Analysis. Theories of this type include descriptions and conceptualizations of “what is.” Also included are taxonomies, classifications and ontologies in the sense of Gruber (1993). The lack of explicit explanation and prediction disqualifies this category as theory for many scholars (Bacharach, 1989; Sutton and Staw, 1995; Nagel, 1979).

D. I. K. Sjøberg, T. Dybå, B. C. D. Anda, and J. E. Hannay, “Building Theories in Software Engineering,” in Guide to Advanced Empirical Software Engineering SE - 12, F. Shull, J. Singer, and D. K. Sjøberg, Eds. Springer London, 2008, pp. 312–336. [Springerlink]