What Is Theory

Theory is ubiquitous. It builds a solid foundation for any field of study. A theory is not a guess, hunch, hypothesis, or speculation. It is much more full-blown (Hawking, 1996). However, a theory comes from nowhere but a guess and is a successful one until failing the untiring tests and studies.
A guess is the impetus of a theory. Human history begins with guesses. Human ancestors happened to cook on fire and they guessed they might make the coincidence happen again. The outcome of the guess is that humans use fire to warm the cold and light the dark. As the inquiry process of a theory shows, researchers ask questions, that is, they make guess as the first step. Then the guess combines with evidence from observation, and in length construct answers that evolves into a theory. The process is not linear. Theories may evoke the examination of the question again; they may generate new ideas to collect data (Littlejohn and Foss, 2005).
Starting a guess is essential but not adequate for a theory. A theory reflects the shared understanding of one specific phenomenon. It may not necessarily be identical and different opinions are the essence of theorizing. Theory should be seen as a statement or argument in favor of a particular approach (Littlejohn and Foss, 2005). Instead of being the answer to a phenomenon or approach, theory intrigues researchers to explore the unknowns and eventually uncover the myth.
Theories, as the central factor of both quantitative and qualitative researches, respond to the researches and develop from them. When Lustig noted that all theory should be judged by some aspect of utility (as cited in Keyton, 2006, p.32), the criterion is set as the effectiveness of a theory. A theory remains of no value unless it is successfully applied to the realistic world and makes a change. Take the Magic Bullet theory as an example, the main idea of the theory is that mass media penetrate the audience’s mind and spontaneously create influence. Thus, mass media manipulate the people via media messages. The advertisers utilized the principle to people to engage their feelings in the advertisements and then become a loyal consumer. Although the situation is never that simple anymore, the theory was a success and attracted much interest of the researchers and advertisers.

Epilogue
A theory is a wish that perfection exists. Throughout the human history, people sought for a panacea to salvage all lives and now a theory to uncover all the unknowns. It’s not always a piece of cake to change the complex world into a piece of cake.
Many such theories serve only a small proportion of people called experts instead of the entire population. Theories are too logical for the majority to figure out. If they are only for experts, it’s a waste of time and money to keep making them. Also, as theories happen all along, experts are inclined to get lost in the wood of theories. Thus, they lose their primary goal of putting theories into practice and improving life instead of the reputation of any academic institution.






Reference:
Hawking, Stephen (1996). “The Illustrated A Brief History of Time” (Updated and expanded ed.). New York: Bantam Books, p. 15.
Littlejohn and Foss (2005). “Theories of Human Communication” (Ninth ed.). Belmont: Thomson West, p.6.
Keyton, Joann (2006). “Communication Research: Asking Questions, Finding Answers” (Second ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill, p.32.