7Apply Phase

THE APPLY PHASE of theory building in applied disciplines seems straightforward on the surface—putting the theory in practice. If a theory-building effort has established evidence to accept a theory, the next logical phase would be to apply it. Of course, if the evidence supports a decision to reject a theory, there could be a problem with the original conceptualized idea or how it was operationalized. The theorist must choose to return to one of the previous phases based on what was learned. Ideally, the Apply phase assumes a successful theory-building effort that has been shown to fit within a realm of human/human systems activity.

Theories must involve practice and research. Theories must explain what something is and how it works ...

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