Conceptual frameworks and operationalising your research
14 important questions on Conceptual frameworks and operationalising your research
What is conceptual framework?
- Part of problem solving (answering a question) is the ability to reframe a complex and chaotic reality in a model/framework that clarifies the mechanisms, and thus points to the solutions
Frameworks are:
- The description of concepts
- The relation between concepts
- form a simplified representation of complex reality
- Express relationships between concepts from a certain perspective
- are instruments that we use to make sense of reality
What are the concepts in everyday life when it comes to what to wear?
- What is the weather forecast?
- The image of the look?
- Which clothes are available? (what is clean, what can I buy?)
What is a concept?
- Something conceived in the mind
- An abstract notion or idea that we use to apply general terms to things/ persons, events, etc.
- The building blocks of thought, that we relate to context
- We all see different things
Concepts are:
- observable
- distinguishable
- variable
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Why should we use conceptual frameworks
- They allow us to think
- Structure our research
- Avoid misunderstanding
Why we should not use conceptual frameworks
- Might also stop thinking
- Don't look at other aspects anymore (very deductive)
- Create selective views / bias
- Make research less open and flexible to data and world around you (deductive)
Why is a conceptual framework crucial?
- Understand your main RQ/ objective
- Formulate empirical/ subquestion
- Help develop/ select tools for data collection
- Analyse results
- Make your research understandable
What are the steps to create conceptual framework?
- Ask theoretical questions -> mind map concepts in relation to your RQ -> starting point for literature explorations delineation, operationalisation -> then link up to theory
- theory/framework already exist in literature
- multiple theories from literature need to be combined
- Several relevant concepts can be derived from the literature, a model needs to be created
- there is no available framework or it has to emerge from the data
-> more structure -> makes it easier
What is a domain in regards to a RQ
How do you unravel key concepts
The difference between definite concepts and sensitising concepts
- Definite concepts: Clear definitions in terms of attributes, providing a description of what to see
- Sensitising concepts: interpretive devices, suggests directions along which to look
- You use these when you don't want to impose a framework on the situation
What do sensitising concepts help you with?
- Show you in what direction to look
- Are effective in providing an analytical framework
- Help you to a deep understanding of phenomena
Work that they work the same as inductive qualitative analysis
What should conceptual frameworks be:
- Should be considered as a process, rather than a thing
- Evaluated and revised continuously
- Integrated throughout the study
- Knowledge-based
How to link the research objective (RO) and the research question (RQ)
- Use literature
- go back and forth between brainstorming and literature research
- You can not just copy definitions from the literature
What are common pitfalls when it comes to conceptual framework
- Conceptual framework as a summary of theory, rather than integrated throughout
- Unfitting framework
- Conceptual framework = visualisation
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