All About Theory

One of the reasons I took my PhD is to strengthen my theoretical foundation and competency in conducting research. I wanted to have a deeper understanding and comprehension of advanced communication theories and how these theories can be applied in the development of our country in relation to the overall global development. I also want to to integrate the conceptual and theoretical foundation of development communication to open and distance learning.

So looking back this past two years, what have I learned so far about theories?

According to Craig, to study communication theory means to become actively engaged in the project of theorizing communication. Theorizing is a formalized extension of everyday sense-making and problem solving. It begins with a heightened awareness of our own communication experiences and expands that awareness to engage with communication problems and practices in the social world.

According to Littlejohn, at the heart of theory construction is the process of inquiry. Inquiry is the systematic study of experience that leads to understanding, knowledge and theory. There are three stages in the process of systematic inquiry:

1) Asking questions. Questions can be of various types. Questions of definition call for concepts as asnwers, seeking to clarify what is observed or inferred: What is it? What will we call it? Questions of fact ask about properties and relations in what is observed: What does it consist of? How does it relate to other things? Questions of value probe aesthetic, pragmatic, and ethical qualities of the observed: Is it beautiful? Is it effective? Is it good?
2) Observation. Looking for answers by observing the phenomenon under investigation. Methods of observation vary significantly from one tradition to another. Some scholars observe by examining records and artifacts, others by personal involvement, others by using instruments and controlled experimentations, and others by interviewing people. Whatever method is used, the investigator employs some planned method for answering the questions.
3) Constructing answers. Attempt to define, describe, and explain -- to make judgments and interpretations about what was observed. This stage is usually referred to as theory.

These stages of inquiry is not linear but rather affects and is affected by one another. Observations often stimulate new questions, and theories are challenged by both observations and questions. Theories lead to new questions, and observations are determined in part by theories.

Methods of inquiry can be grouped into three broad forms of scholarship:

Scientific scholarship. Objectivity, standardization, and replication are important in science because scientists assume that the world has observable form, and they view their task as seeing the world as it is. The world sits in wait of discovery, and the goal of science is to observe and explain the world as accurately as possible. Because of the emphasis on discovering a knowable world, scientific methods are especially well suited to problems of nature.

Humanistic scholarship. Whereas science is associated with objectivity, the humanities are associated with subjectivity. Science aims to standardize observation; the humanities seek creative interpretation. Whereas science is an "out there" activity, the humanities stress what is "in here." Science focuses on the discovered world; the humanities focus on the discovering person. Science seek consensus; the humanities seek alternative interpretations. Humanists often are suspicious of the claim that there is an immutable world to be discovered, and they tend not to separate the knower from the known. Because of its emphasis on the subjective response, humanistic scholarship is especially well suited to problems of art, personal experience, and values.

Social-scientific scholarship. Although many social scientists see this kind of research as an extension of natural science, using methods borrowed from the sciences, social science is actually a very different kind of inquiry. Paradoxically, it includes elements of both science and the humanities but is different from both. In the past, the majority of social scientists believed that scientific methods alone would suffice to uncover the mysteries of human experience, but today many realize that a strong humanistic element is also needed. Communication involves understanding how people behave in creating, exchaning, and interpreting messages. Consequently, communication inquiry makes use of the range of methods from scientific to humanistic.

Developing Theories

First, a scholar or group of scholars becomes curios about a topic. The topic maybe personal, or may be an extension of what he or she has been reading in literature, or provoked by a conversation with mentors or colleagues. Then the results of reading, observing, and thinking -- of scholarly investigation must be shared with others. Ultimately, a scholar's work must go out for peer review.