what is conceptual framework in literature review pdf

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CBE Life Sci Educ
v.21(3); Fall 2022

Literature Reviews, Theoretical Frameworks, and Conceptual Frameworks: An Introduction for New Biology Education Researchers

Julie a. luft.

† Department of Mathematics, Social Studies, and Science Education, Mary Frances Early College of Education, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602-7124

Sophia Jeong

‡ Department of Teaching & Learning, College of Education & Human Ecology, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210

Robert Idsardi

§ Department of Biology, Eastern Washington University, Cheney, WA 99004

Grant Gardner

∥ Department of Biology, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN 37132

Associated Data

To frame their work, biology education researchers need to consider the role of literature reviews, theoretical frameworks, and conceptual frameworks as critical elements of the research and writing process. However, these elements can be confusing for scholars new to education research. This Research Methods article is designed to provide an overview of each of these elements and delineate the purpose of each in the educational research process. We describe what biology education researchers should consider as they conduct literature reviews, identify theoretical frameworks, and construct conceptual frameworks. Clarifying these different components of educational research studies can be helpful to new biology education researchers and the biology education research community at large in situating their work in the broader scholarly literature.

INTRODUCTION

Discipline-based education research (DBER) involves the purposeful and situated study of teaching and learning in specific disciplinary areas ( Singer et al. , 2012 ). Studies in DBER are guided by research questions that reflect disciplines’ priorities and worldviews. Researchers can use quantitative data, qualitative data, or both to answer these research questions through a variety of methodological traditions. Across all methodologies, there are different methods associated with planning and conducting educational research studies that include the use of surveys, interviews, observations, artifacts, or instruments. Ensuring the coherence of these elements to the discipline’s perspective also involves situating the work in the broader scholarly literature. The tools for doing this include literature reviews, theoretical frameworks, and conceptual frameworks. However, the purpose and function of each of these elements is often confusing to new education researchers. The goal of this article is to introduce new biology education researchers to these three important elements important in DBER scholarship and the broader educational literature.

The first element we discuss is a review of research (literature reviews), which highlights the need for a specific research question, study problem, or topic of investigation. Literature reviews situate the relevance of the study within a topic and a field. The process may seem familiar to science researchers entering DBER fields, but new researchers may still struggle in conducting the review. Booth et al. (2016b) highlight some of the challenges novice education researchers face when conducting a review of literature. They point out that novice researchers struggle in deciding how to focus the review, determining the scope of articles needed in the review, and knowing how to be critical of the articles in the review. Overcoming these challenges (and others) can help novice researchers construct a sound literature review that can inform the design of the study and help ensure the work makes a contribution to the field.

The second and third highlighted elements are theoretical and conceptual frameworks. These guide biology education research (BER) studies, and may be less familiar to science researchers. These elements are important in shaping the construction of new knowledge. Theoretical frameworks offer a way to explain and interpret the studied phenomenon, while conceptual frameworks clarify assumptions about the studied phenomenon. Despite the importance of these constructs in educational research, biology educational researchers have noted the limited use of theoretical or conceptual frameworks in published work ( DeHaan, 2011 ; Dirks, 2011 ; Lo et al. , 2019 ). In reviewing articles published in CBE—Life Sciences Education ( LSE ) between 2015 and 2019, we found that fewer than 25% of the research articles had a theoretical or conceptual framework (see the Supplemental Information), and at times there was an inconsistent use of theoretical and conceptual frameworks. Clearly, these frameworks are challenging for published biology education researchers, which suggests the importance of providing some initial guidance to new biology education researchers.

Fortunately, educational researchers have increased their explicit use of these frameworks over time, and this is influencing educational research in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. For instance, a quick search for theoretical or conceptual frameworks in the abstracts of articles in Educational Research Complete (a common database for educational research) in STEM fields demonstrates a dramatic change over the last 20 years: from only 778 articles published between 2000 and 2010 to 5703 articles published between 2010 and 2020, a more than sevenfold increase. Greater recognition of the importance of these frameworks is contributing to DBER authors being more explicit about such frameworks in their studies.

Collectively, literature reviews, theoretical frameworks, and conceptual frameworks work to guide methodological decisions and the elucidation of important findings. Each offers a different perspective on the problem of study and is an essential element in all forms of educational research. As new researchers seek to learn about these elements, they will find different resources, a variety of perspectives, and many suggestions about the construction and use of these elements. The wide range of available information can overwhelm the new researcher who just wants to learn the distinction between these elements or how to craft them adequately.

Our goal in writing this paper is not to offer specific advice about how to write these sections in scholarly work. Instead, we wanted to introduce these elements to those who are new to BER and who are interested in better distinguishing one from the other. In this paper, we share the purpose of each element in BER scholarship, along with important points on its construction. We also provide references for additional resources that may be beneficial to better understanding each element. Table 1 summarizes the key distinctions among these elements.

Comparison of literature reviews, theoretical frameworks, and conceptual reviews

This article is written for the new biology education researcher who is just learning about these different elements or for scientists looking to become more involved in BER. It is a result of our own work as science education and biology education researchers, whether as graduate students and postdoctoral scholars or newly hired and established faculty members. This is the article we wish had been available as we started to learn about these elements or discussed them with new educational researchers in biology.

LITERATURE REVIEWS

Purpose of a literature review.

A literature review is foundational to any research study in education or science. In education, a well-conceptualized and well-executed review provides a summary of the research that has already been done on a specific topic and identifies questions that remain to be answered, thus illustrating the current research project’s potential contribution to the field and the reasoning behind the methodological approach selected for the study ( Maxwell, 2012 ). BER is an evolving disciplinary area that is redefining areas of conceptual emphasis as well as orientations toward teaching and learning (e.g., Labov et al. , 2010 ; American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2011 ; Nehm, 2019 ). As a result, building comprehensive, critical, purposeful, and concise literature reviews can be a challenge for new biology education researchers.

Building Literature Reviews

There are different ways to approach and construct a literature review. Booth et al. (2016a) provide an overview that includes, for example, scoping reviews, which are focused only on notable studies and use a basic method of analysis, and integrative reviews, which are the result of exhaustive literature searches across different genres. Underlying each of these different review processes are attention to the s earch process, a ppraisa l of articles, s ynthesis of the literature, and a nalysis: SALSA ( Booth et al. , 2016a ). This useful acronym can help the researcher focus on the process while building a specific type of review.

However, new educational researchers often have questions about literature reviews that are foundational to SALSA or other approaches. Common questions concern determining which literature pertains to the topic of study or the role of the literature review in the design of the study. This section addresses such questions broadly while providing general guidance for writing a narrative literature review that evaluates the most pertinent studies.

The literature review process should begin before the research is conducted. As Boote and Beile (2005 , p. 3) suggested, researchers should be “scholars before researchers.” They point out that having a good working knowledge of the proposed topic helps illuminate avenues of study. Some subject areas have a deep body of work to read and reflect upon, providing a strong foundation for developing the research question(s). For instance, the teaching and learning of evolution is an area of long-standing interest in the BER community, generating many studies (e.g., Perry et al. , 2008 ; Barnes and Brownell, 2016 ) and reviews of research (e.g., Sickel and Friedrichsen, 2013 ; Ziadie and Andrews, 2018 ). Emerging areas of BER include the affective domain, issues of transfer, and metacognition ( Singer et al. , 2012 ). Many studies in these areas are transdisciplinary and not always specific to biology education (e.g., Rodrigo-Peiris et al. , 2018 ; Kolpikova et al. , 2019 ). These newer areas may require reading outside BER; fortunately, summaries of some of these topics can be found in the Current Insights section of the LSE website.

