Conceptual Framework - a Product of Mental Plan of the Research Design

Abstract

Development of conceptual framework of a research design can be compared to a mental process which regulates human efforts to achieve useful results. It can be treated as a network of efforts/steps, in which every step or effort is related to the other step/effort, either directly or indirectly. This framework, therefore, defines each effort, gives the causal relationship, direction and appropriateness to the research efforts. While addressing the conceptual framework the researcher should understand the different steps/efforts which are of methods and procedures to be followed, means of data collection and observation, method of analysis and how inferences should be drawn. The researcher must also exercise back and forth to ensure compatibility between various efforts/steps of the conceptual framework. The selective arrangement, placement and linkages of the efforts within the context and boundary of the conceptual framework is very crucial to the research design and any lapse or fault at any step may lead to unreliable and irrelevant results. However, the boundaries and structure of the conceptual framework do not have a rigId format but are quite flexible. In order to make the research reliable and credible, the researcher has to build a proper structure, context and define the boundary of conceptual framework.