Published on 14 February 2020 by Shona McCombes. Revised on 10 October 2022.
A theoretical framework is a foundational review of existing theories that serves as a roadmap for developing the arguments you will use in your own work.
Theories are developed by researchers to explain phenomena, draw connections, and make predictions. In a theoretical framework, you explain the existing theories that support your research, showing that your work is grounded in established ideas.
In other words, your theoretical framework justifies and contextualises your later research, and it’s a crucial first step for your research paper, thesis, or dissertation. A well-rounded theoretical framework sets you up for success later on in your research and writing process.
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Before you start your own research, it’s crucial to familiarise yourself with the theories and models that other researchers have already developed. Your theoretical framework is your opportunity to present and explain what you’ve learned, situated within your future research topic.
There’s a good chance that many different theories about your topic already exist, especially if the topic is broad. In your theoretical framework, you will evaluate, compare, and select the most relevant ones.
By “framing” your research within a clearly defined field, you make the reader aware of the assumptions that inform your approach, showing the rationale behind your choices for later sections, like methodology and discussion. This part of your dissertation lays the foundations that will support your analysis, helping you interpret your results and make broader generalisations.
By conducting a thorough literature review, you can determine how other researchers have defined these key concepts and drawn connections between them. As you write your theoretical framework, your aim is to compare and critically evaluate the approaches that different authors have taken.
After discussing different models and theories, you can establish the definitions that best fit your research and justify why. You can even combine theories from different fields to build your own unique framework if this better suits your topic.
Make sure to at least briefly mention each of the most important theories related to your key concepts. If there is a well-established theory that you don’t want to apply to your own research, explain why it isn’t suitable for your purposes.
Note A literature review and a theoretical framework are not the same thing and cannot be used interchangeably. A theoretical framework describes the theoretical underpinnings of your work, while a literature review critically evaluates existing research relating to your topic.
Apart from summarising and discussing existing theories, your theoretical framework should show how your project will make use of these ideas and take them a step further.
You might aim to do one or more of the following:
A theoretical framework can sometimes be integrated into a literature review chapter, but it can also be included as its own chapter or section in your dissertation. As a rule of thumb, if your research involves dealing with a lot of complex theories, it’s a good idea to include a separate theoretical framework chapter.
There are no fixed rules for structuring your theoretical framework, but it’s best to double-check with your department or institution to make sure they don’t have any formatting guidelines. The most important thing is to create a clear, logical structure. There are a few ways to do this:
As in all other parts of your research paper, thesis, or dissertation, make sure to properly cite your sources to avoid plagiarism.
To get a sense of what this part of your thesis or dissertation might look like, take a look at our full example.
While a theoretical framework describes the theoretical underpinnings of your work based on existing research, a conceptual framework allows you to draw your own conclusions, mapping out the variables you may use in your study and the interplay between them.
A literature review and a theoretical framework are not the same thing and cannot be used interchangeably. While a theoretical framework describes the theoretical underpinnings of your work, a literature review critically evaluates existing research relating to your topic. You’ll likely need both in your dissertation.
A theoretical framework can sometimes be integrated into a literature review chapter , but it can also be included as its own chapter or section in your dissertation. As a rule of thumb, if your research involves dealing with a lot of complex theories, it’s a good idea to include a separate theoretical framework chapter.
A literature review is a survey of scholarly sources (such as books, journal articles, and theses) related to a specific topic or research question.
It is often written as part of a dissertation, thesis, research paper, or proposal.
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