A practice note about constructing theoretical and conceptual frameworks in dissertation project works

A practice note about constructing theoretical and conceptual frameworks in dissertation project works (information from perplexity.ai)

My question 1: "In the context of doing part-time four-month MBA and Housing Studies dissertations, it is often useful to construct theoretical frameworks and conceptual frameworks based on literature review effort. Please offer 4 practice advices on the following two situations:

1. constructing theoretical and conceptual frameworks for primarily consulting oriented type of dissertation projects.

2. constructing theoretical and conceptual frameworks for primarily academic oriented type of dissertation projects."

The reply: "Theoretical frameworks anchor the dissertation in existing theories, while conceptual frameworks map the specific constructs, variables, and relationships in your study. For both consulting‑oriented and academic‑oriented projects, the trick is to balance theoretical coherence with a pragmatic focus on what can be done in four months.

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Brief distinction: theoretical vs conceptual

• A theoretical framework draws on established theories and models to provide a lens for explaining your phenomenon and guiding data collection and analysis.
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• A conceptual framework specifies the key concepts/variables in your study and shows the expected relationships between them, often as a diagram.
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1. Consulting-oriented dissertations: 4 practice advices

These projects need a framework that is academically defensible yet directly usable for client diagnosis and recommendations.

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Advice 1: Start from the client problem, then work backwards to theory

• Define the focal performance or policy problem in client language (e.g. low tenant satisfaction, weak knowledge transfer, slow adoption of digital tools), and then search for 1–2 core theories that can plausibly explain it (e.g. service quality, knowledge management, change management).
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• Treat the theoretical framework as a curated, minimal set of lenses that help you ask better diagnostic questions and structure data collection, rather than a long, purely academic debate.
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Advice 2: Make the conceptual framework double as a consulting logic model

• Design the conceptual framework so that each construct can be operationalised into interview prompts, survey items, or document review criteria that a consultant would actually use.
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• Emphasise actionable linkages (e.g. “leadership support → implementation quality → project outcomes”) and keep the diagram simple enough to be shown in a client slide deck without re‑work.
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Advice 3: Combine academic and consulting frameworks explicitly

• Blend academic theories (e.g. SECI knowledge-creation, service-dominant logic, institutional theory) with well-known consulting tools (e.g. 7S, value chain, stakeholder maps) and show how they interlock in your theoretical framework section.
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• In the conceptual framework, position the consulting tools as operational devices derived from or aligned with the academic concepts, so examiners can see a clear theory–practice bridge.
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Advice 4: Build in an “implications for client” pathway

• Include in your conceptual framework an explicit path from diagnostic constructs to types of recommendations (e.g. “capability gaps → training and process redesign; misaligned incentives → HR and governance changes”).
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• In Chapter 5, revisit the theoretical and conceptual frameworks to show how each empirical pattern you found travelled through that path to concrete client advice, satisfying both academic rigour and consultancy value.
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2. Academic-oriented dissertations: 4 practice advices

These projects prioritise contribution to scholarly debates, often in housing and urban studies, but still benefit from clear frameworks.

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Advice 1: Begin with the scholarly debate and research gap

• Use the literature review to map the main schools of thought and competing explanations around your focal issue (e.g. housing inequality, housing as infrastructure, strategic urban projects).
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• Build the theoretical framework as a structured synthesis of those positions, ending with a clearly articulated gap and your study’s specific theoretical proposition(s).
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Advice 2: Let the paradigm guide your theoretical choices

• Make your ontological/epistemological stance (e.g. interpretivism, critical realism, pragmatism) explicit, as this shapes which theories you select and how you expect them to work.
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• For example, a critical realist housing study might combine structural theories of housing systems with agency‑oriented perspectives, while an interpretivist study of dwelling practices foregrounds meaning and lived experience.
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Advice 3: Use the conceptual framework to operationalise contribution

• Translate abstract theoretical ideas (e.g. “housing as infrastructure”, “housing inequality drivers”) into mid‑level constructs and tentative relationships that are observable in your empirical setting.
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• Treat the conceptual framework as a working model that specifies what you will actually trace in the data, and how this will speak back to the theories you outlined.
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Advice 4: Close the loop between findings and the theoretical framework

• In the discussion chapter, systematically relate each key empirical finding to the theoretical propositions in your framework, indicating whether your results extend, refine, or challenge existing theories.
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• Use the conceptual framework diagram again, updated if needed, to visually show how the relationships changed in light of the evidence, thereby sharpening your theoretical contribution.
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My question 2: "With regard to the discussion here, please offer 2 additional practice advices in each of the following two situations:

1. the dissertation project is based on pragmatism

2. the dissertation project is based on critical realism"

The reply: "Pragmatism emphasizes practical consequences and mixed methods, while critical realism focuses on underlying mechanisms and stratified reality in research frameworks. These paradigms shape framework construction differently for time-constrained dissertations like yours in MBA and Housing Studies. Tailoring advice to them builds on prior consulting/academic distinctions.

Pragmatism-based dissertations: 2 practice advices

Pragmatism prioritizes what works in real-world contexts, supporting flexible, multimethod approaches over rigid theory adherence.

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Advice 1: Anchor frameworks in problem-solving consequences

Select theories and concepts based on their ability to generate actionable insights for your housing or business problem, such as tenant retention or policy implementation. Diagram relationships that link inputs (e.g., policy variables) to observable outcomes via mixed data paths, ensuring the framework tests "what works" through iterative validation in four months.

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Advice 2: Integrate mixed methods explicitly in the diagram

Build the conceptual framework as a modular logic model showing parallel qualitative (e.g., interviews on lived experiences) and quantitative (e.g., regression on housing metrics) strands converging on practical implications. Justify theoretical choices by their compatibility with pragmatism's rejection of method wars, focusing on how they enhance utility for stakeholders like consultants or policymakers.

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Critical realism-based dissertations: 2 practice advices

Critical realism views reality in layers (empirical, actual, real), using frameworks to uncover generative mechanisms behind observed housing or management phenomena.

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Advice 1: Layer the framework to reveal mechanisms

Structure the theoretical framework in stratified levels: surface events (e.g., housing affordability trends), underlying patterns (e.g., market behaviors), and deep mechanisms (e.g., power structures in urban policy). Use this to guide retroduction—hypothesizing causal powers testable via your data—in a compact diagram suitable for short dissertations.

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Advice 2: Position concepts as half-tested propositions

Develop the conceptual framework with tentative arrows representing mechanism-outcome configurations (e.g., "tenant agency → stratified bargaining → inequality reproduction"), drawn from literature but refined by empirical demi-regularities. In discussion, loop back to critique and refine these, demonstrating ontological depth without exhaustive testing in four months."

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