Instructions:
In at least 275 words , building upon the original reply or offer a contrasting viewpoint. The reply must be substantive, must use three peer reviewed articles that are different from the ones listed below and are between 2018-2021, and must further the discussion.

Information to be used below:
onceptual and Theoretical Framework

According to Rocco & Plakhotnik (2009), Literature reviews, conceptual frameworks, and theoretical frameworks are terms that are often used interchangeably by researchers. A literature review is a review of the literature on a subject to understand a need for a research study on that subject. Conceptual framework gains an understanding of the knowledge to lay the foundation for the importance of the problem statement and research questions. The conceptual framework also is usually qualitative research usually explores areas that are understudied. The conceptual framework relates relevant theories, concepts, and research to systematize knowledge about related issues and concepts. Theoretical framework differentiates between literature used for qualitative and quantitative studies. A theoretical framework is crucial to the study in a quantitative presentation. A theoretical framework is used to investigate a specific theory, and the purpose of the conceptual framework is not to investigate a specific theory (Rocco & Plakhotnik 2009). A theoretical framework synthesizes existing empirical research, related concepts, and theories to develop new theories for future research (Kivunja, 2018; Nord et al., 2019; Rocco & Plakhotnik, 2009).

According to Nord et al., (2019), the existence of a theory is sufficient for the creation of a theoretical framework model on which researchers place a high value. The theoretical framework is important to establish theory and provide a clear explanation with the intent to guide practitioners on adoption and implementation and researchers on future research related to the topic. A conceptual framework does not attempt to prove a theory but instead focuses on related concepts and the relationships between them.

An example of the conceptual framework is when the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) decided to work together to revise their conceptual frameworks for financial reporting. The framework created was a logical system that was expected to lead to the development of standards for consistent guidance. Without these standards, guidance would be ad hoc based and agreements on issues would be difficult to reach (Gornik-Tomaszewski, & Choi, 2018).

Dr. Charles Kivunja, School of Education at the University of New England has a different take on the difference between conceptual and theoretical research. Dr. Kivunja authored an article because he noticed many Masters and Ph.D. students couldn’t articulate the differences between theory, conceptual framework, and theoretical framework for the proposed research. Dr. Kivunja stated that every good Ph.D. thesis should have a theoretical framework due to the important role it plays in the analysis and meaning of the data. He states that the theoretical framework is not your thoughts about research, but a synthesis of the thoughts of the giants in your field to make sense of data in your research. The conceptual framework is the logical plan for your entire project and that the theoretical framework is a subset of the conceptual framework. He describes the conceptual framework as the house and theoretical framework as the rooms within the house that serve a particular purpose and that should never be used interchangeably. A conceptual framework could be the product of how you think about the research project, whereas a theoretical framework is other people’s thoughts that you interpret as relevant and helpful in your data analysis and interpretation (Kivunja, C., 2018).

References

Gornik-Tomaszewski, S., & Choi, Y. C. (2018). The Conceptual Framework: Past, Present, and Future. Review of Business, 38(1), 47-58.

Kivunja, C., (2018). Distinguishing between Theory, Theoretical Framework, and Conceptual Framework: A Systematic Review of Lessons from the Field. International Journal of Higher Education, 7(6), 44-53.

Nord, J. H., Koohang, A., Paliszkiewicz, J. (2019). The internet of things: Review and theoretical framework. Expert Systems with Applications, 133, 97-108.

Rocco, T. S., & Plakhotnik, M. S. (2009). Literature Reviews, Conceptual Frameworks, and Theoretical Frameworks: Terms, Functions, and Distinctions. Human Resource Development Review : HRD Review., 8(1), 120–130.

ANSWER

Discussion Reply 2

I agree with the author of the article on comparing a literature review, theoretical analysis, and conceptual analysis, all of which are vital in any given research. As much as they are important, they differ in what they stand for and represent in a study.  The major difference is that whereas literature review entails a review of the literature on a given subject topic, a conceptual framework is vital for helping research  to comprehend about  a certain knowledge which aids in laying the foundation for the study problem statement and research questions (Snyder, 2019). On the other hand, a theoretical framework is different from the literature review. It only includes the references to those whose works are necessary for analysis, which is also very rigorous.  The difference between the theoretical framework and literature review is their function. This is since a literature review explores what has already been written about. In contrast, the theoretical framework is the conceptual and analytical approach that the study takes to fill the gap (Adom, Hussein, & Adu-Agyem, 2018). The two are indispensable components and are equally important for the foundation of research.  On the other hand, there are one or more theories and other concepts and empirical findings from the literature for a conceptual framework. For conceptual frameworks, the relationship amongst such ideas is within, where it also depicts how they relate to the research study.

In most cases, conceptual analysis is a theoretical analysis but allows for more flexibility and less rigor.  It is manifest that there will always be a difference in expectations of a literature review, theoretical analysis, and conceptual analysis depending on the field and the scholarly outlet (Kivunja, 2018).  For example, a dissertation will always require a more detailed literature review than a journal article.  A political theory dissertation would require a different approach than a psychology dissertation since one mainly uses experimental design. In some studies, a theoretical analysis would be needed to be of grander scales, and conceptual analysis to be more deeply into definition and ideas used to build theory. Therefore, any person willing to undertake in-depth research needs to know the best approach when integrating a literature review, theoretical analysis, and conceptual analysis in their study.

References

Adom, D., Hussein, E. K., & Adu-Agyem, J. (2018). THEORETICAL AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK: MANDATORY INGREDIENTS OF A QUALITY RESEARCH.

Kivunja, C. (2018). Distinguishing between Theory, Theoretical Framework, and Conceptual Framework: A Systematic Review of Lessons from the Field.

Snyder, H. (2019). Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines. Journal of business research, 104, 333-339.