In focusing on a specific problem within a broader research strand, a new researcher will likely need to examine research outside BER. Depending upon the area of study, the expanded reading list might involve a mix of BER, DBER, and educational research studies. Determining the scope of the reading is not always straightforward. A simple way to focus one’s reading is to create a “summary phrase” or “research nugget,” which is a very brief descriptive statement about the study. It should focus on the essence of the study, for example, “first-year nonmajor students’ understanding of evolution,” “metacognitive prompts to enhance learning during biochemistry,” or “instructors’ inquiry-based instructional practices after professional development programming.” This type of phrase should help a new researcher identify two or more areas to review that pertain to the study. Focusing on recent research in the last 5 years is a good first step. Additional studies can be identified by reading relevant works referenced in those articles. It is also important to read seminal studies that are more than 5 years old. Reading a range of studies should give the researcher the necessary command of the subject in order to suggest a research question.

Given that the research question(s) arise from the literature review, the review should also substantiate the selected methodological approach. The review and research question(s) guide the researcher in determining how to collect and analyze data. Often the methodological approach used in a study is selected to contribute knowledge that expands upon what has been published previously about the topic (see Institute of Education Sciences and National Science Foundation, 2013 ). An emerging topic of study may need an exploratory approach that allows for a description of the phenomenon and development of a potential theory. This could, but not necessarily, require a methodological approach that uses interviews, observations, surveys, or other instruments. An extensively studied topic may call for the additional understanding of specific factors or variables; this type of study would be well suited to a verification or a causal research design. These could entail a methodological approach that uses valid and reliable instruments, observations, or interviews to determine an effect in the studied event. In either of these examples, the researcher(s) may use a qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods methodological approach.

Even with a good research question, there is still more reading to be done. The complexity and focus of the research question dictates the depth and breadth of the literature to be examined. Questions that connect multiple topics can require broad literature reviews. For instance, a study that explores the impact of a biology faculty learning community on the inquiry instruction of faculty could have the following review areas: learning communities among biology faculty, inquiry instruction among biology faculty, and inquiry instruction among biology faculty as a result of professional learning. Biology education researchers need to consider whether their literature review requires studies from different disciplines within or outside DBER. For the example given, it would be fruitful to look at research focused on learning communities with faculty in STEM fields or in general education fields that result in instructional change. It is important not to be too narrow or too broad when reading. When the conclusions of articles start to sound similar or no new insights are gained, the researcher likely has a good foundation for a literature review. This level of reading should allow the researcher to demonstrate a mastery in understanding the researched topic, explain the suitability of the proposed research approach, and point to the need for the refined research question(s).

The literature review should include the researcher’s evaluation and critique of the selected studies. A researcher may have a large collection of studies, but not all of the studies will follow standards important in the reporting of empirical work in the social sciences. The American Educational Research Association ( Duran et al. , 2006 ), for example, offers a general discussion about standards for such work: an adequate review of research informing the study, the existence of sound and appropriate data collection and analysis methods, and appropriate conclusions that do not overstep or underexplore the analyzed data. The Institute of Education Sciences and National Science Foundation (2013) also offer Common Guidelines for Education Research and Development that can be used to evaluate collected studies.

Because not all journals adhere to such standards, it is important that a researcher review each study to determine the quality of published research, per the guidelines suggested earlier. In some instances, the research may be fatally flawed. Examples of such flaws include data that do not pertain to the question, a lack of discussion about the data collection, poorly constructed instruments, or an inadequate analysis. These types of errors result in studies that are incomplete, error-laden, or inaccurate and should be excluded from the review. Most studies have limitations, and the author(s) often make them explicit. For instance, there may be an instructor effect, recognized bias in the analysis, or issues with the sample population. Limitations are usually addressed by the research team in some way to ensure a sound and acceptable research process. Occasionally, the limitations associated with the study can be significant and not addressed adequately, which leaves a consequential decision in the hands of the researcher. Providing critiques of studies in the literature review process gives the reader confidence that the researcher has carefully examined relevant work in preparation for the study and, ultimately, the manuscript.

A solid literature review clearly anchors the proposed study in the field and connects the research question(s), the methodological approach, and the discussion. Reviewing extant research leads to research questions that will contribute to what is known in the field. By summarizing what is known, the literature review points to what needs to be known, which in turn guides decisions about methodology. Finally, notable findings of the new study are discussed in reference to those described in the literature review.

Within published BER studies, literature reviews can be placed in different locations in an article. When included in the introductory section of the study, the first few paragraphs of the manuscript set the stage, with the literature review following the opening paragraphs. Cooper et al. (2019) illustrate this approach in their study of course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs). An introduction discussing the potential of CURES is followed by an analysis of the existing literature relevant to the design of CUREs that allows for novel student discoveries. Within this review, the authors point out contradictory findings among research on novel student discoveries. This clarifies the need for their study, which is described and highlighted through specific research aims.

A literature reviews can also make up a separate section in a paper. For example, the introduction to Todd et al. (2019) illustrates the need for their research topic by highlighting the potential of learning progressions (LPs) and suggesting that LPs may help mitigate learning loss in genetics. At the end of the introduction, the authors state their specific research questions. The review of literature following this opening section comprises two subsections. One focuses on learning loss in general and examines a variety of studies and meta-analyses from the disciplines of medical education, mathematics, and reading. The second section focuses specifically on LPs in genetics and highlights student learning in the midst of LPs. These separate reviews provide insights into the stated research question.

Suggestions and Advice

A well-conceptualized, comprehensive, and critical literature review reveals the understanding of the topic that the researcher brings to the study. Literature reviews should not be so big that there is no clear area of focus; nor should they be so narrow that no real research question arises. The task for a researcher is to craft an efficient literature review that offers a critical analysis of published work, articulates the need for the study, guides the methodological approach to the topic of study, and provides an adequate foundation for the discussion of the findings.

In our own writing of literature reviews, there are often many drafts. An early draft may seem well suited to the study because the need for and approach to the study are well described. However, as the results of the study are analyzed and findings begin to emerge, the existing literature review may be inadequate and need revision. The need for an expanded discussion about the research area can result in the inclusion of new studies that support the explanation of a potential finding. The literature review may also prove to be too broad. Refocusing on a specific area allows for more contemplation of a finding.

