What is a Theory?"What is a theory?" is one of the most common questions asked by beginning research students. Think about evolution, relativity, alien visitation, or solving mysteries or crimes. You have no direct, conclusive evidence, but you have a few clues or facts that you believe to be true. When you piece them together to explain what could be true, youform a theory.Theories can be tested with research studies, and each result adds to the big picture. Researchers put facts in order and make sense of them. Theories: *Summarize what is known, *Make tentative explanations about the facts, and *Predict what will happen in the future based on what is known.
Scientists conduct studies to test hypotheses (tentative statements of expected outcomes) that relate to theories. The outcomes of studies add to the body of knowledge that help support or refute theoretical explanations.
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