ABSTRACT
Theory is sometimes referred to as a “strategy” by those who are not in the academic world. This chapter introduces the reader to theory as used in communication study and research. A theory is a way of observing the world. It helps to differentiate how we expect communication to turn out, given a series of concepts, variables, that impact on the how communication will occur and with what results. This chapter introduces the reader theory as an abstraction that researchers use to help them predict outcomes. Different theories are derived from different questions, which, in turn, will predicate the methodology and analyses used to test the theory.