It should be noted that there are different types of literature reviews, and many books and articles have been written about the different ways to embark on these types of reviews. Among these different resources, the following may be helpful in considering how to refine the review process for scholarly journals:

Booth, A., Sutton, A., & Papaioannou, D. (2016a). Systemic approaches to a successful literature review (2nd ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Sage. This book addresses different types of literature reviews and offers important suggestions pertaining to defining the scope of the literature review and assessing extant studies.
Booth, W. C., Colomb, G. G., Williams, J. M., Bizup, J., & Fitzgerald, W. T. (2016b). The craft of research (4th ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. This book can help the novice consider how to make the case for an area of study. While this book is not specifically about literature reviews, it offers suggestions about making the case for your study.
Galvan, J. L., & Galvan, M. C. (2017). Writing literature reviews: A guide for students of the social and behavioral sciences (7th ed.). Routledge. This book offers guidance on writing different types of literature reviews. For the novice researcher, there are useful suggestions for creating coherent literature reviews.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS

Purpose of theoretical frameworks.

As new education researchers may be less familiar with theoretical frameworks than with literature reviews, this discussion begins with an analogy. Envision a biologist, chemist, and physicist examining together the dramatic effect of a fog tsunami over the ocean. A biologist gazing at this phenomenon may be concerned with the effect of fog on various species. A chemist may be interested in the chemical composition of the fog as water vapor condenses around bits of salt. A physicist may be focused on the refraction of light to make fog appear to be “sitting” above the ocean. While observing the same “objective event,” the scientists are operating under different theoretical frameworks that provide a particular perspective or “lens” for the interpretation of the phenomenon. Each of these scientists brings specialized knowledge, experiences, and values to this phenomenon, and these influence the interpretation of the phenomenon. The scientists’ theoretical frameworks influence how they design and carry out their studies and interpret their data.

Within an educational study, a theoretical framework helps to explain a phenomenon through a particular lens and challenges and extends existing knowledge within the limitations of that lens. Theoretical frameworks are explicitly stated by an educational researcher in the paper’s framework, theory, or relevant literature section. The framework shapes the types of questions asked, guides the method by which data are collected and analyzed, and informs the discussion of the results of the study. It also reveals the researcher’s subjectivities, for example, values, social experience, and viewpoint ( Allen, 2017 ). It is essential that a novice researcher learn to explicitly state a theoretical framework, because all research questions are being asked from the researcher’s implicit or explicit assumptions of a phenomenon of interest ( Schwandt, 2000 ).

Selecting Theoretical Frameworks

Theoretical frameworks are one of the most contemplated elements in our work in educational research. In this section, we share three important considerations for new scholars selecting a theoretical framework.

The first step in identifying a theoretical framework involves reflecting on the phenomenon within the study and the assumptions aligned with the phenomenon. The phenomenon involves the studied event. There are many possibilities, for example, student learning, instructional approach, or group organization. A researcher holds assumptions about how the phenomenon will be effected, influenced, changed, or portrayed. It is ultimately the researcher’s assumption(s) about the phenomenon that aligns with a theoretical framework. An example can help illustrate how a researcher’s reflection on the phenomenon and acknowledgment of assumptions can result in the identification of a theoretical framework.

In our example, a biology education researcher may be interested in exploring how students’ learning of difficult biological concepts can be supported by the interactions of group members. The phenomenon of interest is the interactions among the peers, and the researcher assumes that more knowledgeable students are important in supporting the learning of the group. As a result, the researcher may draw on Vygotsky’s (1978) sociocultural theory of learning and development that is focused on the phenomenon of student learning in a social setting. This theory posits the critical nature of interactions among students and between students and teachers in the process of building knowledge. A researcher drawing upon this framework holds the assumption that learning is a dynamic social process involving questions and explanations among students in the classroom and that more knowledgeable peers play an important part in the process of building conceptual knowledge.

It is important to state at this point that there are many different theoretical frameworks. Some frameworks focus on learning and knowing, while other theoretical frameworks focus on equity, empowerment, or discourse. Some frameworks are well articulated, and others are still being refined. For a new researcher, it can be challenging to find a theoretical framework. Two of the best ways to look for theoretical frameworks is through published works that highlight different frameworks.

When a theoretical framework is selected, it should clearly connect to all parts of the study. The framework should augment the study by adding a perspective that provides greater insights into the phenomenon. It should clearly align with the studies described in the literature review. For instance, a framework focused on learning would correspond to research that reported different learning outcomes for similar studies. The methods for data collection and analysis should also correspond to the framework. For instance, a study about instructional interventions could use a theoretical framework concerned with learning and could collect data about the effect of the intervention on what is learned. When the data are analyzed, the theoretical framework should provide added meaning to the findings, and the findings should align with the theoretical framework.

A study by Jensen and Lawson (2011) provides an example of how a theoretical framework connects different parts of the study. They compared undergraduate biology students in heterogeneous and homogeneous groups over the course of a semester. Jensen and Lawson (2011) assumed that learning involved collaboration and more knowledgeable peers, which made Vygotsky’s (1978) theory a good fit for their study. They predicted that students in heterogeneous groups would experience greater improvement in their reasoning abilities and science achievements with much of the learning guided by the more knowledgeable peers.

In the enactment of the study, they collected data about the instruction in traditional and inquiry-oriented classes, while the students worked in homogeneous or heterogeneous groups. To determine the effect of working in groups, the authors also measured students’ reasoning abilities and achievement. Each data-collection and analysis decision connected to understanding the influence of collaborative work.

Their findings highlighted aspects of Vygotsky’s (1978) theory of learning. One finding, for instance, posited that inquiry instruction, as a whole, resulted in reasoning and achievement gains. This links to Vygotsky (1978) , because inquiry instruction involves interactions among group members. A more nuanced finding was that group composition had a conditional effect. Heterogeneous groups performed better with more traditional and didactic instruction, regardless of the reasoning ability of the group members. Homogeneous groups worked better during interaction-rich activities for students with low reasoning ability. The authors attributed the variation to the different types of helping behaviors of students. High-performing students provided the answers, while students with low reasoning ability had to work collectively through the material. In terms of Vygotsky (1978) , this finding provided new insights into the learning context in which productive interactions can occur for students.

Another consideration in the selection and use of a theoretical framework pertains to its orientation to the study. This can result in the theoretical framework prioritizing individuals, institutions, and/or policies ( Anfara and Mertz, 2014 ). Frameworks that connect to individuals, for instance, could contribute to understanding their actions, learning, or knowledge. Institutional frameworks, on the other hand, offer insights into how institutions, organizations, or groups can influence individuals or materials. Policy theories provide ways to understand how national or local policies can dictate an emphasis on outcomes or instructional design. These different types of frameworks highlight different aspects in an educational setting, which influences the design of the study and the collection of data. In addition, these different frameworks offer a way to make sense of the data. Aligning the data collection and analysis with the framework ensures that a study is coherent and can contribute to the field.

New understandings emerge when different theoretical frameworks are used. For instance, Ebert-May et al. (2015) prioritized the individual level within conceptual change theory (see Posner et al. , 1982 ). In this theory, an individual’s knowledge changes when it no longer fits the phenomenon. Ebert-May et al. (2015) designed a professional development program challenging biology postdoctoral scholars’ existing conceptions of teaching. The authors reported that the biology postdoctoral scholars’ teaching practices became more student-centered as they were challenged to explain their instructional decision making. According to the theory, the biology postdoctoral scholars’ dissatisfaction in their descriptions of teaching and learning initiated change in their knowledge and instruction. These results reveal how conceptual change theory can explain the learning of participants and guide the design of professional development programming.

