Theory and research have a complex interrelationship theories generate hypotheses that can be proven or disproved by research the results of which may cause the theory to be strengthened the results of research may also call a theory into question causing it to be rejected or revised. Characterising the nature of the relationship between theory and research is not a straight forward matter however it remains important because it can be used to provide a framework and rationale for research that is being conducted bryman 2008 however sim and wright 2000 mentioned that on a general note research has as one of its main purposes the enrichment of theoretical knowledge either by building upon current knowledge of an existing topic or by extending understanding . While the importance of the relationship between theory and research is given credence in sociology little has been done in delineating the specific nature of such a relationship in order to do so the present article examines data concerning the theoretical orientation and methodological procedures employed by the authors of 1434 articles in five substantive areas which have appeared in nine major sociological journals over the period 1950 to 1970 analysis of these data reveals the . Recently the relationship between theory and research has received more attention it seems that in the past 10 to 15 years more research studies have been published that are more or less conceptualized within nursing theories however it is not always clear how the theory has been used the purpose of this study was to analyse the role of theory in nursing practice research to this end papers published in six nursing journals between 1986 and 1990 have been studied it can be