This grounded theory study explores the ways in which scholars conduct their research, including how they find and organize resources, how they identify and work with collaborators, how they interact with technology during the course of their research, and how they disseminate the results of a research project. Nine scholars were interviewed during the course of this project. This study identifies the information behaviors and activities in which these scholars regularly engage during the course of their research and groups them into six categories: social inputs, environmental inputs, information seeking inputs, organizational outputs, social outputs, and dissemination outputs. The study then explores the relationships among these six categories, and proposes a Theory of Scholarly Practice intended to encapsulate all the components of the research done by scholars. The theory that emerged from this study has implications for students hoping to join a scholarly discipline, including individuals in master's or doctoral programs, as well as those responsible for teaching these students the nature of their discipline, including such things as research methods. This theory is also of interest to scholars studying information seeking, information behaviors, information practices, and library science; for academic librarians, information technologists, and others striving to support the varied work of scholarly practice; and for individuals responsible for implementing technologies that impact scholarly practice. This dissertation concludes with recommendations for future study in the areas of general applicability of the theory to other scholarly populations, new scholars who may be entering scholarly communities with different technological skill sets and patterns of behavior, attitudes toward information, and information overload. The Theory of Scholarly Practice that evolved during the course of this study contributes to a better knowledge of this phenomenon, and it is my hope that this study and future research resulting from it will continue to enhance a general understanding of scholarly practice and how it can best be supported. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]