The communities of practice (CoP) theoretical framework ( Lave, 1988 ; Wenger, 1998 ) prioritizes the institutional level , suggesting that learning occurs when individuals learn from and contribute to the communities in which they reside. Grounded in the assumption of community learning, the literature on CoP suggests that, as individuals interact regularly with the other members of their group, they learn about the rules, roles, and goals of the community ( Allee, 2000 ). A study conducted by Gehrke and Kezar (2017) used the CoP framework to understand organizational change by examining the involvement of individual faculty engaged in a cross-institutional CoP focused on changing the instructional practice of faculty at each institution. In the CoP, faculty members were involved in enhancing instructional materials within their department, which aligned with an overarching goal of instituting instruction that embraced active learning. Not surprisingly, Gehrke and Kezar (2017) revealed that faculty who perceived the community culture as important in their work cultivated institutional change. Furthermore, they found that institutional change was sustained when key leaders served as mentors and provided support for faculty, and as faculty themselves developed into leaders. This study reveals the complexity of individual roles in a COP in order to support institutional instructional change.

It is important to explicitly state the theoretical framework used in a study, but elucidating a theoretical framework can be challenging for a new educational researcher. The literature review can help to identify an applicable theoretical framework. Focal areas of the review or central terms often connect to assumptions and assertions associated with the framework that pertain to the phenomenon of interest. Another way to identify a theoretical framework is self-reflection by the researcher on personal beliefs and understandings about the nature of knowledge the researcher brings to the study ( Lysaght, 2011 ). In stating one’s beliefs and understandings related to the study (e.g., students construct their knowledge, instructional materials support learning), an orientation becomes evident that will suggest a particular theoretical framework. Theoretical frameworks are not arbitrary , but purposefully selected.

With experience, a researcher may find expanded roles for theoretical frameworks. Researchers may revise an existing framework that has limited explanatory power, or they may decide there is a need to develop a new theoretical framework. These frameworks can emerge from a current study or the need to explain a phenomenon in a new way. Researchers may also find that multiple theoretical frameworks are necessary to frame and explore a problem, as different frameworks can provide different insights into a problem.

Finally, it is important to recognize that choosing “x” theoretical framework does not necessarily mean a researcher chooses “y” methodology and so on, nor is there a clear-cut, linear process in selecting a theoretical framework for one’s study. In part, the nonlinear process of identifying a theoretical framework is what makes understanding and using theoretical frameworks challenging. For the novice scholar, contemplating and understanding theoretical frameworks is essential. Fortunately, there are articles and books that can help:

Creswell, J. W. (2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (5th ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Sage. This book provides an overview of theoretical frameworks in general educational research.
Ding, L. (2019). Theoretical perspectives of quantitative physics education research. Physical Review Physics Education Research , 15 (2), 020101-1–020101-13. This paper illustrates how a DBER field can use theoretical frameworks.
Nehm, R. (2019). Biology education research: Building integrative frameworks for teaching and learning about living systems. Disciplinary and Interdisciplinary Science Education Research , 1 , ar15. https://doi.org/10.1186/s43031-019-0017-6 . This paper articulates the need for studies in BER to explicitly state theoretical frameworks and provides examples of potential studies.
Patton, M. Q. (2015). Qualitative research & evaluation methods: Integrating theory and practice . Sage. This book also provides an overview of theoretical frameworks, but for both research and evaluation.

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORKS

Purpose of a conceptual framework.

A conceptual framework is a description of the way a researcher understands the factors and/or variables that are involved in the study and their relationships to one another. The purpose of a conceptual framework is to articulate the concepts under study using relevant literature ( Rocco and Plakhotnik, 2009 ) and to clarify the presumed relationships among those concepts ( Rocco and Plakhotnik, 2009 ; Anfara and Mertz, 2014 ). Conceptual frameworks are different from theoretical frameworks in both their breadth and grounding in established findings. Whereas a theoretical framework articulates the lens through which a researcher views the work, the conceptual framework is often more mechanistic and malleable.

Conceptual frameworks are broader, encompassing both established theories (i.e., theoretical frameworks) and the researchers’ own emergent ideas. Emergent ideas, for example, may be rooted in informal and/or unpublished observations from experience. These emergent ideas would not be considered a “theory” if they are not yet tested, supported by systematically collected evidence, and peer reviewed. However, they do still play an important role in the way researchers approach their studies. The conceptual framework allows authors to clearly describe their emergent ideas so that connections among ideas in the study and the significance of the study are apparent to readers.

Constructing Conceptual Frameworks

Including a conceptual framework in a research study is important, but researchers often opt to include either a conceptual or a theoretical framework. Either may be adequate, but both provide greater insight into the research approach. For instance, a research team plans to test a novel component of an existing theory. In their study, they describe the existing theoretical framework that informs their work and then present their own conceptual framework. Within this conceptual framework, specific topics portray emergent ideas that are related to the theory. Describing both frameworks allows readers to better understand the researchers’ assumptions, orientations, and understanding of concepts being investigated. For example, Connolly et al. (2018) included a conceptual framework that described how they applied a theoretical framework of social cognitive career theory (SCCT) to their study on teaching programs for doctoral students. In their conceptual framework, the authors described SCCT, explained how it applied to the investigation, and drew upon results from previous studies to justify the proposed connections between the theory and their emergent ideas.

In some cases, authors may be able to sufficiently describe their conceptualization of the phenomenon under study in an introduction alone, without a separate conceptual framework section. However, incomplete descriptions of how the researchers conceptualize the components of the study may limit the significance of the study by making the research less intelligible to readers. This is especially problematic when studying topics in which researchers use the same terms for different constructs or different terms for similar and overlapping constructs (e.g., inquiry, teacher beliefs, pedagogical content knowledge, or active learning). Authors must describe their conceptualization of a construct if the research is to be understandable and useful.

There are some key areas to consider regarding the inclusion of a conceptual framework in a study. To begin with, it is important to recognize that conceptual frameworks are constructed by the researchers conducting the study ( Rocco and Plakhotnik, 2009 ; Maxwell, 2012 ). This is different from theoretical frameworks that are often taken from established literature. Researchers should bring together ideas from the literature, but they may be influenced by their own experiences as a student and/or instructor, the shared experiences of others, or thought experiments as they construct a description, model, or representation of their understanding of the phenomenon under study. This is an exercise in intellectual organization and clarity that often considers what is learned, known, and experienced. The conceptual framework makes these constructs explicitly visible to readers, who may have different understandings of the phenomenon based on their prior knowledge and experience. There is no single method to go about this intellectual work.

Reeves et al. (2016) is an example of an article that proposed a conceptual framework about graduate teaching assistant professional development evaluation and research. The authors used existing literature to create a novel framework that filled a gap in current research and practice related to the training of graduate teaching assistants. This conceptual framework can guide the systematic collection of data by other researchers because the framework describes the relationships among various factors that influence teaching and learning. The Reeves et al. (2016) conceptual framework may be modified as additional data are collected and analyzed by other researchers. This is not uncommon, as conceptual frameworks can serve as catalysts for concerted research efforts that systematically explore a phenomenon (e.g., Reynolds et al. , 2012 ; Brownell and Kloser, 2015 ).

