Theory & Research Framework

Deductive vs Inductive Reasoning

Determine which of the followings are inductive or deductive?

1. Based on years of findings from biologists, all organisms are made of cells.

2. All students eat pizza. Alex is a student at University X. Therefore, Alex eats pizza.

3. All athletes work out in the gym. Ahmad is an athlete. Therefore, Ahmad works out in the gym.

4. Those who have vaccinated are less likely to be infected by corona virus. As Alex has been vaccinated, he will be having less risk to be affected by Corona Virus.

What is Theory?

Corley and Gioia (2011)

A statement of concepts and their interrelationships that shows how and/or why a phenomenon occurs.

Lee and Lings (2008)

A set of interrelated concepts or ideas that explain some aspect of the real world.

Zikmund et al., (2010)

A theory attempts to explain the logical linkage between the concepts/constructs in a research model, and how they affect with one another.

Creswell (2009)

Theory is an interrelated set of constructs formed into propositions or hypotheses that specify the relationship among variables.

Hair et al., (2014)

Theory is a systematic set of relationships providing a consistent and comprehensive explanation of phenomena.

Business Dictionary

Theory is a set of assumptions, propositions or accepted facts that attempt to provide a rational explanation of cause and effects (causal) relationships among groups of the observed phenomenon.

What do the theories do?

Help to classify things: entities, processes, and causal relationships.
Help to understand how & why things are occurred.
Help to predict as yet unobserved relationships.
Guide research in useful directions.
Functions as explanations, descriptions or predictions about phenomenon particular to a conceptual model
Acts as a bridge between or among the variables.

In Structural Equation Modeling, ...

A researcher must begins specifying a theoretical model based on a theory/theories.

CB-SEM is strictly theory driven (Hair et al., 2010)

A model should not be developed without some underlying theories (Hair et al., 2010).

PLS-SEM is also based on some theoretical foundations, but its goal is to predict the relationship among constructs, to explore the underlying theoretical concept, and to develop the theory.

Some Theories

Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB)

Please click here to grab the current development of the TPB.

Resource-based View (Barney, 1991)

C-TAM-TPB (Taylor & Todd, 1995)

Unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) (Venkatesh et al., 2003)

Stimulus-Organism-Response (Mehrabian & Russell, 1974)

Sources for Theories

Management Theories: Click here.

Communication: Click here.

Marketing Theories: Click here.

Psychology Theories: Click here.

Sociology Theories: Click here,

Grounded Theory: Click here and here.

Information Systems Theories: Click here.

Strategic Management Theories: Click here.

Organizational Theories: Click here and here

Educational Theories: Click here, here, and here

Theoretical vs Conceptual Framework

Theoretical Framework

Theoretical Framework is a theory in the form of a model/paradigm that serves as the basis for the study. It mentions the proponents of the study and their results.

Theoretical framework in a study is based on an existing theory or theories (e.g., a theory of motivation). It is a collection of interrelated concepts that can hold or support a theory of a research work and guide a research.

Conceptual Framework

The conceptual framework is the researcher’s own model illustrating variables that specify the problem & gives direction to the study. It may be an adoption of a model in an early theory, with modifications to suit the inquiry. Therefore, conceptual model is developed by the researcher based on theory/theories.

Differences

A conceptual framework is the researcher’s idea on how the research problem will have to be explored. This is founded on the theoretical framework, which lies on a much broader scale of resolution.

The theoretical framework dwells on time tested theories that embody the findings of numerous investigations on how phenomena occur.

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. In this example, the variable “teaching method” represents stimulus while the “students’ academic performance” represents the response.

The variables make clear the kind of statistical treatment that will have to be used to analyze the relationship.

The theoretical framework provides a general representation of relationships between things in a given phenomenon.

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.

Characteristics of a Good Conceptual Scheme

Important variables must be identified and labeled
Explain the relationship between 2 or more variables based on some theory
If there are prior research, the relationship, either + or –, must be posited
Must also be able to explain why such relationship exists
A schematic diagram should be presented so that readers can better visualize the relationship
A researcher must be able to explain his/her conceptual framework with theory/theories because supporting a conceptual framework with theory/theories is compulsory in a quantitative research.