The use of theory in social science research is important as it provides

Theory supplies the rationale and justification that anchors a research problem within an existing body of knowledge.

It generates testable hypotheses and tells the researcher what variables must be measured.

A contrasting framework misreads theory as a device for opposition rather than grounding.

Excess literature confuses volume of reading with the explanatory function of theory.

Quantitative data is an outcome of measurement, not something theory itself provides.

Theory is a set of interrelated law-like generalisations that can be tested empirically.