inform a hermeneutic exercise, or bring about its espoused values or
normative intentions?
• What are the
© 2018 boundaries
Louis Cohen, Lawrence of, and
Manion and assumptions in, your
Keith Morrison; individual chapters,theory?
the contributors