Sabel et al. (2017) used a conceptual framework in their exploration of how scaffolds, an external factor, interact with internal factors to support student learning. Their conceptual framework integrated principles from two theoretical frameworks, self-regulated learning and metacognition, to illustrate how the research team conceptualized students’ use of scaffolds in their learning ( Figure 1 ). Sabel et al. (2017) created this model using their interpretations of these two frameworks in the context of their teaching.

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Conceptual framework from Sabel et al. (2017) .

A conceptual framework should describe the relationship among components of the investigation ( Anfara and Mertz, 2014 ). These relationships should guide the researcher’s methods of approaching the study ( Miles et al. , 2014 ) and inform both the data to be collected and how those data should be analyzed. Explicitly describing the connections among the ideas allows the researcher to justify the importance of the study and the rigor of the research design. Just as importantly, these frameworks help readers understand why certain components of a system were not explored in the study. This is a challenge in education research, which is rooted in complex environments with many variables that are difficult to control.

For example, Sabel et al. (2017) stated: “Scaffolds, such as enhanced answer keys and reflection questions, can help students and instructors bridge the external and internal factors and support learning” (p. 3). They connected the scaffolds in the study to the three dimensions of metacognition and the eventual transformation of existing ideas into new or revised ideas. Their framework provides a rationale for focusing on how students use two different scaffolds, and not on other factors that may influence a student’s success (self-efficacy, use of active learning, exam format, etc.).

In constructing conceptual frameworks, researchers should address needed areas of study and/or contradictions discovered in literature reviews. By attending to these areas, researchers can strengthen their arguments for the importance of a study. For instance, conceptual frameworks can address how the current study will fill gaps in the research, resolve contradictions in existing literature, or suggest a new area of study. While a literature review describes what is known and not known about the phenomenon, the conceptual framework leverages these gaps in describing the current study ( Maxwell, 2012 ). In the example of Sabel et al. (2017) , the authors indicated there was a gap in the literature regarding how scaffolds engage students in metacognition to promote learning in large classes. Their study helps fill that gap by describing how scaffolds can support students in the three dimensions of metacognition: intelligibility, plausibility, and wide applicability. In another example, Lane (2016) integrated research from science identity, the ethic of care, the sense of belonging, and an expertise model of student success to form a conceptual framework that addressed the critiques of other frameworks. In a more recent example, Sbeglia et al. (2021) illustrated how a conceptual framework influences the methodological choices and inferences in studies by educational researchers.

Sometimes researchers draw upon the conceptual frameworks of other researchers. When a researcher’s conceptual framework closely aligns with an existing framework, the discussion may be brief. For example, Ghee et al. (2016) referred to portions of SCCT as their conceptual framework to explain the significance of their work on students’ self-efficacy and career interests. Because the authors’ conceptualization of this phenomenon aligned with a previously described framework, they briefly mentioned the conceptual framework and provided additional citations that provided more detail for the readers.

Within both the BER and the broader DBER communities, conceptual frameworks have been used to describe different constructs. For example, some researchers have used the term “conceptual framework” to describe students’ conceptual understandings of a biological phenomenon. This is distinct from a researcher’s conceptual framework of the educational phenomenon under investigation, which may also need to be explicitly described in the article. Other studies have presented a research logic model or flowchart of the research design as a conceptual framework. These constructions can be quite valuable in helping readers understand the data-collection and analysis process. However, a model depicting the study design does not serve the same role as a conceptual framework. Researchers need to avoid conflating these constructs by differentiating the researchers’ conceptual framework that guides the study from the research design, when applicable.

Explicitly describing conceptual frameworks is essential in depicting the focus of the study. We have found that being explicit in a conceptual framework means using accepted terminology, referencing prior work, and clearly noting connections between terms. This description can also highlight gaps in the literature or suggest potential contributions to the field of study. A well-elucidated conceptual framework can suggest additional studies that may be warranted. This can also spur other researchers to consider how they would approach the examination of a phenomenon and could result in a revised conceptual framework.

It can be challenging to create conceptual frameworks, but they are important. Below are two resources that could be helpful in constructing and presenting conceptual frameworks in educational research:

Maxwell, J. A. (2012). Qualitative research design: An interactive approach (3rd ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Sage. Chapter 3 in this book describes how to construct conceptual frameworks.
Ravitch, S. M., & Riggan, M. (2016). Reason & rigor: How conceptual frameworks guide research . Los Angeles, CA: Sage. This book explains how conceptual frameworks guide the research questions, data collection, data analyses, and interpretation of results.

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS

Literature reviews, theoretical frameworks, and conceptual frameworks are all important in DBER and BER. Robust literature reviews reinforce the importance of a study. Theoretical frameworks connect the study to the base of knowledge in educational theory and specify the researcher’s assumptions. Conceptual frameworks allow researchers to explicitly describe their conceptualization of the relationships among the components of the phenomenon under study. Table 1 provides a general overview of these components in order to assist biology education researchers in thinking about these elements.

It is important to emphasize that these different elements are intertwined. When these elements are aligned and complement one another, the study is coherent, and the study findings contribute to knowledge in the field. When literature reviews, theoretical frameworks, and conceptual frameworks are disconnected from one another, the study suffers. The point of the study is lost, suggested findings are unsupported, or important conclusions are invisible to the researcher. In addition, this misalignment may be costly in terms of time and money.

Conducting a literature review, selecting a theoretical framework, and building a conceptual framework are some of the most difficult elements of a research study. It takes time to understand the relevant research, identify a theoretical framework that provides important insights into the study, and formulate a conceptual framework that organizes the finding. In the research process, there is often a constant back and forth among these elements as the study evolves. With an ongoing refinement of the review of literature, clarification of the theoretical framework, and articulation of a conceptual framework, a sound study can emerge that makes a contribution to the field. This is the goal of BER and education research.

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What Is a Conceptual Framework? | Tips & Examples

What Is a Conceptual Framework? | Tips & Examples

Published on August 2, 2022 by Bas Swaen and Tegan George. Revised on March 18, 2024.

A conceptual framework illustrates the expected relationship between your variables. It defines the relevant objectives for your research process and maps out how they come together to draw coherent conclusions.

Keep reading for a step-by-step guide to help you construct your own conceptual framework.

Developing a conceptual framework in research, step 1: choose your research question, step 2: select your independent and dependent variables, step 3: visualize your cause-and-effect relationship, step 4: identify other influencing variables, frequently asked questions about conceptual models.

A conceptual framework is a representation of the relationship you expect to see between your variables, or the characteristics or properties that you want to study.

Conceptual frameworks can be written or visual and are generally developed based on a literature review of existing studies about your topic.

Your research question guides your work by determining exactly what you want to find out, giving your research process a clear focus.

However, before you start collecting your data, consider constructing a conceptual framework. This will help you map out which variables you will measure and how you expect them to relate to one another.

In order to move forward with your research question and test a cause-and-effect relationship, you must first identify at least two key variables: your independent and dependent variables .

