What is a theory?

According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, a Theory is “a plausible or scientifically acceptable general principle or body of principles offered to explain phenomena”

Why is it so important?

“The theory becomes a “lens” through which the world is observed. This happens whether or not theories are explicitly acknowledged, because real-world phenomena are simply too rich and complex”[2]

An Overview

Interesting references

[1] Issues and Guidlines to perform GT: Klaas-Jan Stol, Paul Ralph, and Brian Fitzgerald. 2016. Grounded theory in software engineering research: a critical review and guidelines. In Proceedings of the 38th International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE ‘16). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 120-131. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/2884781.2884833

[2] Easterbrook, S., Singer, J., Storey, M.-A., & Damian, D. (2008). Selecting Empirical Methods for Software Engineering Research. Guide to Advanced Empirical Software Engineering, 285–311. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84800-044-5_11

[3] Glaser, B. G., Strauss, A. L., & Press, S. (1967). The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research. Aldine Publishing Company.