Abstract
In this chapter, the authors present concepts of bridging theory to practice for doctoral students in an effort to build their research self-efficacy. Research self-efficacy is essential to doctoral students' success in completing dissertation research, and connecting theory to practice not only benefits doctoral students in the ability to conceptualize research, but it supports the development and enhancement of doctoral student dispositions. Providing these connections as early as possible, and as often as possible, can lead to scholar socialization and higher levels of research self-efficacy. The instructional strategies, including theory application, perspective shifting, and guided reflection, provide the necessary skills to help doctoral students be successful scholars, especially in preparing for the doctoral dissertation, as well as opportunities for faculty collaboration and student engagement.
TopBackground
Theory in research can refer to how concepts are defined, how concepts are related, how concepts should be studied, and how concepts are conceived by the researcher and study participants (Ravitch & Riggan, 2017). According to Anfara and Mertz (2015), “a useful theory is one that tells an enlightening story about some phenomenon…and gives you new insights and broadens your understanding of the phenomenon” (p. 5). Tashakkori et al. (2021) define theory as “an explanatory system or explanation of ‘how’ a phenomenon operates and ‘why’ it operates the way it does” (p. 406). Theory is used in research in two ways: (a) to frame and serve as a foundation for a study, and (b) to connect theory to findings by relating them to existing theory or drawing theory from findings for generalizing or transferring to other settings (Kiley, 2015). Hammond (2018), after reviewing the concept of theorizing in the literature, defined it as “finding a perspective or ‘lens’ through which a problem should be viewed and an invitation to see the problem in a new or revised way” (p. 2). In some disciplines, theory is referred to as the model that is empirically tested in a study (Kiley, 2015).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Guided Reflection: A developmental process by which students fuse together teaching and research as a single activity ( Johns, 2002 ).
Research Self-Efficacy: The belief that one is capable of all aspects of conducting research successfully ( Forester et al., 2004 ; Lambie et al., 2014 ).
Signature Pedagogies: Types of teaching that organize the fundamental ways in which students are oriented to the field ( Shulman, 2005 AU8: The citation "Shulman, 2005" matches multiple references. Please add letters (e.g. "Smith 2000a"), or additional authors to the citation, to uniquely match references and citations. ).
Liminality: A state of flux that a learner is in when they are in-between not knowing and reaching understanding ( Kiley & Wisker, 2009 ).
Threshold Concept: A core concept that is crucial to progressing and understanding more complex concepts ( Kiley, 2015 ).
Perspective Shifting: The ability to reframe a problem, issue, challenge, or situation through multiple lenses ( Bolman & Deal, 2017 ).
Scholarly Identity: One’s identity as a scholarly writer, often synonymous with academic and research identity ( Noonan, 2015 ).