The article “The Theory-practice divide: thoughts from the Editors and Senior Advisor Board of EJM” is written by a scholar, Nick Lee (2010). The basic purpose of this paper is to propose the inclusion of an excerpt in the selected article.
One needs to understand that there is a thin line between theory and practice. Although most of the authors have conflicting views regarding the same, many researchers have complained that if practices of practitioners are not evidenced-based or extracted from theories then they are of no use.
It is worth mentioning here that Parton had similar views on the subject. According to the scholar, it is essential to use universal and incontrovertible knowledge in the modern world that can explain different processes taking place through a progressive route. It could help researchers to reduce the gap between theory and business practice. However, Friedson had a view that most of the practitioners in different professions use their knowledge to disseminate information in the environment. Therefore, such information is commonly challenged in terms of its legitimacy. Such conflicting views show that there is a widening gap that exists between theory and practice (Fook, 2002).
A researcher has to address many questions that could be related to the type of knowledge and theories to conclude any study. Any researcher needs to form a reasoning to reduce the gap between theory and actual practice. A researcher may identify main themes and theories that provide systematic explanations. The main ideas extracted from theories should be compared with practical experiences. The connection between behaviours and related ideas may provide answers to the underlying research questions (Fook, 2002).
Straus and Corbin had a view that theories need to be relevant provided their general approach is broadly classified and applied. In this regard, there are two main general approaches. Firstly, it is “idiographic”, which refers to a theory that is modified or developed based on a specific condition, and this type of theory can be tested for its validity and relevance for any situation that the researcher is dealing with. The basic advantage of the idiographic theory is that it can be related to different situations and contexts. “Nomothetic” is the second type of general approach. It refers to basic general laws that are mostly abstracted from a location or situation. The advantage of the nomothetic theory is that its presence imposes guidelines or order in a particular situation (Fook, 2002).
It is important to include these elements in Lee’s article as they provide answers to practitioners for understanding how idiographic or nomothetic theories can be used in practice. Moreover, they also provide reasoning for reducing the gap between theory and practice. Even though many scholars have conflicting views on the subject but this inclusion could provide an analytical view of scholars who are of the view that the integration of theory and practise is necessary.
It can be concluded that any practice cannot be predicted or controlled and, therefore, practitioners need to have access to the appropriate and relevant approach to conduct their studies. They should also give due considerations to ethics to prove the validity of their research. It would help to achieve profound research that can be carried out by performing various analytical processes and making use of the available theoretical data for any study.
Reference List
Fook, J. (2002). Theorizing from Practice Towards an Inclusive Approach for Social Work. Qualitative Social Work, 1 (1), 79-95.
Lee, N., & Greenley, G. (2010). The theory-practice divide: Thoughts from the Editors and Senior Advisory Board of EJM. European Journal of Marketing, 44 (1/2), 5 – 20.