Theme 3, Blog Post 2: Research and Theory
The lecture and seminar
helped me consider the different definitions of theory. To me the most
important one of them is also the most common – theory as a hypothesis, a speculative
or unproven assumption. Its significance, in my opinion, stems from it being a
challenge, a drive for the production of knowledge. Theories help produce
knowledge by motivating academics and scientists to test them. Regardless of
whether e theory turns out to be true or false, new knowledge is produced. In
the seminar, however, we discussed that theories have authority until they are
disproven by new research or replaced by other theories. But even then they
remain valuable.
In relation to that we
discussed that the words “fact”, “proof” or “truth” should not be used in
relation to theories, because we constantly produce knowledge about the world
around us and, at the same time, there is so much left to be discovered, that a
theory can be bettered at any time.
In the lecture, we talked
about how concepts are not in themselves theories but can together serve as an
explanatory theoretical framework. For instance, in my Bacherlor’s thesis I
wrote about the social unrest in the UK because of the, then, forthcoming opening
of the British labour market for Bulgarian and Romanian citizens on January 1st,
2014. My aim was to prove that this social unrest was a moral panic –
unfounded, irrational fear fueled by the right-wing media and politicians in
the country. So I used (among others) the sociological concept of moral panic
along with the concept of dehumanization of “the other” as theoretical
framework for my research.
A tested theory that is
supported by empirical data, acquired through research, can also be used to confirm or disprove results from previous research, but more importantly, to come to new theories, make predictions about the future, produce knowledge by explaining new phenomena, the reasons behind them and the
connection between them and expanding past research.
Hi! I liked your full post, but in particular the ending. When you describe how theories can lead to the production of new knowledge, I think you tap into the core of the notion and hence leave your reader with a valid understanding of it. Theory makes us understand the world around us; it explains (just like you write) new phenomena.
ReplyDeleteWhen you write that theories can be used to disprove results from previous research, I got slightly confused regarding wether you meant that it can disprove theories or simply the empirical results that led up to them. I am assuming that you were referring to the former, but if so wasn't the case I would have enjoyed reading a clarification!
I remember that discussion about the unacceptable usage of the 'facts' or 'proofs' in relation to the theories but at the same time I slightly disagree with such an ultimatism. In my opinion, if we are conducting any research, we obtain some output in the end (e.g. during the qualitative research, logical reasoning is confirmed by numbers). Isn't this outcome a fact or a proof of the theory? In this case, I would rather used the collocation 'facts/proofs obtained as the result of the experiment X' or the 'theory confirmed by such facts as...' It's long but at least explains that the theory has been founded on some data, not on just the assumptions or suppositions.
ReplyDeleteI'd stick to the word "evidence" - not as categorical as "fact" and "proof", so it leaves a back door for one to run away. I don't know how it is in your language, but in mine we don't have a word with this nuance in the context of scientific studies. We most often use the same word for both "evidence" and "proof". There is one that means "evidence", but it is only used in the context of forensics. Thanks for the comment :)
DeleteThe discussion about how we sometimes take "facts" at face value and equaling with "the truth" was useful both in class and in your blog. I also valued the additional discussion in the comments regarding potential linguistic differences that come into play.
ReplyDeleteThe difference between "a theory" (= hypothesis) and "theory", I felt that you either didn't grasp fully or if you did, better could have contrasted these two meanings to verify that you did.
I did... after I wrote this blog post :D But I'm still not sure how to put it in words in a way that satisfies my personal requirements.
DeleteI think there is a difference between a hypotheses and a theory. My interpretation is that a hypothesis is a defined possible causal correlation between the variables that are measured and a theory being the explanation to why the causal correlation exists. I like how you mention how a theory can be bettered at any time, and that they are subjects to progress. But when a new theory emerges, what happens to the old one? Even if a theory is proven wrong, it still exists, and was part of the process of finding the theory that is currently seen as the accurate one. You also mention empirical data in your last paragraph. This evoke a question whether
ReplyDeleteI think there is a difference between a hypotheses and a theory. My interpretation is that a hypothesis is a defined possible causal correlation between the variables that are measured and a theory being the explanation to why the causal correlation exists. I like how you mention how a theory can be bettered at any time, and that they are subjects to progress. But when a new theory emerges, what happens to the old one? Even if a theory is proven wrong, it still exists, and was part of the process of finding the theory that is currently seen as the accurate one. You also mention empirical data in your last paragraph. This evoke a question whether the data has to come a posteriori in order for it to be able to confirm or disprove results from previous research? Do you think it is possible to test a theory by using knowledge a priori? One example being comparing two different theories.
Thank you for the posts around this theme – they really made your improvement visible! In this particular post the beginning (especially) caught my eyes. The connection between theory and a hypothesis, since those two concepts are often mixed and misunderstood. From where I see it, theory definitely includes a hypothesis, but it's also much else.
ReplyDeleteYou managed to argue your opinions well and made connections to your previous knowledge, e.g. when studying your bachelor's degree. I think this is what the course is about: not just improvement compared to last week, but in a larger scale.
Thank you for nice reflecting and a special thanks for the first blog post on this theme: the text was well-structured and easy to read!