CONCEPTUAL

FRAMEWORK
INTRODUCTION

 Conceptual Framework is an explanation of how a

researcher sees the different concepts and
outcomes of study and its relations with each
other.

 Itcan be developed from the researcher’s personal

experience, previous studies, or from more than
one theory or models.
DEFINITION

A written or visual presentation that:

“explains either graphically, or by narration, the

main things to be studied - the key factors,
concepts or variables - and the presumed
relationship among them”.
(Miles and Huberman, 1994, P18)
 Itbroadly presents understanding of the
phenomenon of interest and reflects the
assumptions and philosophic view of the
designer.

 Itis researcher’s own position on the problem-

the way the researcher shapes it together.
Conceptual framework represents way of thinking
about a problem or a study or way of representing how
complex things are.
Bordage, 2009

The conceptual framework “sets the stage” for the

presentation of the particular research question that
drives the investigation being reported based on the
problem statement.
McGaghie et al. (2001)
 STEP BY STEP GUIDE ON HOW TO MAKE
THE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
Before you prepare your conceptual framework, you need to do the following
things:

 Choose your topic. Decide on what will be your research topic.

The topic should be within your field of specialization.

 Do a literature review. Review relevant and updated research

on the theme that you decide to work on after scrutiny of the
issue at hand. Preferably use peer-reviewed and well-known
scientific journals as these are reliable sources of information.
 Isolate the important variables. Identify the specific variables
described in the literature and figure out how these are related.
Some abstracts contain the variables and the salient findings thus
may serve the purpose. If these are not available, find the
research paper’s summary. If the variables are not explicit in the
summary, get back to the methodology or the results and
discussion section and quickly identify the variables of the study
and the significant findings.
 Generate the conceptual framework. Build your conceptual
framework using your mix of the variables from the scientific
articles you have read. Your problem statement serves as a
reference in constructing the conceptual framework. In effect,
your study will attempt to answer a question that other
researchers have not explained yet. Your research should address
a knowledge gap.
PURPOSES
 Helps the researcher to see clearly the variables of the study
 Clarifies concepts and propose relationship among concepts

 Provides clear links from the literature to the research goals

and questions
 Provides an organizing structure for the research design and
methods.
 Useful to prepare research proposal using experimental or
descriptive methods
 Guides the development and testing of interventions and
hypotheses
 Provides for general framework for data analysis
 The interpretation of finding flows from the conceptualization
represented by the framework
 Makes research findings meaningful and generalize

 Provides reference points for discussion of the methodology

and analysis of the data
 Explains observations

 Contributes to the trustworthiness of the study.

 Encourages theory development that is useful to practice

EXAMPLE OF A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

This study zeroes in on the professional development

activities for teachers by espousing the idea that the
classroom performance of teachers is a critical factor for
student academic performance. The researcher based her
assumption from Weiner’s Attribution Theory that external
and internal factors can improve performance.
For example, students may attribute their academic
performance to their teachers (external factor) while the
teachers may attribute their teaching performance to in-
service trainings (external factor) and perhaps, to their
teaching efficacy, job satisfaction, and attitude towards the
teaching profession (internal factors).

These relationships are illustrated in Figure 1.