ABSTRACT
The word theory is central to the process of doing research. It is, however, often understood in very different ways that range from the idea of theory as something more or less rigid to more dynamic understandings of theory and theorising that highlight the importance of developing new explanations through research. Grappling with the idea of using and developing theory when pursuing a project of one’s own can often be daunting, as one faces questions about the originality and relevance of one’s explanations. But the role of theory is crucial from the first moments of defining a research problem and the set of related questions, as well as in gathering relevant data and in developing explanations for the problem under investigation.
