A contextualizing theory chapter

When exploring a certain region, you will likely have chosen it for a constellation of characteristics and your impression that this constellation might make for a place where something interesting happens. In the end, that’s what drew you here. Explaining and helping your reader understand the characteristics that come together at your destination is the job of your theory section.

Consequently, set out to illustrate the key components that come together at the destination of your exploration. Explain how you’d expect them to interact in terms of what others have found about them, individually and in conjunction.

Often, research means exploring the conjuncture of components that are known individually and maybe in simple combinations—but not in that combination that your research design proposes to explore. Showing why this is interesting and what we already know is the point of your theory section.

(This is a preview section. The full chapter on this topic continues with the sections “Rough coordinates”, “Train of thought”, “In essence”, “To reflect”, “Two travellers’ tales”, “Devil’s advocate”, and “How to tackle”.)