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Theoritical Framewrok and Hypothesis Developemnt

Chapter 5 discusses the importance of developing a theoretical framework in deductive research, which involves defining relationships among variables to formulate testable hypotheses. It outlines the types of variables (dependent, independent, moderating, and mediating) and their roles in research, as well as the process of hypothesis generation. The chapter emphasizes that a solid theoretical framework is essential for establishing valid research hypotheses and guiding empirical testing.

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18 views17 pages

Theoritical Framewrok and Hypothesis Developemnt

Chapter 5 discusses the importance of developing a theoretical framework in deductive research, which involves defining relationships among variables to formulate testable hypotheses. It outlines the types of variables (dependent, independent, moderating, and mediating) and their roles in research, as well as the process of hypothesis generation. The chapter emphasizes that a solid theoretical framework is essential for establishing valid research hypotheses and guiding empirical testing.

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minhajuddinr555
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Chapter 5

Theoretical Framework & Hypothesis


Development

1
Theoretical framework
▪Foundation deductive research project!
▪Deductive research: moving from the general (a theory) to the
specific (observations).
▪The development of a theoretical framework is crucial in
deductive, theory‐testing, causal research (but not in exploratory
or descriptive research where one does not develop a theoretical
framework to develop and test hypotheses)
▪A theoretical framework involves the identification of a
network of relationships among variables considered important
to the problem
Theoretical Framework
▪ A theoretical framework represents your beliefs on
how certain phenomena (or variables or concepts)
are related to each other (a model) and an
explanation on why you believe that these
variables are associated to each other (a theory).
▪ Introducing definitions of the concepts or
variables in your model.
▪ Developing a conceptual model that provides a
descriptive representation of your theory.
▪ Coming up with a theory that provides an
explanation for relationships between the variables
in your model.
Theoretical framework
▪ From the theoretical framework, then, testable
hypotheses can be developed to examine
whether your theory is valid or not. The
hypothesized relationships can thereafter be
tested through appropriate statistical analyses.
▪ Hence, the entire deductive research project rests
on the basis of the theoretical framework
▪ Basic steps:
– Identify and label the variables correctly
– State the relationships among the variables:
formulate hypotheses
– Explain how or why you expect these relationships
Variable
▪ Any concept or construct that varies or changes
in value
▪ Main types of variables:
– Dependent variable
– Independent variable
– Moderating variable
– Mediating variable
(In)dependent variables
▪Dependent variable (DV)
– Is of primary interest to the researcher. The goal of the
research project is to understand, predict or explain the
variability of this variable.
▪Independent variable (IV)
– Influences the DV in either positive or negative way. The
variance in the DV is accounted for by the IV.
conditions should be met
– 1.The independent and the dependent variable should covary: in other words, a
change in the dependent variable should be associated with a change in the
independent variable.
– 2. The independent variable (the presumed causal factor) should precede the
dependent variable. In other words, there must be a time sequence in which the
two occur: the cause must occur before the effect.
– 3. No other factor should be a possible cause of the change in the dependent
variable. Hence, the researcher should control for the effects of other variables.
– 4. A logical explanation (a theory) is needed and it must explain why the
independent variable affects the dependent variable
Example

Availability of # of rejects
reference manuals
Moderators
▪ Moderating variable
– The moderating variable is one that has a strong
contingent effect on the independent variable
dependent variable relationship.
– That is, the presence of a third variable (the
moderating variable) modifies the original rela
tionship between the independent and the dependent
variables
– Moderator is qualitative (e.g., gender, race, class) or
quantitative (e.g., level of reward) variable that
affects the direction and/or strength of relation
between independent and dependent variable.
Example
Availability of # of rejects
reference manuals

Interest &
inclination
Mediating variable
▪ A mediating variable (or intervening variable) is one
that surfaces between the time the independent
variables
▪ surfaces between the time the independent variables
start operating to influence the dependent variable
and the time their impact is felt on it.

▪ Example

Employee Customer Customer


responsiveness satisfaction loyalty
HOW THEORY IS GENERATED
▪ The relationship between the literature review and the theoretical
framework is that the former provides a solid foundation for
developing the latter.
▪ Just as the literature review sets the stage for a good theoretical
framework, this in turn provides the logical base for developing
testable hypotheses
▪ Having examined the different kinds of variables that can operate
in a situation and how the relationships among these can be
established
▪ Experience and intuition also guide the development of the
theoretical framework
▪ It becomes evident at this stage that, to arrive at good solutions to
the problem, one should first correctly identify the problem, and
then the variables that contribute to it
▪ After identifying the appropriate variables, the next step is to
elaborate the network of associations among the variables, so that
relevant hypotheses can be developed and subsequently tested 11
The components of the theoretical
framework
▪ A good theoretical framework is not necessarily a complex
framework
▪ The variables considered relevant to the study should be
clearly defined.
▪ A conceptual model that describes the relationships
between the variables in the model should be given. A
schematic diagram of the conceptual model helps the
reader to visualize the theorized relationships between the
variables in your model and thus to obtain a quick idea
about how you think that the management problem can be
solved
▪ There should be a clear explanation of why we expect
these relationships to exist.
12
Hypothesis
▪ A proposition that is empirically testable. It is an empirical
statement concerned with the relationship among variables.
▪ Hypotheses are derived from the theory on which your conceptual
model is based and are often
▪ relational in nature.
▪ Good hypothesis:
– Must be adequate for its purpose
– Must be testable
– Must be better than its rivals
▪ Can be:
– Directional e.g. The greater the stress experienced in the job,
the lower the job satisfaction of employees
– Non-directional: There is a relation between arousal‐seeking
tendency and consumer preferences for complex product
designs.
Null and alternate hypotheses
▪ The hypothetico-deductive method requires that hypotheses are
falsifiable: they must be written in such a way that other researchers
can show them to be false
▪ Typically, the null statement is expressed in terms of there being no
(significant) relationship between two variables or no (significant)
difference between two groups e.g. the null hypothesis may state
that advertising does not affect sales, or that women and men buy
equal amounts of shoes.
▪ The alternate hypothesis, which is the opposite of the null, is a
statement expressing a relationship between two variables or
indicating differences between groups
▪ It is the theory that allows us to have faith in the alternate
hypothesis that is generated in the particular research investigation .

14
Exercise
Give the hypotheses for the following framework:

Service Customer
quality switching

Switching
cost
Exercise
Give the hypotheses for the following framework:

Service Customer Customer


quality satisfaction switching
Argumentation
▪ The expected relationships / hypotheses are an
integration of:
– Exploratory research
– Common sense and logical reasoning

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