Welcome to Week 3! This week we will be learning about how to integrate theory into your research proposal and how doing so
1) Strengthens the science behind your study
2) Provides you a framework for thinking about your idea and how to best test it and
3) Places your idea within the broader context of the existing literature.
To get some practice integrating theory with your research, please respond to the following in at least 200-300 words (going over is fine) by Thursday January 27th by 11:59 PM EST. Remember to come back and respond to at least 2 of your classmates in a substantive post reaching the 100-word mark by Sunday January 30th at 11:59 PM EST.
On page 59 of your textbook, your authors provide you with a “research tip.” In a research proposal (vs. a finish manuscript), “we write the theory into a separate section … so that readers can clearly identify the theory from other components. Such a separate passage provides a complete explication of the theory section, its use, and how it relates to the study” (Creswell & Creswell, 2018, pg 59).
On the same page, the authors provide a wonderful template you can use to conceptualize your topic within the context of a broader theory. Copy and paste the following into your post and fill in the blanks so that you (and the rest of us!) can see how this all fits together for you. You can delete all the parenthetical phrases when you are finished, those are just to help you in your thinking.
“The theory I will use is ____________ (name of theory). It was developed by ____________ (identify the origin, source, or developer of the theory), and it was used to study ____________ (identify the topics where one finds the theory being applied. This theory indicates that ______________ (identify the propositions or hypotheses in the theory). As applied to my study, this theory holds that I would expect my independent variable(s) ____________ (state independent variable[s]) to influence or explain the dependent variable(s) _____________ (state dependent variable[s]) because ___________ (provide a rationale based on the logic of the theory).”
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