Theory Versus Practice(… or Theory And Practice?)

(Susser 1968)

• “... to practice without theory is to sail an uncharted sea; theory without practice is not to set sail at all”.

Theory as an aid to challenging underlying assumptions

What do we need theories for…?It’s just common sense, innit?

• How do you ‘know’ what you ‘know’ is right?• ‘Common Sense’?

• “Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen”.

(Albert Einstein)

• “Common sense is not so common”.(Voltaire)

Evidence-based practice vs. intuition

• EBP basic principles are that all practical decisions made should be based on research studies rather than habits or reactively.

Has Theory been any use to you?