Contemporary theories lectures
Hoorcollege week 1
Case GSK
GSK is a large pharma company focusing on infectious diseases,
respiratory/immunology and oncology. In 2023, the company adopted
a cloud-based tool that facilitates collecting important information from
patients for healthcare professionals. In that year they had excellent
performances.
Is it accurate to say that the performance increase is due to the
adoption of the new digital tool? What can we do to make such a
claim? To consider: Correlation vs causality? Potential alternative
explanations? Eg is there anything that could explain both the
performance increase and the adoption of the new digital tool?
Using theories. “There is nothing so practical as a good theory!” In
simple terms, theories offer explanations for why certain things happen
in a specific way.
From concepts to theories
Theory belongs to the family of words that includes guess, speculation,
supposition, conjecture, proposition, hypothesis, conception,
explanation, model.
If everything from a "guess" to a general falsifiable explanation has a
tinge of theory to it, then it becomes more difficult to separate what is
theory from what isn't.
What is a theory
A theory is a system of statements targeted at describing, explaining,
and predicting a real-world phenomenon (Bacharach 1989).
- It consists of constructs (i.e., concepts) and propositions (i.e.,
relationships between constructs) that collectively presents a
logical, systematic, and coherent explanation of the real-world
phenomenon within certain boundaries.
Theory is a statement of concepts and their interrelationships that
shows how and/or why a phenomenon occurs (cf. Gioia & Pitre, 1990;
Corley & Gioia, 2011).
,And good theory is: Explicit, Measurable, Generalizable and Falsifiable.
,Towards theory
Theory is about abstraction from the observable
An example:
- Scientific thinking: variables.
A variable is observable directly (manifest). Is empirically
measurable. Is a representation of an abstract construct (latent).
Example: A person’s social media engagement can be measured
using indicators such as the time spent on different social media
platforms (e.g., Instagram, TikTok, etc. per day/week (self-
reported/screen time data). In this case the time spent on
Instagram, TikTok, etc. is a variable intended to measure the
unobservable social media engagement.
- Scientific thinking: hypothesis.
A hypothesis states (expected) relationships between variables. Is
empirically testable. Is stated in a falsifiable form.
In our example, time spent on social media platforms and grade
point average are respectively operational measures of social media
engagement and academic achievement. A hypothesis specifies the
expected relationship between time spent on social media platforms
and grade point average.
Constructs represent classes of observations
, - Scientific thinking: construct.
A construct is an abstract conceptual entity. Is inferred from
observable actions or states of phenomena. Needs an operational
definition to become measurable.
Example: Social media engagement is a construct that reflects how
intensively (and in what ways) people interact with social media.
Since social media engagement is not empirically measurable
directly, it cannot be a manifest variable.
Relations linking constructs
- Scientific thinking: proposition.
A proposition is a relationship between constructs. Is stated in a
declarative form. Must be falsifiable. Explicitly describes constructs.
Typically introduces causality.
Example: An increase in social media engagement decreases
academic achievement.
In simple terms
Hoorcollege week 1
Case GSK
GSK is a large pharma company focusing on infectious diseases,
respiratory/immunology and oncology. In 2023, the company adopted
a cloud-based tool that facilitates collecting important information from
patients for healthcare professionals. In that year they had excellent
performances.
Is it accurate to say that the performance increase is due to the
adoption of the new digital tool? What can we do to make such a
claim? To consider: Correlation vs causality? Potential alternative
explanations? Eg is there anything that could explain both the
performance increase and the adoption of the new digital tool?
Using theories. “There is nothing so practical as a good theory!” In
simple terms, theories offer explanations for why certain things happen
in a specific way.
From concepts to theories
Theory belongs to the family of words that includes guess, speculation,
supposition, conjecture, proposition, hypothesis, conception,
explanation, model.
If everything from a "guess" to a general falsifiable explanation has a
tinge of theory to it, then it becomes more difficult to separate what is
theory from what isn't.
What is a theory
A theory is a system of statements targeted at describing, explaining,
and predicting a real-world phenomenon (Bacharach 1989).
- It consists of constructs (i.e., concepts) and propositions (i.e.,
relationships between constructs) that collectively presents a
logical, systematic, and coherent explanation of the real-world
phenomenon within certain boundaries.
Theory is a statement of concepts and their interrelationships that
shows how and/or why a phenomenon occurs (cf. Gioia & Pitre, 1990;
Corley & Gioia, 2011).
,And good theory is: Explicit, Measurable, Generalizable and Falsifiable.
,Towards theory
Theory is about abstraction from the observable
An example:
- Scientific thinking: variables.
A variable is observable directly (manifest). Is empirically
measurable. Is a representation of an abstract construct (latent).
Example: A person’s social media engagement can be measured
using indicators such as the time spent on different social media
platforms (e.g., Instagram, TikTok, etc. per day/week (self-
reported/screen time data). In this case the time spent on
Instagram, TikTok, etc. is a variable intended to measure the
unobservable social media engagement.
- Scientific thinking: hypothesis.
A hypothesis states (expected) relationships between variables. Is
empirically testable. Is stated in a falsifiable form.
In our example, time spent on social media platforms and grade
point average are respectively operational measures of social media
engagement and academic achievement. A hypothesis specifies the
expected relationship between time spent on social media platforms
and grade point average.
Constructs represent classes of observations
, - Scientific thinking: construct.
A construct is an abstract conceptual entity. Is inferred from
observable actions or states of phenomena. Needs an operational
definition to become measurable.
Example: Social media engagement is a construct that reflects how
intensively (and in what ways) people interact with social media.
Since social media engagement is not empirically measurable
directly, it cannot be a manifest variable.
Relations linking constructs
- Scientific thinking: proposition.
A proposition is a relationship between constructs. Is stated in a
declarative form. Must be falsifiable. Explicitly describes constructs.
Typically introduces causality.
Example: An increase in social media engagement decreases
academic achievement.
In simple terms
