Scribd
Upload
7 views

Intro To Research Methods - Theoritical or Conceptual Framework

Uploaded by

familyilozen
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
7 views

Intro To Research Methods - Theoritical or Conceptual Framework

Uploaded by

familyilozen
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

Courses

Intro to Research Methods Index


Page 35 of 81 pages. Chapter: 6: Literature Search

The Theoretical or Conceptual Framework


The rationale for incorporating the review of the literature in the research is that when you substantiate what
you say, you usually substantiate it through the literature you have read. Therefore, you must document
your source for your rationale and your theoretical/conceptual framework.

The literature review is a series of references, not a bibliography. Only the literature that you have used to
substantiate your problem is included in your literature review. Not everything that you have read about
your problem is relevant to your research and therefore should not be included.

A framework is simply the structure of the idea or concept and how it is put together. A theoretical
framework, then, is an essay that interrelate the theories involved in the question.

Remember, a theory is a discussion of related concepts, while a concept is a word or phrase that symbolizes
several interrelated ideas. Unlike a theory, a concept does not need to be discussed to be understood.
However, since you are using several interrelated concepts in a new way, your conceptual framework must
explain the relationship among these concepts. Even if your question does not include a theory, there is no
doubt that it contains at least one concept that needs to be explained or described in relation to the question
as a whole.

Look at your question again. How many ideas-as expressed in words does your question contain? Look at
each of your definitions. More than likely the question is a sequence of related ideas that form a concept
rather than a single idea. If so, you must write a conceptual framework that explains the interrelationship of
all of the ideas in your question.

You have already learned that the level of your question is closely related to the extent of literature on your
topic. The same is true for the theoretical or conceptual frameworks, they relate closely to the level of the
question.

Conceptual Framework and Level I Questions


Level I questions do not have theoretical frameworks as a rule, but your rationale, including the significance
of your question to transportation and the potential contribution of the results of your study to the profession,
is a framework within which your topic is examined. If you are basing your Level I study on a theory or
concept that has been studied in a different setting or with a different population, you have a theoretical
framework that can be developed as described.

Conceptual Framework and Level II Questions


At Level II, there is a conceptual framework to explain the possible connection between the variables. Each
variable or concept will have been studied before, and, even though it is being used differently in your study,
you will find previous research useful in helping to develop your framework.

Conceptual Framework and Level III Questions


Level III questions require a theoretical framework which explains the cause-and-effect relationship among
the variables. The “why? Question cannot be answered with a theoretical explanation, and then the question
is at a wrong level.

When you develop your problem essay, be sure that you are consistent with the level of your question, and
use this as an opportunity to cross-check all the parts of the problem for consistency. When you write your
problem essay, you will be incorporating your rationale for the development of the question, your theoretical
or conceptual framework, and your literature review into one (not three) definitive statement of what you are
studying and why, and its relevance to you and your reader. Remember, at this point you are the expert on
your research. Now all you have to do is prove your expertise in an essay.

You might also like