ABSTRACT
This chapter identifies the many different meanings of ‘theory’ in educational research, and teases out the implications of such differences for researchers. It indicates the sources, purposes, value and contributions of theory to educational research and also raises questions about the value of theory. The chapter raises several ways in which theory can make research interesting, and it shows how researchers can utilize theory in their research. Theory, it is argued, provides important warrants for claims made from research evidence. The chapter sets out several main types of theory: empirical theory; grand theory; middle-range theory; normative theory (related to critical theory); grounded theory; and it argues that much educational research is located in the middle-range theory. The chapter shows the power of theories to describe, analyse, explain and predict.
