Assignment:
Respond to your colleagues' posts by clarifying or expanding your understanding of the conceptual and theoretical frameworks. Use as an example from an article on your topic of interest that uses a theoretical or conceptual framework.
To explain the distinctions between theoretical and conceptual frameworks, Grant and Osanloo employed the notion of developing a blueprint and making a house. In other words, a construction team would not build a house without a plan or a blueprint. So, a good researcher should not plan their course of study without proper guidelines, definitions, and an overall understanding of the subject matter at hand. Grant and Osanloo pointed out that there is a clear distinction between the conceptual and theoretical framework models. So, to properly begin a course of study the researcher must first define the conceptual and theoretical framework.
The theoretical framework model is based upon working theories and has been validated. In other words, these methods have already gone through the rigors of peer reviews, observations, and have proven to be sound working models. According to Ravitch and Carl (2016),"In other words, the theoretical framework is the set of formal theories that you seek out and bring together to frame and contextualize the domain or focus of the inquiry and the setting and context that shape its exploration." (p. 46). A conceptual framework connects the researcher's ideas to a formalized manner in which the study is to take place. In other words, it is the place where the researcher's views and experiences meet an overall structure and formality. At this point, the researcher must best conceive the ideas that are going to be reviewed, which directions to take their study in, and account for the variety of factors that can influence their research.
However, the authors do point out that there is a clear distinction between the two and they are not interchangeable. According to Grant and Osanloo (2014),"Theoretical frameworks are sometimes referred to as a conceptual framework; however, these terms are neither interchangeable or synonymous." (p. 16). In other words, the conceptual framework may be described as the initial step in the process of their research where they begin to connect their ideas. But, once this process is completed the researcher can then begin to work towards their theoretical framework by connecting their ideas to a formalized process in connection with pre-established research theories that have been validated and reviewed. According to Ravitch and Carl (2016),"The conceptual framework creates a bridge between the context, theory, both formal and tacit, and the way that the study is structured and conducted in relation to all these contextualizing and mediating influences." (p. 35).
References
Cleaver, D., & Ballantyne, J. (2014). Teachers' views of constructivist theory: A qualitative study illuminating relationships between epistemological understanding and music teaching practice. International Journal of Music Education, 32(2), 228-241.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
Grant, C., & Osanloo, A. (2014). Understanding, selecting, and integrating a theoretical framework in dissertation research: Creating the blueprint for your "house." Administrative Issues Journal: Connecting Education, Practice, and Research, 4(2), 12-26.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
Ravitch, S. M., & Carl, N. M. (2016). Qualitative research: Bridging the conceptual, theoretical, and methodological. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Rubin, H. J., & Rubin, I. S. (2012). Qualitative interviewing: The art of hearing data (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.