Objective 3: Describe the characteristics of a good (reliable) theory.

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A theory is a statement or a system of ideas that is intended to explain
something. For a theory to be reliable, it must be able to be repeated and tested over
and over again. It also must produce the same results each time. If the results are not
the same every time, than the theory is unreliable. There are 4 different characteristics
that can be used to describe a good theory. The first one is predictive accuracy, which
asks the question can the theory reliably predict behavior? The second is internal
coherence. Are there any inconsistencies between any of the ideas in the theory? The
third is economy. Does the theory only contain what is necessary to explain the situation
in question? The fourth is fertility. Does the theory produce enough research and can it
be used to explain a wide variety of social behavior? If you are trying to come up with a
good theory and cant answer yes to the previous four questions, it may not be a reliable
theory.
Artifacts:
https://www.tu-chemnitz.de/wirtschaft/wi2/wp/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/
Eisenhardt1989-BuildingTheoriesFromCSR.pdf
The website gives an example of how to build theories from case study research. It talks
about steps that are needed to take to come up with with reliable theories. It gives many
different examples of case studies.

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The diagram above shows the triangle of theory building. It helps people build
theories and shows the different levels of a theory. This is an example of a how building
a good reliable theory and being able to back it with information.