The expected cause, “hours of study,” is the independent variable (the predictor, or explanatory variable)
The expected effect, “exam score,” is the dependent variable (the response, or outcome variable).

Note that causal relationships often involve several independent variables that affect the dependent variable. For the purpose of this example, we’ll work with just one independent variable (“hours of study”).

Now that you’ve figured out your research question and variables, the first step in designing your conceptual framework is visualizing your expected cause-and-effect relationship.

We demonstrate this using basic design components of boxes and arrows. Here, each variable appears in a box. To indicate a causal relationship, each arrow should start from the independent variable (the cause) and point to the dependent variable (the effect).

Sample-conceptual-framework-using-an-independent-variable-and-a-dependent-variable

It’s crucial to identify other variables that can influence the relationship between your independent and dependent variables early in your research process.

Some common variables to include are moderating, mediating, and control variables.

Moderating variables

Moderating variable (or moderators) alter the effect that an independent variable has on a dependent variable. In other words, moderators change the “effect” component of the cause-and-effect relationship.

Let’s add the moderator “IQ.” Here, a student’s IQ level can change the effect that the variable “hours of study” has on the exam score. The higher the IQ, the fewer hours of study are needed to do well on the exam.

Sample-conceptual-framework-with-a-moderator-variable

Let’s take a look at how this might work. The graph below shows how the number of hours spent studying affects exam score. As expected, the more hours you study, the better your results. Here, a student who studies for 20 hours will get a perfect score.

But the graph looks different when we add our “IQ” moderator of 120. A student with this IQ will achieve a perfect score after just 15 hours of study.

Below, the value of the “IQ” moderator has been increased to 150. A student with this IQ will only need to invest five hours of study in order to get a perfect score.

Here, we see that a moderating variable does indeed change the cause-and-effect relationship between two variables.

Mediating variables

Now we’ll expand the framework by adding a mediating variable . Mediating variables link the independent and dependent variables, allowing the relationship between them to be better explained.

Here’s how the conceptual framework might look if a mediator variable were involved:

In this case, the mediator helps explain why studying more hours leads to a higher exam score. The more hours a student studies, the more practice problems they will complete; the more practice problems completed, the higher the student’s exam score will be.

Moderator vs. mediator

It’s important not to confuse moderating and mediating variables. To remember the difference, you can think of them in relation to the independent variable:

A moderating variable is not affected by the independent variable, even though it affects the dependent variable. For example, no matter how many hours you study (the independent variable), your IQ will not get higher.
A mediating variable is affected by the independent variable. In turn, it also affects the dependent variable. Therefore, it links the two variables and helps explain the relationship between them.

Control variables

Lastly, control variables must also be taken into account. These are variables that are held constant so that they don’t interfere with the results. Even though you aren’t interested in measuring them for your study, it’s crucial to be aware of as many of them as you can be.

A mediator variable explains the process through which two variables are related, while a moderator variable affects the strength and direction of that relationship.

A confounding variable is closely related to both the independent and dependent variables in a study. An independent variable represents the supposed cause , while the dependent variable is the supposed effect . A confounding variable is a third variable that influences both the independent and dependent variables.

Failing to account for confounding variables can cause you to wrongly estimate the relationship between your independent and dependent variables.

Yes, but including more than one of either type requires multiple research questions .

For example, if you are interested in the effect of a diet on health, you can use multiple measures of health: blood sugar, blood pressure, weight, pulse, and many more. Each of these is its own dependent variable with its own research question.

You could also choose to look at the effect of exercise levels as well as diet, or even the additional effect of the two combined. Each of these is a separate independent variable .

To ensure the internal validity of an experiment , you should only change one independent variable at a time.

A control variable is any variable that’s held constant in a research study. It’s not a variable of interest in the study, but it’s controlled because it could influence the outcomes.

A confounding variable , also called a confounder or confounding factor, is a third variable in a study examining a potential cause-and-effect relationship.

A confounding variable is related to both the supposed cause and the supposed effect of the study. It can be difficult to separate the true effect of the independent variable from the effect of the confounding variable.

In your research design , it’s important to identify potential confounding variables and plan how you will reduce their impact.

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Literature reviews, conceptual frameworks, and theoretical frameworks: Terms, functions, and distinctions

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Methodology
What Is a Conceptual Framework? | Tips & Examples

What Is a Conceptual Framework? | Tips & Examples

Published on 4 May 2022 by Bas Swaen and Tegan George. Revised on 18 March 2024.

Keep reading for a step-by-step guide to help you construct your own conceptual framework.

Developing a conceptual framework in research, step 1: choose your research question, step 2: select your independent and dependent variables, step 3: visualise your cause-and-effect relationship, step 4: identify other influencing variables, frequently asked questions about conceptual models.

A conceptual framework is a representation of the relationship you expect to see between your variables, or the characteristics or properties that you want to study.

Conceptual frameworks can be written or visual and are generally developed based on a literature review of existing studies about your topic.

Your research question guides your work by determining exactly what you want to find out, giving your research process a clear focus.

In order to move forward with your research question and test a cause-and-effect relationship, you must first identify at least two key variables: your independent and dependent variables .

The expected cause, ‘hours of study’, is the independent variable (the predictor, or explanatory variable)
The expected effect, ‘exam score’, is the dependent variable (the response, or outcome variable).

Now that you’ve figured out your research question and variables, the first step in designing your conceptual framework is visualising your expected cause-and-effect relationship.

It’s crucial to identify other variables that can influence the relationship between your independent and dependent variables early in your research process.

Some common variables to include are moderating, mediating, and control variables.

Moderating variables

Moderating variable (or moderators) alter the effect that an independent variable has on a dependent variable. In other words, moderators change the ‘effect’ component of the cause-and-effect relationship.

Let’s add the moderator ‘IQ’. Here, a student’s IQ level can change the effect that the variable ‘hours of study’ has on the exam score. The higher the IQ, the fewer hours of study are needed to do well on the exam.

But the graph looks different when we add our ‘IQ’ moderator of 120. A student with this IQ will achieve a perfect score after just 15 hours of study.

Below, the value of the ‘IQ’ moderator has been increased to 150. A student with this IQ will only need to invest five hours of study in order to get a perfect score.

Here, we see that a moderating variable does indeed change the cause-and-effect relationship between two variables.

Mediating variables

Now we’ll expand the framework by adding a mediating variable . Mediating variables link the independent and dependent variables, allowing the relationship between them to be better explained.

Here’s how the conceptual framework might look if a mediator variable were involved:

Moderator vs mediator

It’s important not to confuse moderating and mediating variables. To remember the difference, you can think of them in relation to the independent variable:

A moderating variable is not affected by the independent variable, even though it affects the dependent variable. For example, no matter how many hours you study (the independent variable), your IQ will not get higher.
A mediating variable is affected by the independent variable. In turn, it also affects the dependent variable. Therefore, it links the two variables and helps explain the relationship between them.

Control variables

A mediator variable explains the process through which two variables are related, while a moderator variable affects the strength and direction of that relationship.

No. The value of a dependent variable depends on an independent variable, so a variable cannot be both independent and dependent at the same time. It must be either the cause or the effect, not both.

