What is Theory?

What is Theory?
 a well-substantiated explanation of some
aspect of the natural world; an organized
system of accepted knowledge that
applies in a variety of circumstances to
explain a specific set of phenomena;
"theories can incorporate facts and laws
and tested hypotheses"; "true in fact and
theory"
 What is Theory?
 hypothesis: a tentative theory about the
natural world; a concept that is not yet
verified but that if true would explain
certain facts or phenomena; "a scientific
hypothesis that survives experimental
testing becomes a scientific theory"; "he
proposed a fresh theory of alkalis that later
was accepted in chemical practices"
 What is Theory?

• A comprehensive explanation of a given

set of data that has been repeatedly
confirmed by observation and
experimentation and has gained general
acceptance within the scientific community
but has not yet been decisively proven.
 What is Theory?

• a general principle that explains or

predicts facts or events
• a statement or set of statements used to
explain a phenomena. A theory is
generally accepted as valid due to having
survived repeated testing.
 What is Theory?

• A theory is an abstract formulation of the

constant relations between entities or, a series
of events, ideas or things that are connected
and sequence of phenomena and/or events. A
theory may be true or false. A valid theory
attempts to eliminate all contradictions in the
application of cause and effect to a given
specific situation or set of conditions. The aim of
a theory is always success in action. ...
 What is Theory?
• A scientific theory is an established and
experimentally verified fact or collection of
facts about the world. Unlike the everyday
use of the word theory, it is not an
unproved idea, or just some theoretical
speculation. The latter meaning of a
'theory' in science is called a hypothesis.
 What is Theory?

• An extremely well-substantiated
explanation of some aspects of the natural
world that incorporates facts, laws,
predictions, and tested hypotheses. (Eg,
Einstein's Theory of Gravitation, 1916)
 What is Theory?
• is a set of statements or principles devised
to explain a group of facts or phenomena,
especially one that has been repeatedly
tested or is widely accepted and can be
used to make predictions about natural
phenomena.
 What is Theory?
• a step in the scientific method in which a
statement is generated on the basis of highly
confirmed hypotheses and is used to generalize
about conditions not yet tested.

several related propositions that explain some

domain of inquiry. Also called a school or
paradigm.
 What is Theory?
• A statement or set of statements designed to
explain a phenomenon or class of phenomena.
For example, Social Learning Theory describes
how human behavior is a product of
environmental, social and personal factors.

explanation of a problem are based upon

observations and experiments.
 Communication theory
• Claude Shannon (Bell labs) and Warren Weaver
developed a theory of communication in 1948.
Shannon's original theory (also known as
"information theory") was later elaborated and
given a more popular, non-mathematical
formulation by Warren Weaver, a media
specialist with the Rockefeller Foundation. ...
 Communication theory

• communications: the discipline that studies

the principles of transmitting information
and the methods by which it is delivered
(as print or radio or television etc.);
"communications is his major field of
study"
 Communication theory
• Some have suggested that the very common
practice of beginning a communication theory class
with an attempt to define communication and theory
is flawed pedagogy. Nonetheless, it is difficult to
begin a study of the theories of communication
without first having some grasp, however temporary
and tenuous, of what sorts of phenomena "count"
as communication, and what kinds of ideas about
those phenomena constitute "theory," or, more
specifically, good theory.