Writing a Conceptual

Framework
SOC401
Research Methodologies
What is a conceptual
Framework
Part I
Conceptual framework
It is the researcher’s own position on the problem and gives direction to the study.
It may be an adaptation of a model used in a previous study, with modifications to
suit the inquiry.
Aside from showing the direction of the study, through the conceptual framework,
the researcher can be able to show the relationships of the different constructs that
he wants to investigate.
 Conceptual Framework

Conceptual Framework. News values, and the pressures and

constraints shape the newspapers and television newscasts. The
result of this relationship is selective reporting of events.
Operational Framework. Foreign news sections of Philippine
newspapers and foreign news segments of television newscasts are
shaped by the interests of owners, editorial policies, audience and
advertisements. The criteria for selection of foreign news, the news
values, also affect the foreign news coverage. These factors result in
unequal treatment of stories and paved way for the dominance of
some topics and of some regions in foreign news coverage of media.
Based on the foregoing example, how should the
conceptual framework formulated?
2. cite your conceptual framework or paradigm;
3. Identify your variables;
4. Point out the dependent and intervening variables;
5. Show the direction of the study.

Once the conceptual framework has been determined, the next for the
researcher is to determine what research methods to employ to best answer the
research problem through the proposed framework.
Research design depends on the nature of the data to analyzed.
Quantitative data – when your thesis problem requires numerical
measurements of traits, trends, characteristics or attributes of the subject
matter;

Analysis leads researcher to:

• depict what is typical and atypical among the data;
• show the degree of difference or relationship between two or more variables;
• determine the likelihood that the findings are real for the population as
opposed to having occurred only by chance in the sample.
Qualitative data – when your thesis problem focuses on the meanings,
perceptions, symbols or description of the subject matter.

Analysis leads researcher to:

• observe behaviors, situations, interactions and environments;
• scrutinize these observations for patterns and categories;
• answer research questions based on what can be deduced from the findings.
Break!!!!!!!! (take 5)
Theories
Part II
 Forms of Theories

• Theory
– Interrelated set of constructs formed into propositions
that specify the relationships among variables
– Describes how and why variables are related

• Forms include
– Set of hypotheses
– Series of if-then statements
– Visual model
The Deductive Approach Used
in Quantitative Research

Researcher tests or verifies a theory

Researcher tests hypotheses or research

questions from the theory

Researcher defines and operationalizes

variables derived from the theory

Researcher measures or observes variables

using an instrument to obtain scores
 Placing Theory in a
Quantitative Study
Placement Advantages
In the introduction Common approach; familiar to
readers; conveys a deductive
approach
In the literature Including theories in a literature
review review is a logical extension or
part of the literature
After hypotheses or The theory discussion explains
research questions how and why variables are related
In a separate section Clearly separates the theory from
other components of the research
process, enables a reader to
better identify and to understand
the theory base
Disadvantages
Difficult for a reader to isolate
theory base from other components
of the research process
Difficult for a reader to see the
theory in isolation from the larger
literature
May leave out an extended
discussion about the origin and use
of the theory
The theory discussion is isolated
and may not easily connect with
other components of the research
process
 Theory Use in Qualitative
Research
• Theory may be used as:
• A broad explanation
• A theoretical lens or perspective
• Feminist perspective
• Racialized discourse
• Critical theory
• Queer theory
• Disability inquiry
• An endpoint, a theory that is generated

• Researcher may also choose not to employ theory in

a qualitative study
 The Inductive Logic of
Research in a Qualitative
Study
Researcher poses generalizations, or theories, and
compares to past experiences and literature

Researcher looks for broad patterns, generalizations,

or theories from themes or categories

Researcher analyzes data to form themes or

categories

Researcher asks open-ended questions of participants

or records fieldnotes

Researcher gathers information

 Use of Theory in Mixed
Methods
• Mixed methods studies may:
• Include theory deductively (theory testing)
• Include theory inductively (an emerging pattern)
• Use a theoretical lens or perspective to guide the study
Break!!!!!!!! (take 10)
Research Questions
and Hypothesis
Part III
 Qualitative Research
Questions
• Qualitative researchers pose research questions
• Not objectives
• Not hypotheses

• Two types of qualitative research questions to focus

a study's purpose:
• Central question
• broad question that asks for exploration of the central
phenomenon
• Subquestions
• Questions that narrow the focus of the study
 Writing Qualitative Research
Questions
• Ask 1-2 central questions and no more than 5-7
subquestions
• These questions should:
• Relate the central question to the strategy of inquiry
• Begin with "what" or "how"
• Focus on a single phenomenon or concept
• Use exploratory verbs like discover or describe
• Avoid directional words such as "affect" or "impact"
• Evolve during the study
• Be open-ended without reference to the literature
• Specify the participants and research site (unless stated
previously)
 A Script for Writing a
Qualitative Central Question
• (How or What) is the (“story for” for narrative
research; “meaning of” the phenomenon for
phenomenology; “theory that explains the process of
” for grounded theory; “culture-sharing pattern” for
ethnography; “issue” in the “case” for case study) of
(central phenomenon) for (participants) at (research
site).
 Quantitative Research
Questions and Hypotheses
• Quantitative researchers pose research questions or hypotheses to focus
the study's purpose

• Quantitative research questions:

• Questions about the relationships among variables that the investigator seeks to
know

• Quantitative hypotheses:
• Predictions that the researcher makes about the expected relationships among
variables
• Predictions about the population values that the researcher will estimate based
on data from a sample

• Quantitative objectives:
• Indicate a study's goals
• Used frequently in proposals for funding
Writing Quantitative Research
Questions and Hypotheses
• Write questions or hypotheses, not both
• Consider 3 approaches to the variables for a question or
hypothesis:
• Compare groups
• Relate variables
• Describe responses

• Specify questions and hypotheses based on theory if possible

• Measure the independent and dependent variables separately
• Generally use demographic information as intervening variables
• Use consistent words and ordering for independent and
dependent variables
Scripts for Writing Quantitative Research
Questions and Hypotheses

• Does (name the theory) explain the relationship

between (independent variable) and (dependent
variable), controlling for the effects of (control
variable)?

• There is no significant difference between (the

control and experimental groups on the independent
variable) on (dependent variable).
Forms for Writing Quantitative Research
Questions and Hypotheses

• If writing hypotheses, use a consistent form:

• Null hypotheses (predict no difference or no relationship)
• Directional hypotheses (predict direction of difference or
relationship)
• Nondirectional hypotheses (predict a difference or relationship,
but not its direction)

• If writing research questions:

• First, specify descriptive questions for each important variable
• Next, state inferential questions that relate variables or
compare groups
• Finally, add questions in which variables are controlled
 Mixed Methods Research
Questions and Hypotheses
• Advance both qualitative and quantitative research
questions (or hypotheses)
• Use guidelines for writing good qualitative and quantitative
questions and hypotheses
• Order questions to match the mixed methods design
• In a two-phase design, order to match the phases
• In a one-phase design, order according to the method given the
most weight

• Include a mixed methods research question that

• Directly addresses the mixing of the two strands
• Is written to convey the procedures or the content of the study
 Different Ways to Write Questions and
Hypotheses into a Mixed Methods Study

• Write separate qualitative questions and quantitative questions

or hypotheses:
• At the beginning or as they emerge in phases
• This places emphasis on the two approaches

• Write separate questions or hypotheses followed by a mixed

methods question:
• This highlights the two approaches as well as their combined
strength

• Write only a mixed methods question:

• This emphasizes the integration and not the individual parts