Yes, but including more than one of either type requires multiple research questions .

You could also choose to look at the effect of exercise levels as well as diet, or even the additional effect of the two combined. Each of these is a separate independent variable .

To ensure the internal validity of an experiment , you should only change one independent variable at a time.

A control variable is any variable that’s held constant in a research study. It’s not a variable of interest in the study, but it’s controlled because it could influence the outcomes.

A confounding variable , also called a confounder or confounding factor, is a third variable in a study examining a potential cause-and-effect relationship.

In your research design , it’s important to identify potential confounding variables and plan how you will reduce their impact.

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A modified action framework to develop and evaluate academic-policy engagement interventions

Petra Mäkelä ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-0938-1175 1 ,
Annette Boaz ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-0557-1294 2 &
Kathryn Oliver ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-4326-5258 1

Implementation Science volume 19 , Article number: 31 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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There has been a proliferation of frameworks with a common goal of bridging the gap between evidence, policy, and practice, but few aim to specifically guide evaluations of academic-policy engagement. We present the modification of an action framework for the purpose of selecting, developing and evaluating interventions for academic-policy engagement.

We build on the conceptual work of an existing framework known as SPIRIT (Supporting Policy In Health with Research: an Intervention Trial), developed for the evaluation of strategies intended to increase the use of research in health policy. Our aim was to modify SPIRIT, (i) to be applicable beyond health policy contexts, for example encompassing social, environmental, and economic policy impacts and (ii) to address broader dynamics of academic-policy engagement. We used an iterative approach through literature reviews and consultation with multiple stakeholders from Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and policy professionals working at different levels of government and across geographical contexts in England, alongside our evaluation activities in the Capabilities in Academic Policy Engagement (CAPE) programme.

Our modifications expand upon Redman et al.’s original framework, for example adding a domain of ‘Impacts and Sustainability’ to capture continued activities required in the achievement of desirable outcomes. The modified framework fulfils the criteria for a useful action framework, having a clear purpose, being informed by existing understandings, being capable of guiding targeted interventions, and providing a structure to build further knowledge.

The modified SPIRIT framework is designed to be meaningful and accessible for people working across varied contexts in the evidence-policy ecosystem. It has potential applications in how academic-policy engagement interventions might be developed, evaluated, facilitated and improved, to ultimately support the use of evidence in decision-making.

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Contributions to the literature

There has been a proliferation of theories, models and frameworks relating to translation of research into practice. Few specifically relate to engagement between academia and policy.

Challenges of evidence-informed policy-making are receiving increasing attention globally. There is a growing number of academic-policy engagement interventions but a lack of published evaluations.

This article contributes a modified action framework that can be used to guide how academic-policy engagement interventions might be developed, evaluated, facilitated, and improved, to support the use of evidence in policy decision-making.

Our contribution demonstrates the potential for modification of existing, useful frameworks instead of creating brand-new frameworks. It provides an exemplar for others who are considering when and how to modify existing frameworks to address new or expanded purposes while respecting the conceptual underpinnings of the original work.

Academic-policy engagement refers to ways that Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and their staff engage with institutions responsible for policy at national, regional, county or local levels. Academic-policy engagement is intended to support the use of evidence in decision-making and in turn, improve its effectiveness, and inform the identification of barriers and facilitators in policy implementation [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. Challenges of evidence-informed policy-making are receiving increasing attention globally, including the implications of differences in cultural norms and mechanisms across national contexts [ 4 , 5 ]. Although challenges faced by researchers and policy-makers have been well documented [ 6 , 7 ], there has been less focus on actions at the engagement interface. Pragmatic guidance for the development, evaluation or comparison of structured responses to the challenges of academic-policy engagement is currently lacking [ 8 , 9 ].

Academic-policy engagement exists along a continuum of approaches from linear (pushing evidence out from academia or pulling evidence into policy), relational (promoting mutual understandings and partnerships), and systems approaches (addressing identified barriers and facilitators) [ 4 ]. Each approach is underpinned by sets of beliefs, assumptions and expectations, and each raises questions for implementation and evaluation. Little is known about which academic-policy engagement interventions work in which settings, with scarce empirical evidence to inform decisions about which interventions to use, when, with whom, or why, and how organisational contexts can affect motivation and capabilities for such engagement [ 10 ]. A deeper understanding through the evaluation of engagement interventions will help to identify inhibitory and facilitatory factors, which may or may not transfer across contexts [ 11 ].

The intellectual technologies [ 12 ] of implementation science have proliferated in recent decades, including models, frameworks and theories that address research translation and acknowledge difficulties in closing the gap between research, policy and practice [ 13 ]. Frameworks may serve overlapping purposes of describing or guiding processes of translating knowledge into practice (e.g. the Quality Implementation Framework [ 14 ]); or helping to explain influences on implementation outcomes (e.g. the Theoretical Domains Framework [ 15 ]); or guiding evaluation (e.g. the RE-AIM framework [ 16 , 17 ]. Frameworks can offer an efficient way to look across diverse settings and to identify implementation differences [ 18 , 19 ]. However, the abundance of options raises its own challenges when seeking a framework for a particular purpose, and the use of a framework may mean that more weight is placed on certain aspects, leading to a partial understanding [ 13 , 17 ].

‘Action frameworks’ are predictive models that intend to organise existing knowledge and enable a logical approach for the selection, implementation and evaluation of intervention strategies, thereby facilitating the expansion of that knowledge [ 20 ]. They can guide change by informing and clarifying practical steps to follow. As flexible entities, they can be adapted to accommodate new purposes. Framework modification may include the addition of constructs or changes in language to expand applicability to a broader range of settings [ 21 ].

We sought to identify one organising framework for evaluation activities in the Capabilities in Academic-Policy Engagement (CAPE) programme (2021–2023), funded by Research England. The CAPE programme aimed to understand how best to support effective and sustained engagement between academics and policy professionals across the higher education sector in England [ 22 ]. We first searched the literature and identified an action framework that was originally developed between 2011 and 2013, to underpin a trial known as SPIRIT (Supporting Policy In health with Research: an Intervention Trial) [ 20 , 23 ]. This trial evaluated strategies intended to increase the use of research in health policy and to identify modifiable points for intervention.

We selected the SPIRIT framework due to its potential suitability as an initial ‘road map’ for our evaluation of academic-policy interventions in the CAPE programme. The key elements of the original framework are catalysts, organisational capacity, engagement actions, and research use. We wished to build on the framework’s embedded conceptual work, derived from literature reviews and semi-structured interviews, to identify policymakers’ views on factors that assist policy agencies’ use of research [ 20 ]. The SPIRIT framework developers defined its “locus for change” as the policy organisation ( [ 20 ], p. 151). They proposed that it could offer the beginning of a process to identify and test pathways in policy agencies’ use of evidence.

Our goal was to modify SPIRIT to accommodate a different locus for change: the engagement interface between academia and policy. Instead of imagining a linear process in which knowledge comes from researchers and is transmitted to policy professionals, we intended to extend the framework to multidirectional relational and system interfaces. We wished to include processes and influences at individual, organisational and system levels, to be relevant for HEIs and their staff, policy bodies and professionals, funders of engagement activities, and facilitatory bodies. Ultimately, we seek to address a gap in understanding how engagement strategies work, for whom, how they are facilitated, and to improve the evaluation of academic-policy engagement.

