Conceptual Framework

Updated 17 Sep 2026

•
What it is
- •
  an organized acount of the concepts and proposed relationships guiding a study
•
Construction
- •
  identify important concepts
- •
  explain their relationships using theory or previous evidence
- •
  connect those relationships to observable variables or qualitative questions
•
Technical research
- •
  may include a system diagram, mathematical model, or algorithm pipeline
- •
  a processing diagram alone does not explain why the proposed relationships should hold
•
Distinguish from
- •
  a theoretical framework explicitly grounds the study in an established theory; a conceptual framework can synthesize several sources into a study-specific model
•
Related
- •
  Operational Definition
- •
  Research Hypothesis

Linked references 2