Research Paper on The Role of Theory in Research

Introduction

Before a determination can be made on the role of theory in research, the word theory, as a scientific term, must be defined. According to Burkholder, Cox, & Crawford (2016), the term's meaning evolved, at least partially, due to its misuse by scientist and philosophers resulting in the terms theory and hypothesis being used interchangeably (Donmoyer, 2009). A hypothesis is merely an educated guess about a subject, topic, or situation. A theory is "a set of concepts and relational statements that organise scientific knowledge in a focused way, and they are generally accepted as factual (Burkholder, Cox, & Crawford, 2016)."

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Theories are used to both guide research as well as to test and measure the concepts and relationships of the theory itself (Burkholder, Cox, & Crawford, 2016). In doing this, they fulfil four roles; the first is a description which is used to increase understanding. The second role is the explanation, and it is used to describe why past phenomena occurred the way it did (Donmoyer, 2009). The third rule is the prediction, and it is used to describe the occurrence of future events. And lastly is the control or change of events which is used to mitigate disease states or undesirable outcomes (Donmoyer, 2009).

Theories can be delineated into macro theories, dealing with broad subjects such as society, and micro-theories which assess phenomena at an individual or small group level (Perron et al., 2015: Babbie, 2016). Theories are also divided into reasoning and type. Burkholder, Cox, and Crawford describe the methods as inductive instead developed from data analysis or deductive, those that are research tested. (2016). occasionally, theories are used only for empirical study and are not utilised in the development of new explanations (Babbie, 2017).

Phenomenology in Public Health

The theory of phenomenology was developed by Edmund Husserl (1859-1938). It is an assessment of experiences from the first-person perspective (Galvez, 2010). Intentionality, being directed by a specific purpose, is the central tenet of the theory. The phrase "all consciousness is consciousness of" describes the inter-relatedness of experiences in phenomenology (Jones, 2014).

Epoche or the freedom from supposition is another central tenet of phenomenology (Omery, 1983). This idea presumes that knowledge requires reflection which in turn yields meaning to an individual. The source of the knowledge stems from the perception of an experience. Researchers must analyse and purposely put aside their own biases to gain insight from others (Omery, 1983: Burkholder, Cox, & Crawford, 2016).

Phenomenology is divided into two forms. The first form is descriptive also referred to as transcendental, and it attempts to identify patterns in a shared phenomenon that transcend individual experience (Burkholder, Cox, & Crawford, 2016). The second form is interpretive, and it looks for psychological and social factors that might influence individual responses (Burkholder, Cox, & Crawford, 2016).

Personal Beliefs Affecting the Use of Phenomenology to Other Theories

I believe in the individual nature of experience. That is not to say that common phenomenon to elicit similar experiences. In the subject of chronic pain, a detailed account of the individual's perceptions from the start of the experience is invaluable to researchers (Galvez, 2010: Burkholder, Cox, & Crawford, 2016). I believe both transcendental and interpretive phenomenologies are valuable research methods in this area due to the subjective nature of the experience.

Additionally, my beliefs lean toward the constructivist viewpoint. Burkholder, Cox, and Crawford (2016) explored the ontological view of the constructionist finding that there was not one single definition of anything as the definitions depended on the context. They continue into the epistemological idea of constructivism by exploring how the investigator views what they are observing leads to the creation of the meaning. Being a constructivist means that I can use many different types of methods such as hermeneutic, qualitative, or even interpretive to research topics (Burkholder, Cox, & Crawford, 2016). Wanting to interpret the findings rather than predict outcomes leads me to a qualitative style of research.

Phenomenology and My World View

In Week One Discussion, I chose constructivism as my worldview. Phenomenology shares the same philosophical foundation as constructivism and humanism (Burkholder, Cox, & Crawford, 2016). Because individual perceptions regulate conduct, there is no one reality (Burkholder, Cox, & Crawford, 2016). This aspect applies to both schools of phenomenology. Phenomenology's intentional focus separates it from other epistemological models.

Conclusion

Theory in research provides a way of looking at the study that was previously completed. There are many different ways of looking at data, whether qualitative or quantitative, and the theories point us in the direction of the research that we want to go. Theories provide a sense of rules by which the researcher can follow to make sure that others are trying to duplicate the research, for future replication of the study. When developing a hypothesis, it is essential that the question the researcher desires to have answered be from a clear point of view that can be replicated.

References

Babbie, E. (2017). Basics of social research (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

Babbie, E. (2016). The basics of social research, (7th ed.). Cengage Learning.

Burkholder, G., Cox, K., & Crawford, L. (2016). The scholar-practitioners guide to researchdesign. Laureate Publishing.

Donmoyer, R. (2009). Theories about the role of theory in nonprofit and philanthropicstudies. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly (print), 701-713.

Galvez, P. (2010). Landscape and phenomenology. Courbet A Neuf! / Sous La Dir. De Mathilde Arnoux, Dominique De Font-Reaulx, 165-172.

Jones, A. (2014). Phenomenology. Journal of the British Society for Phenomenology, 45, 2, 177-180.

Omery, A. (1983). Phenomenology: A method for nursing research. Advances in Nursing Science, 5, 2, 49-64.

Perron, G. G., Inglis, R. F., Pennings, P. S., & Cobey, S. (March 01, 2015). Fighting microbial drug resistance: a primer on the role of evolutionary biology in public health. Evolutionary Applications, 8, 3, 211-222.