A Guide to Conceptual Frameworks

2/28/2025

The First Step in Planning a Research Project

What is a Conceptual Framework?

A conceptual framework is a concise graphical illustration of the foundations of your proposed research. It can include the contextual elements that generated the ideas for the research, the primary problem(s) under investigation, and the key questions that you will be asking. You could even extend it to include initial ideas as to how you might go about answering those questions. As described in a recent research study proposal that Dr. Robin Kay (Ontario Tech University) and I created as we developed a research proposal to study the impacts of the transition to online teaching on faculty practices during the COVID-19 pandemic:

A conceptual framework can be used to depict a vision of how theoretical concepts and previous research relate to each other, to concepts to be explored, and to the overall purpose of the proposed research (Cohen et al., 2011, p. 117). A conceptual framework helps to ensure that the conduct and reporting of the research efforts are thoroughly, are appropriately grounded, and are able to meet the research objectives (Koro-Ljungberg et al., 2009, p. 687; MacDonald et al., 2005.)

In the following video, Scribbr (2020) explains what a conceptual framework for a research study is, and provides an easy-to-follow example of how to develop one:

Components of a Conceptual Framework

Figure 1 shows the components of a typical conceptual framework, which starts with illustrating where your research ideas come from. This would include things like:

Theories, models and frameworks that inform your thinking.
Literature on current and emerging understandings of best practices within your context.
Observations, experiences, and anecdotal evidence of trends and issues.
Any applicable practical standards or regulations that might impact the situation to be investigated.
Other background information.

From there, you would illustrate the central theme for your proposed research project (the big idea), which would then be followed by an illustration of the primary questions that you think need to be explored.

Figure 1
Conceptual framework for my research project

Keep in mind that new background information and new questions may emerge as your progress through your research. Likewise, you may determine that some of your primary questions just cannot be tackled at this point (which is perfectly okay!).

An Example of a Conceptual Framework

Higher Education Faculty Responses to the Transition to Online Teaching

I like to prepare a conceptual framework early on in the development of a research proposal, as it helps me to focus in on the core aspects of what I intend to do. It also helps me to communicate to others (i.e., the Research Ethics Board, potential collaborators, funding agencies, etc.) what I am proposing to do. I will typically include my conceptual framework as a figure in a research proposal document. Here is an example of the conceptual framework that Dr. Kay and I created as we developed our research proposal.

Figure 2
Conceptual framework for the Higher Education Faculty Responses to the Transition to Online Teaching research project

You can see our conceptual framework in context in the supporting research proposal document that we prepared for the REB committees at CBU and OnTechU (Power & Kay, 2021):

For those of you who are interested... Dr. Kay and I actually produced two separate papers (and a number of conference presentations) from this research study:

Higher Education Faculty Supports for the Transition to Online Teaching during the COVID-19 Pandemic (Power & Kay, 2023)
The Effects of COVID-19 on Higher Education Teaching Practices (Power et al., 2024)

Note that the first of our two papers wasn’t published until 2023, despite our initial REB submission to begin the study back in 2021. This should give you an indication of how long it may take to "get all of your ducks in a row," conduct your data collection, analyze the data, write your final paper(s), and then get them through the publishing process!

Another Conceptual Framework Example

The CSAM Research Study

Here is another example of a conceptual framework, created in the early stages of my doctoral dissertation research as I was preparing Chapters 1-3 (which typically comprise your research proposal, if you are working towards a master’s or doctoral-level dissertation) for my candidacy exam and REB application at Athabasca University (which would then allow me to start conducting my dissertation research study).

Figure 3
The CSAM research study conceptual framework.

The conceptual framework for Dr. Rob Power's doctoral dissertation research.

Using a Conceptual Framework in a Research Presentation

The following video (Power, 2016) is an excerpt from a recording of a practice run for my final doctoral dissertation defense, where I introduce my (completed) technology intervention-based research study, using the same conceptual framework to explain the origins of the study and its research questions:

Note - Watch until the 2:38 mark

Like my previously mentioned research study with Dr. Robin Kay, it took quite some time to get from the stage of developing an initial conceptual framework all the way through to getting REB approvals, conducting data collection and analysis, and writing up my final paper (nearly two years, in fact!).

For those of you who are curious, you can check out my final dissertation document (Power, 2015) online at:

Rob Power's Final Doctoral Dissertation

Note -- This is NOT a required reading! I'm sharing this to illustrate how a conceptual framework can help to shape a research project (and keep it focused)!

Using Your Conceptual Framework to Guide Your Research

Returning to the conceptual framework structure illustrated in Figure 1, Figure 4 shows how you can use that structure to help guide your research study and the preparation of your research report or dissertation.

A figure showing the relationships between the components of a conceptual framework, the stages of a research study, and the components of a final research report or dissertation.

