Very general theories guide thinking but resist direct application to specific cases

Evidence

Theory formation is a conceptual approach to formulating general principles inherent in a specific field of research. A theory has higher generality and potentially the widest applicability compared to experimentation and modelling techniques. On the other hand, very general theories are hard to apply to complex and specific cases in practice; they rather help and direct the thinking process. — Ville Pulkki, Matti Karjalainen, Communication Acoustics- An…, 102

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines theory formation as the third approach, highlighting its generality-applicability tradeoff.
• corroborated: 3 independent passages support this claim — Ville Pulkki, Matti Karjalainen, Communication Acoustics- An…, 102
• XREF: connects to: Abstract theory is clarified only through concrete applied cases — Thomas C. Schelling, The Strategy of Conflict, 11; Method can fail through either dogmatic generality or atomistic localism; Theory is needed to break through deceptive appearances but cannot dictate action (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• Abstract theory is clarified only through concrete applied cases #corroborates (0.85) — Thomas C. Schelling, The Strategy of Conflict, 11