Theory Archives - Enhancing Postgraduate Environments https://postgradenvironments.com/tag/theory/ Mon, 10 Nov 2025 07:26:29 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://postgradenvironments.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/favicon.png Theory Archives - Enhancing Postgraduate Environments https://postgradenvironments.com/tag/theory/ 32 32 What is theory? https://postgradenvironments.com/2025/11/10/what-is-theory/ Mon, 10 Nov 2025 07:12:48 +0000 https://postgradenvironments.com/?p=1283 Theory is a term with different meanings – in everyday language, it means a guess or a hunch – but in research, it means a...

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]]> Theory is a term with different meanings – in everyday language, it means a guess or a hunch – but in research, it means a tried and tested explanation. All research has theoretical underpinnings, though in some fields the theoretical lenses being used are discussed more explicitly, whereas in others they are simply assumed.


 

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]]> What is Theory? Using a Theoretical Framework https://postgradenvironments.com/2017/10/13/theory-using-theoretical-framework/ Fri, 13 Oct 2017 07:46:47 +0000 http://postgradenvironments.com/?p=656 This short video introduces the idea that research is always underpinned by theory. Theories are tried and tested explanations for events and experiences that help...

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]]> This short video introduces the idea that research is always underpinned by theory. Theories are tried and tested explanations for events and experiences that help us to move from the limitations of common sense to a more precise conceptualisation of the phenomenon. While the notion of ‘theory’ is often misused in everyday encounters (“Oh, that’s just a theory!”), in the university a theory is a powerful tool to assist us in coming to more sophisticated understandings of the issue we’re investigating. This video uses a simple analogy of a pair of glasses to show how theories can help us to look in ways that are more nuanced than what is offered when we look at a phenomenon through our prejudiced and limited ‘everyday eyes’.

Developed by Chrissie Boughey, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Rhodes University. Thanks to Mandy Hlengwa for modelling the theoretical lenses and for assistance with the recording. Thanks to Sioux McKenna for editing the video and uploading.

Who might find this useful?

This short video is designed for postgraduate scholars but it might be of use to supervisors too, or to anyone running a workshop on the use of theory.

Explore these additional resources

  • Trafford,V & Leshem,S. (2008). Stepping Stones to Achieving Your Doctorate: Focusing on Your Viva from the start. Maidenhead: Open University Press
  • Leshem, S. & Trafford, V., 2007. Overlooking the conceptual framework. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 44(1), 93-105.

These blog posts might be of interest too:

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