This accessible, hands-on text has now been revised and updated, with expanded coverage of topics including how theory may emerge from exploratory data analysis. The book prepares graduate students, new researchers, and even seasoned investigators to develop their own theories and build on existing ones. Concrete strategies are provided to help readers generate ideas, define constructs, and think through relationships and processes that link constructs. Compelling examples from multiple disciplines illustrate the use of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods orientations to theory construction. The text also offers practical advice for writing effectively about theories in papers and grant applications. Readers learn by doing via application and concept exercises, demonstration boxes, and practical guidelines. The extensive companion website (www.theory-construction.com) includes PowerPoint slides of all of the book's figures, primers on advanced topics, video demonstrations, supplemental exercises, and other resources. New to This Edition *Emergent theory is now covered in mixed methods as well as qualitative approaches, plus in a new chapter on exploratory quantitative methods that can help generate new theory through data mining. *Chapter on whether and how to revise a theory when faced with disconfirmatory data. *Two chapters on the theoretical underpinnings of measurement practices. *New or expanded discussions of what constitutes a theoretical contribution, conceptual logic models, thought experiments, and more. Pedagogical Features *Application and concept exercises in every chapter. *Lists of key terms and engaging topical boxes. *Annotated suggestions for further reading. *New companion website with rich resources for students and instructors. *Chapters stand on their own and can be used in any order.

"This book provides young scientists with tools to assist them in the practical aspects of theory construction. We take an informal journey through the cognitive heuristics, tricks of the trade, and ways of thinking that we have found to be useful in developing theories-essentially, conceptualizations-that can advance knowledge in the social sciences. This book is intended to provide the instructor with a useful source for helping students come up with ideas for research and for fine-tuning the resultant theories that emerge from such thinking. An objective of this book is to move toward a needed balance in the emphases given to theory construction and theory testing"--

Click ′Additional Materials′ to read the foreword by Jerald Hage As straightforward as its title, How to Build Social Science Theories sidesteps the well-traveled road of theoretical examination by demonstrating how new theories originate and how they are elaborated. Essential reading for students of social science research, this book traces theories from their most rudimentary building blocks (terminology and definitions) through multivariable theoretical statements, models, the role of creativity in theory building, and how theories are used and evaluated. Authors Pamela J. Shoemaker, James William Tankard, Jr., and Dominic L. Lasorsa intend to improve research in many areas of the social sciences by making research more theory-based and theory-oriented. The book begins with a discussion of concepts and their theoretical and operational definitions. It then proceeds to theoretical statements, including hypotheses, assumptions, and propositions. Theoretical statements need theoretical linkages and operational linkages; this discussion begins with bivariate relationships, as well as three-variable, four-variable, and further multivariate relationships. The authors also devote chapters to the creative component of theory-building and how to evaluate theories. How to Build Social Science Theories is a sophisticated yet readable analysis presented by internationally known experts in social science methodology. It is designed primarily as a core text for graduate and advanced undergraduate courses in communication theory. It will also be a perfect addition to any course dealing with theory and research methodology across the social sciences. Additionally, professional researchers will find it an indispensable guide to the genesis, dissemination, and evaluation of social science theories.

Theory matters in applied disciplines—fields that apply scholarly research to professional practice, such as management, social work, health care, human resource development, education, and many others. Because these disciplines deal with human beings in the real world, a flawed theory can result in actual harm to people and institutions. When faced with a professional problem, practitioners resort to the latest fad or simply throw everything and anything at it because of the lack of sound theory. Scholars deal with problems by slicing them into small segments to study them but fail to address the practical implications. What's needed is a way to unite research and practice to create robust theory. This is exactly what Richard Swanson and Thomas Chermack offer here: a complete, five-step method for developing sound, field-tested theory in applied disciplines. Unlike many existing methods, which cover only the initial conceptualization of a theory, the authors offer a complete approach, from conceptualizing a theory to creating relevant assessment criteria, establishing a research agenda to test the theory's validity, applying the theoretical concepts in the real world, and using that experience to further refine and improve the theory. The method is not restricted to any single discipline, nor is it beholden to any research ideology. Swanson and Chermack provide a set of tools for each phase of the process, making this book accessible and applicable to a wide audience. And in addition to examples in each chapter, they offer two extended case examples of complete theory building. With flawed theories impeding the development of many applied disciplines, this book is desperately needed.

Family Theories: An Introduction by James M. White, Todd F. Martin, and new co-author Kari Adamsons provides an incisive, thorough primer to current theories of the family that balances the diversity and richness of a broad scope of scholarly work in a concise manner. This best-selling text draws upon eight major theoretical frameworks developed by key social scientists to explain variation in family life. These frameworks include social exchange and choice, symbolic-interaction, family life course development, systems, conflict, feminist, ecological, and functional theories. This new Fifth Edition includes suggestions for integrating theory to guide a research program and more applications for those going on to careers in the helping professions. With an increased focus on both classical theories as well as contemporary and emerging theories, this text challenges students to think about how families and family theories have changed over the last 70 years as well as where family scholarship is headed.

A Primer in Theory Construction is for those who have already studied one or more of the social, behavioral, or natural sciences, but have no formal introduction to the way theories are constructed, stated, tested, and connected together to form a scientific body of knowledge. The author discusses scientific theories in general terms, but also addresses the special challenges of developing scientific knowledge about social and human phenomena. This Allyn and Bacon Classics Edition contains the complete text of the original copyright 1971 version, with new typography and page design.

"This book provides young scientists with tools to assist them in the practical aspects of theory construction. We take an informal journey through the cognitive heuristics, tricks of the trade, and ways of thinking that we have found to be useful in developing theories-essentially, conceptualizations-that can advance knowledge in the social sciences. This book is intended to provide the instructor with a useful source for helping students come up with ideas for research and for fine-tuning the resultant theories that emerge from such thinking. An objective of this book is to move toward a needed balance in the emphases given to theory construction and theory testing"--

This book presents the elaboration model for the multivariate analysis of observational quantitative data. This model entails the systematic introduction of "third variables" to the analysis of a focal relationship between one independent and one dependent variable to ascertain whether an inference of causality is justified. Two complementary strategies are used: an exclusionary strategy that rules out alternative explanations such as spuriousness and redundancy with competing theories, and an inclusive strategy that connects the focal relationship to a network of other relationships, including the hypothesized causal mechanisms linking the focal independent variable to the focal dependent variable. The primary emphasis is on the translation of theory into a logical analytic strategy and the interpretation of results. The elaboration model is applied with case studies drawn from newly published research that serve as prototypes for aligning theory and the data analytic plan used to test it; these studies are drawn from a wide range of substantive topics in the social sciences, such as emotion management in the workplace, subjective age identification during the transition to adulthood, and the relationship between religious and paranormal beliefs. The second application of the elaboration model is in the form of original data analysis presented in two Analysis Journals that are integrated throughout the text and implement the full elaboration model. Using real data, not contrived examples, the text provides a step-by-step guide through the process of integrating theory with data analysis in order to arrive at meaningful answers to research questions.

PREPARE YOUR OT STUDENTS TO BECOME OT THINKERS. Thoroughly revised and updated, the 4th Edition of this groundbreaking text traces the historical development of the foundations of modern occupational therapy theory; examines its status today; and looks to its future. Dr. Kielhofner compares and contrasts eight well-known models, using diagrams to illustrate their practical applications and to highlight their similarities and differences. Well organized chapters are supported by extensive references.