Theory construction texts and materials

​The books that you will find in this page are about theory construction. Each of the texts cover different aspects of the theory construction process.

Theory Construction Series The Basics About Theory

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CONTENT

• What is theory?
• Characteristics of theory
• Levels of abstraction in theory
• Building theory from others' contributions
• Building local theories
• Stages of theory development
• Tools for theory construction  
•  Cumulative vs brand new theories

                                                             

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CONTENT

• Types of research studies
• Types of research questions
• The process of writing a research question
• Selecting a topic
• Selecting the discipline(s) and framework
• Selecting the context
• Selecting the method
• Research questions for theory building
• Some problems with research questions
• Explicit vs implicit questions
• Question and sub-questions
• Assumptions in research questions

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_CONTENT

• Developing theory from existing literature
• Using reference software
• Visualizing within databases
• Visualizing the literature

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CONTENT

• Clarifying our vocabulary
• The process of concept development
• Visualization tools to aid the analysis and expansion phase
• Some problems with concept development and how to solve them
• Contributing to theory using concepts

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CONTENT

• Understanding levels
• Background research about levels of analysis
• Why are they referred as levels?
• Types of levels
• Multi-level research
• Conditions for work with collectives
• Theorizing across levels
• Tools in multi-level research

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CONTENT

• Methaphors
• Narratives
• Observational research
• Delphi - panel of experts

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CONTENT

• What are models
• Simulations
• Game theory

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CONTENT

• What is a pilot study
• Why are pilot studies necessary for theory construction?
• Reporting the pilot study