How does a framework differ from a theory

Theory in doctoral research Identifying a theory that aligns with your dissertation or doctoral study takes time. Explore theories being used in: your theory courses completed dissertations and doctoral studies encyclopedias and handbooks the scholarly literature on your topic Keep a list of theories and take notes on how and why they were used.

Identify and learn more about relevant theories. Locate influential and seminal works related to those theories. Student Wellness and Disability Services Any concerns about accessibility of materials on this site or compatibility with assistive technology should be addressed to disability mail.

Walden Departments, Centers, and Resources. Walden Staff Login. Demystifying the Journal Article. Richard Swedberg, editor. Borrowing Theoretical Constructs from Elsewhere.

An increasingly important trend in the social and behavioral sciences is to think about and attempt to understand research problems from an interdisciplinary perspective. One way to do this is to not rely exclusively on the theories developed within your particular discipline, but to think about how an issue might be informed by theories developed in other disciplines.

For example, if you are a political science student studying the rhetorical strategies used by female incumbents in state legislature campaigns, theories about the use of language could be derived, not only from political science, but linguistics, communication studies, philosophy, psychology, and, in this particular case, feminist studies. Building theoretical frameworks based on the postulates and hypotheses developed in other disciplinary contexts can be both enlightening and an effective way to be more engaged in the research topic.

CohenMiller, A. Elizabeth Pate. The Oxford Handbook of Interdisciplinarity. New York: Oxford University Press, Don't Undertheorize! Do not leave the theory hanging out there in the introduction never to be mentioned again. Undertheorizing weakens your paper. The theoretical framework you describe should guide your study throughout the paper. Be sure to always connect theory to the review of pertinent literature and to explain in the discussion part of your paper how the theoretical framework you chose supports analysis of the research problem or, if appropriate, how the theoretical framework was found to be inadequate in explaining the phenomenon you were investigating.

In that case, don't be afraid to propose your own theory based on your findings. What's a Theory? What's a Hypothesis? The terms theory and hypothesis are often used interchangeably in newspapers and popular magazines and in non-academic settings. However, the difference between theory and hypothesis in scholarly research is important, particularly when using an experimental design. A theory is a well-established principle that has been developed to explain some aspect of the natural world.

Theories arise from repeated observation and testing and incorporates facts, laws, predictions, and tested assumptions that are widely accepted [e. A hypothesis is a specific, testable prediction about what you expect to happen in your study. For example, an experiment designed to look at the relationship between study habits and test anxiety might have a hypothesis that states, "We predict that students with better study habits will suffer less test anxiety.

The key distinctions are:. Cherry, Kendra. Introduction to Research Methods: Theory and Hypothesis. Welcome Presentation on Hypothesis. Slideshare presentation. Theories are meant to be tested and their underlying assumptions challenged; they are not rigid or intransigent, but are meant to set forth general principles for explaining phenomena or predicting outcomes.

The conceptual framework, on the other hand, embodies the specific direction by which the research will have to be undertaken. Statistically speaking, the conceptual framework describes the relationship between specific variables identified in the study. It also outlines the input, process and output of the whole investigation. The conceptual framework is also called the research paradigm.

The difference between theoretical framework and conceptual framework can be further clarified by the following examples on both concepts:. Notice in the illustrative example that the theoretical framework basically differs from the conceptual framework in terms of scope.

The theoretical framework describes a broader relationship between things. When stimulus is applied, response is expected. The conceptual framework is much more specific in defining this relationship. The conceptual framework specifies the variables that will have to be explored in the investigation.

The variables make clear the kind of statistical treatment that will have to be used to analyze the relationship. In order to come up with their own set of theoretical and conceptual framework that will guide the conduct of the research, students have to review literature pertaining to their chosen research topic.

Students need to read a lot and find out what has been studied so far in their respective fields and come up with their own synthesis of the literature. They should look for gaps in knowledge and identify what questions need to be answered or what problems need to be given solutions. Input: The thing or event that triggers the process. Sometimes the output of one process is used as input for the next. Explanation Input is something that is transformed, consumed, used or processed.

The definition of a process is the actions happening while something is happening or being done. An example of process is the steps taken by someone to clean a kitchen. An example of process is a collection of action items to be decided on by government committees. The inputs represent the flow of data and materials into the process from the outside.

The processing step includes all tasks required to effect a transformation of the inputs. The outputs are the data and materials flowing out of the transformation process. Begin typing your search term above and press enter to search.