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The theory section of your thesis supports and frames (hence the word framework) the rest of the thesis. This 101 guide answers the following questions:
After reading this article you will understand:
The theoretical framework is indispensable for research. It is the framework on which the entire study rests. It is used to derive hypotheses or concepts, structure your data collection and informs the way you analyse your data. It also serves as a bridge between your literature review (more specifically, the gaps that you highlighted) and the empirical data.
The purpose of a theoretical framework is to provide the conceptual basis for understanding and analysing your data.
Broadly speaking, it can be used to either derive certain testable assumptions or as a way of making sense of your data. In both cases, it structures your data collection by focusing your attention on a small subset of concepts.
These concepts lie at the core of a theoretical framework. They can be drawn from more than one theory, are related to one another and are later used as either a mechanism to make sense of the world or as testable hypotheses to explain it.
It typically takes on a number of forms:
It explicitly states the theoretical assumptions underpinning the study.
It connects the empirical data to existing knowledge.
It allows you to come up with propositions, concepts or hypotheses that you can use to answer ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions.
The theoretical framework, then, can serve a number of distinct purposes, depending on your aims and objectives. It can be:
A means through which you can interpret new data
A way of understanding which data is important and which isn't
A way of interpreting old data and giving it new meaning
A set of testable hypotheses
The following video, despite not being the most engaging in the world, does do a good job of providing a more technical understanding of what a theoretical framework is.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/VkiKK8sj_bs
Think of your theoretical framework like a toolbox that you have built yourself and optimised so that it tackles a particular problem. In the toolbox you have a variety of tools that each serve a particular function and, when used in conjunction with one another, can fix the problem at hand.
The theory framework toolbox contains a number of concepts (tools) optimised to tackle your research problem.
What you do with your theory framework will depend a lot on the goals of your research.
If you are seeking to develop new theory, you will be crafting your framework from a range of possible contenders and then subjecting various concepts and hypotheses to tests to see whether they are valid and whether your theory is robust. The same is true if you are testing theory; you take existing theory and then subject it to tests.
If you have a more empirical focus, you might instead want an off the shelf theoretical framework that has been applied, say, in other similar contexts. Alternatively, you might construct your own framework (perhaps if you have reached the conclusion in your literature review that existing theory is inappropriate) using more than one theory. In either case, the emphasis is on making sense of the data first. The theory helps you do this.
It’s always important to emphasise the connections between the various sections of the thesis. Each chapter is a piece of the PhD puzzle, and all must fit together logically.
These logical connections are particularly important when it comes to the theoretical framework.
We have briefly hinted above at how the theoretical framework is related to the various other sections of the thesis, but let's make the link as clear as possible.
The literature review and theoretical framework are inseparably linked. That means you need to make sure the theory you choose relates to the literature review. If you imagine that the literature review made the case for the research and highlighted the problem that needs fixing, the concepts (tools) you include in your theoretical framework (toolbox) need to be right for the job.
Once you settle upon a theory, it will inform the research methods you choose. The theory, concepts, variables and relationships you choose to focus on will impact the range and choice of appropriate methods. What’s more, once you have collected the data, the theoretical framework will be used to make sense of the data and, ultimately, will be supported, extended or modified on the basis of the data.
It's worth pointing out now that you may not need a dedicated theory chapter. If you are using a theory that has a long pedigree in your discipline and aren't trying to refine or repurpose it, you may be able to get away with including a briefer, more concise theory framework discussion towards the end of your literature review, or even in your introduction. If you're in doubt, ask yourself how many words you need to achieve the objectives you encounter in this article. Failing that, ask your supervisor or adviser for guidance.
Regardless of whether you have a standalone chapter or smaller section within an existing chapter, you will need to know how to structure it. Because there is so much to consider, we have created a Theory Framework Template. You can find that below.