As illustrated in Figure 4:

The background information that sparked and informed your central research theme becomes the themes used to organize your literature review.
The primary questions are refined into your actual research questions.
How you plan to answer those questions becomes the Methodology section of your report or dissertation.
The data that you collect through these methods becomes the Results section of your report or dissertation.
The Discussions and Conclusions sections of your report or dissertation are where you discuss your Results in the context of the themes of your Literature Review.
Any primary questions that you didn’t tackle, or new questions that have emerged, can be included in your Recommendations for Future Research and Practice.

Preparing and Sharing Your Own Conceptual Framework

One of the first things that I ask my students to do in a research project course, or if I’m supervising their dissertation research projects, is to create their own conceptual framework diagrams. It doesn't need to be perfect, or final! But, taking a few minutes to create one now will help you to narrow down your focus, and guide you over the steps to follow in the development of your research proposal. If you can summarize what you want to do in a diagram or image, then you have a pretty good idea of where you are going.

Useful Tools for Creating Your Conceptual Framework:

Canva (2025)
Google Slides (n.d.)
Microsoft PowerPoint (2024)
MindMup 2 (n.d.)
Padlet (n.d.)

Once you have created your conceptual framework diagram, record a short video presentation (you can use screen casting software, record yourself in a Teams (Microsoft, 2024b), Zoom (2024), or Google Meet (n.d.) meeting, or use the features built into PowerPoint (Microsoft, 2024a) to record your presentation) where you:

Introduce yourself, and the context in which you will likely be conducting your research.
Explain your conceptual framework.

Then, share that video presentation with your instructor, supervisor, or classmates!

Note - To facilitate this process in my research project courses, I typically set up a dedicated Padlet (n.d.) wall within the course.

Presentation Resources:

The following chapters from Everyday Instructional Design: A Practical Resource for Educators and Instructional Designers may be helpful as you create your video presentations:

References

Canva (2025). About Canva: Empowering the world to design. https://www.canva.com/about/

Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2011). Research methods in education (7th ed). Routledge.

Google (n.d.). Google Meet. https://meet.google.com/

Google (n.d.). Google Slides. https://workspace.google.com/intl/en_ca/products/slides/

Koro-Ljungberg, M., Yendol-Hoppey, D., Smith, J. & Hayes, S. (2009). (E)pistomological awareness, instantiation of methods, and uninformed methodological ambiguity in qualitative research projects. Educational Researcher, 38(9), 687-699. DOI: 10.3102/0013189X09351980

MacDonald, C., Stodel, E., Thompson, T., Muirhead, B., Hinton, C., Carson, B. & Banit, E. (2005). Addressing the eLearning Contradiction: A Collaborative Approach for Developing a Conceptual Framework Learning Object. Interdisciplinary Journal of E-Learning and Learning Objects, 1(1), 79-98. https://www.learntechlib.org/p/44868/

Microsoft (2024). PowerPoint. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/powerpoint

Microsoft (2024). Microsoft Teams: Meet, chat, call, and collaborate in just one place. https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/microsoft-teams/group-chat-software?rtc=1

MindMup 2 (n.d.). https://drive.mindmup.com/

Padlet (n.d.). Padlet: Who we are, our policies, and links to useful information about Padlet. https://padlet.com/about

Power, R. (2023). Everyday Instructional Design: A Practical Resource for Educators and Instructional Designers. Power Learning Solutions. ISBN: 978-1-9993825-8-2. https://pressbooks.pub/everydayid/

Power, R. (2015). A framework for promoting teacher self-efficacy with mobile reusable learning objects (Doctoral dissertation, Athabasca University). DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.1.1160.4889. https://dt.athabascau.ca/jspui/handle/10791/63

Power, R. (2016, February 11). Oral Dissertation Defense - Rehearsal Presentation (Rob Power). [video]. https://youtu.be/Fu7lswbn39c

Power, R. & Kay, R. (2021). Higher Education Faculty Responses Research Proposal Supporting Documents [Unpublished manuscript].

Power, R. & Kay, R. (2023). Higher Education Faculty Supports for the Transition to Online Teaching during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Journal of Educational Informatics, 4(1), 49-72. https://journalofeducationalinformatics.ca/index.php/JEI/article/view/191

Power, R., Kay, R., & Craig, C. (2023). The Effects of COVID-19 on Higher-Education Teaching Practices. International Journal of E-Learning & Distance Education, 38(2). https://www.ijede.ca/index.php/jde/article/view/1255/1899

Scribbr (2020, October 13). How to Develop a Conceptual Framework – with REAL Example | Scribbr. [video]. https://youtu.be/MnfRdTCUIsc

Zoom Video Communications (2024). Zoom. https://zoom.us/

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