Introduction: Navigating Theory in Doctoral Research

This introductory chapter frames the central problem addressed by the volume: how doctoral researchers in the humanities and social sciences select, justify, and operationalize theoretical frameworks in ways that are conceptually coherent and methodologically consequential. The chapter positions theoretical work as an iterative navigation process rather than a one-time declaration. That is, the chosen theoretical framework informs the proposed study’s research design and research questions. It then introduces the volume’s organizing logic and five thematic sections, showing how the 21 doctoral cases illuminate distinctive routes through theory selection in contemporary research contexts, especially those shaped by AI and digital mediation, teacher identity and agency, culture and communication, inclusive and interpreter-mediated settings, and learner and teacher development. Across these domains, the chapter highlights recurring decisions that make theory defensible: comparing candidate frameworks, articulating assumptions and limits, translating constructs into research questions and analytic commitments, and refining theoretical choices as contexts and data demands become clearer. The chapter closes by offering readers a practical way to use the volume, as a repertoire of exemplars for proposal writing, supervision, and doctoral training in theorizing as scholarly craft.