Description of Conceptual Framework
This is a 1+ page section that connects your research to theory, or in this case a theoretical perspective. Be sure not to use 1st person. You can’t say “I” “me” or “my.”
It will be due in Module 8. That’s this current module!
What is the purpose of the Conceptual Framework?
The conceptual framework explains in more detail main dimensions to be studied and the presumed relationships among them. It is an extremely important part of the paper because it tells us exactly what you are going to look at. By this point, the focus of the paper becomes even more clear and specific.
How many paragraphs/sections should it have?
Your first paragraph should tie together the previous two sections. Provide a summary of; 1) the argument your Problem Statement made for why it’s important to study this topic; and 2) the main contributions and limitations of the research that’s already been done, which you discussed in the Literature Review.
The second paragraph highlights what your contributions to the topic will be. In other words, what is the new thing we will be learning from the findings of your interviews. You will again tell us what your main research question is. But then you will break down your main research question into three sub-question. For example, if my main research question is: “What are the experiences of Latinx community college students?” Then three sub-questions could be: “What barriers to Latinx students face?” “What type of support do Latinx students receive at home?” “What type of support do Latinx students receive at school?” Your sub-questions need to be in question format and end with a question mark.
In the second paragraph you would also define any terms you are using that might need to be defined. For example, if I were writing about first-generation college students, I would explain what I mean by “first generation college student.” Some of you may have terms to define, while some of you may not. If you have several terms to define, then you may consider making this a paragraph of its own.
The third paragraph provides an explanation of how your topic is connected to theory. You will first explain how you believe your topic works. What do you think is going on? Then you will describe which theoretical perspective(s) is guiding your understanding of the topic. You may apply Symbolic Interactionism, Conflict Theory, Feminist Theory, and/or Functionalism. Please explain how your topic would be viewed using that perspective. How would that perspective explain what is going on? First, give a general explanation of the theoretical perspective and reference the textbook when giving this general explanation. Be sure to cite the book when giving this explanation. Then you can go into how that perspective helps you understand your specific research topic. If you feel that more than one theoretical perspective is guiding your understanding of the topic, then feel free to apply more than one theoretical perspective.
Why are your 3 research sub-questions so important?
The 3 sub-questions you create in paragraph two are really important because you will later be organizing your interviews and your findings around these three sub-questions.
Your sub-questions should sound like research questions, not interview questions. For example, instead of “How did you figure out your long-term education goals?” it should be “How do students figure out their long-term educational goals?” So make sure they don’t sound like interview questions.
My advice is to come up with your 3 research sub-questions and just think about what types of questions you can ask related to that sub-question during your virtual interviews. It should feel easy to think of multiple interview questions. If it feels too hard to come up with several questions, then maybe you should think of a different research sub-question. Or if your sub-questions are so similar that your interview questions would be the same, then that means you should probably think of changing one of the research sub-question.
What about citations and references?
The only new source you HAVE to use in this section is our textbook. You may use other sources to help you define important terms in the 2nd paragraph, if needed.
You will need to cite the book in paragraph 3 when providing a general explanation of the theoretical perspective you are applying.
You will also need to include a reference page. Your reference page should include all the sources you used in the Problem Statement, the Literature Review, and now in the Conceptual Framework. This means you just need to add our textbook to the reference page that you used in the Literature Review.
Here is our textbook in APA format so that you can easily pop it into your reference page:
Henslin J.M. (2020). Social Problems: A Down to Earth Approach 13th Ed. Boston: Pearson.
To be turned into turnitin.com
Please ask if there is any confusion
Make sure to use the textbook.
If needed you may use the other sources listed in the reference pages of the files below.