A brief teaching notes on theoretical frameworks and conceptual frameworks

A brief teaching notes on theoretical frameworks and conceptual frameworks (information from perplexity.ai)

My question 1: "Briefly highlight the main ideas of theoretical frameworks and conceptual frameworks with regard to the MBA and Housing Studies dissertation projects."

The reply: "Theoretical frameworks and conceptual frameworks are foundational components for MBA and Housing Studies dissertation projects, but they serve different purposes.

Theoretical Framework

• Defines key concepts and theories derived from existing literature relevant to the research topic.

• Explains relationships between these concepts and provides a basis for interpreting and generalizing findings.

• Establishes the academic theories that underpin the study and guides the research direction.

• In an MBA dissertation, it may focus on management, organizational, economic, or other business theories to address the research problem.

• In Housing Studies, it often integrates theories related to housing inequality, sustainability, social integration, or urban development to frame the investigation.

Conceptual Framework

• Presents a visual or written representation of the specific variables and their relationships as identified in the study.

• Developed from literature review and empirical knowledge to clarify study variables such as independent, dependent, moderating, and mediating variables.

• Maps how the researcher intends to explore or measure concepts and how they interact.

• In MBA research, this framework may illustrate constructs like customer satisfaction, loyalty, or market behavior and their expected interactions.

• For Housing Studies, it may propose models capturing aspects like housing affordability, availability, accessibility, acceptability, and housing inequality drivers.

• It serves as an analytic tool to design research methodology and data collection strategies.

Summary Table

Aspect	Theoretical Framework	Conceptual Framework
Purpose	Defines theoretical basis and relationships	Displays variables and their expected relationships
Basis	Established theories from literature	Variables drawn from literature & empirical knowledge
Role in Dissertation	Provides academic grounding and interpretation	Guides research design and variable measurement
MBA Focus	Business, management, economic theories	Constructs like customer satisfaction, loyalty
Housing Studies Focus	Theories on inequality, sustainability, social integration	Models of housing affordability, availability, inequality

 

Both frameworks are critical for structuring dissertations, with the theoretical framework building the research's academic foundation and the conceptual framework guiding the practical investigation and data analysis."

My question 2: "Should these frameworks be presented in Chapter 2 (Literature Review) of the dissertation report with reference to our discussion."

The reply: "Yes, theoretical and conceptual frameworks are typically presented in Chapter 2, the Literature Review chapter, of a dissertation report.

Theoretical frameworks serve as a foundation by reviewing and explaining established theories related to the research topic. This chapter evaluates these theories, compares them, and shows their relevance to the current study, thereby framing the research within existing academic discourse.

Conceptual frameworks, often developed from the theoretical framework and literature review, clarify the specific variables and their relationships that the research will investigate. Presenting them in the Literature Review chapter helps to link the theoretical grounding to the study’s research design and methodology.

However, the exact placement can vary depending on dissertation guidelines or complexity of the theories involved—some dissertations may present the theoretical framework in a standalone chapter if there is extensive theory to cover. Generally, combining theoretical and conceptual frameworks within Chapter 2 is common and practical to provide a comprehensive academic and research design foundation before moving to methodology."

A collection of blog notes on using chatgpt for research purpose.