We aimed to produce a conceptually guided action framework to enable systematic evaluation of interventions intending to support academic-policy engagement.

We used a pragmatic combination of processes for framework modification during our evaluation activities in the CAPE programme [ 22 ]. The CAPE programme included a range of interventions: seed funding for academic and policy professional collaboration in policy-focused projects, fellowships for academic placements in policy settings, or for policy professionals with HEI staff, training for policy professionals, and a range of knowledge exchange events for HEI staff and policy professionals. We modified the SPIRIT framework through iterative processes shown in Table 1 , including reviews of literature; consultations with HEI staff and policy professionals across a range of policy contexts and geographic settings in England, through the CAPE programme; and piloting, refining and seeking feedback from stakeholders in academic-policy engagement.

A number of characteristics of the original SPIRIT framework could be applied to academic-policy engagement. While keeping the core domains, we modified the framework to capture dynamics of engagement at multiple academic and policy levels (individuals, organisations and system), extending beyond the original unidirectional focus on policy agencies’ use of research. Components of the original framework, the need for modifications, and their corresponding action-oriented implications are shown in Table 2 . We added a new domain, ‘Impacts and Sustainability’, to consider transforming and enduring aspects at the engagement interface. The modified action framework is shown in Fig. 1 .

SPIRIT Action Framework Modified for Academic-Policy Engagement Interventions (SPIRIT-ME), adapted with permission from the Sax Institute. Legend: The framework acknowledges that elements in each domain may influence other elements through mechanisms of action and that these do not necessarily flow through the framework in a ‘pipeline’ sequence. Mechanisms of action are processes through which engagement strategies operate to achieve desired outcomes. They might rely on influencing factors, catalysts, an aspect of an intervention action, or a combination of elements

Identifying relevant theories or models for missing elements

Catalysts and capacity.

Within our evaluation of academic-policy interventions, we identified a need to develop the original domain of catalysts beyond ‘policy/programme need for research’ and ‘new research with potential policy relevance’. Redman et al. characterised a catalyst as “a need for information to answer a particular problem in policy or program design, or to assist in supporting a case for funding” in the original framework (p. 149). We expanded this “need for information” to a perceived need for engagement, by either HEI staff or policy professionals, linking to the potential value they perceived in engaging. Specifically, there was a need to consider catalysts at the level of individual engagement, for example HEI staff wanting research to have real-world impact, or policy professionals’ desires to improve decision-making in policy, where productive interactions between academic and policy stakeholders are “necessary interim steps in the process that lead to societal impact” ( [ 24 ], p. 214). The catalyst domain expands the original emphasis on a need for research, to take account of challenges to be overcome by both the academic and policy communities in knowing how, and with whom, to engage and collaborate with [ 25 ].

We used a model proposing that there are three components for any behaviour: capability, opportunity and motivation, which is known as the COM-B model [ 26 ]. Informed by CAPE evaluation activities and our discussions with stakeholders, we mapped the opportunity and motivation constructs into the ‘catalysts’ domain of the original framework. Opportunity is an attribute of the system that can facilitate engagement. It may be a tangible factor such as the availability of seed funding, or a perceived social opportunity such as institutional support for engagement activities. Opportunity can act at the macro level of systems and organisational structures. Motivation acts at the micro level, deriving from an individual’s mental processes that stimulate and direct their behaviours; in this case, taking part in academic-policy engagement actions. The COM-B model distinguishes between reflective motivation through conscious planning and automatic motivation that may be instinctive or affective [ 26 ].

We presented an early application of the COM-B model to catalysts for engagement at an academic conference, enabling an informal exploration of attendees’ subjective views on the clarity and appropriateness, when developing the framework. This application introduces possibilities for intervention development and support by highlighting ‘opportunities’ and ‘motivations’ as key catalysts in the modified framework.

Within the ‘capacity’ domain, we retained the original levels of individuals, organisations and systems. We introduced individual capability as a construct from the COM-B model, describing knowledge, skills and abilities to generate behaviour change as a precursor of academic-policy engagement. This reframing extends the applicability to HEI staff as well as policy professionals. It brings attention to different starting conditions for individuals, such as capabilities developed through previous experience, which can link with social opportunity (for example, through training or support) as a catalyst.

Engagement actions

We identified a need to modify the original domain ‘engagement actions’ to extend the focus beyond the use of research. We added three categories of engagement actions described by Best and Holmes [ 27 ]: linear, relational, and systems. These categories were further specified through a systematic mapping of international organisations’ academic-policy engagement activities [ 5 ]. This framework modification expands the domain to encompass: (i) linear ‘push’ of evidence from academia or ‘pull’ of evidence into policy agencies; (ii) relational approaches focused on academic-policy-maker collaboration; and (iii) systems’ strategies to facilitate engagement for example through strategic leadership, rewards or incentives [ 5 ].

We retained the elements in the original framework’s ‘outcomes’ domain (instrumental, tactical, conceptual and imposed), which we found could apply to outcomes of engagement as well as research use. For example, discussions between a policy professional and a range of academics could lead to a conceptual outcome by considering an issue through different disciplinary lenses. We expanded these elements by drawing on literature on engagement outcomes [ 28 ] and through sense-checking with stakeholders in CAPE. We added capacity-building (changes to skills and expertise), connectivity (changes to the number and quality of relationships), and changes in organisational culture or attitude change towards engagement.

Impacts and sustainability

The original framework contained endpoints described as: ‘Better health system and health outcomes’ and ‘Research-informed health policy and policy documents’. For modification beyond health contexts and to encompass broader intentions of academic-policy engagement, we replaced these elements with a new domain of ‘Impacts and sustainability’. This domain captures the continued activities required in achievement of desirable outcomes [ 29 ]. The modification allows consideration of sustainability in relation to previous stages of engagement interventions, through the identification of beneficial effects that are sustained (or not), in which ways, and for whom. Following Borst [ 30 ], we propose a shift from the expectation that ‘sustainability’ will be a fixed endpoint. Instead, we emphasise the maintenance work needed over time, to sustain productive engagement.

Influences and facilitators

We modified the overarching ‘Policy influences’ (such as public opinion and media) in the original framework, to align with factors influencing academic-policy engagement beyond policy agencies’ use of research. We included influences at the level of the individual (for example, individual moral discretion [ 31 ]), the organisation (for example, managerial practices [ 31 ]) and the system (for example, career incentives [ 32 ]). Each of these processes takes place in the broader context of social, policy and financial environments (that is, potential sources of funding for engagement actions) [ 29 ].

We modified the domain ‘Reservoir of relevant and reliable research’ underpinning the original framework, replacing it with ‘Reservoir of people skills’, to emphasise intangible facilitatory work at the engagement interface, in place of concrete research outputs. We used the ‘Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services’ (PARiHS) framework [ 33 , 34 ], which gives explicit consideration to facilitation mechanisms for researchers and policy-makers [ 13 ] . Here, facilitation expertise includes mechanisms that focus on particular goals (task-oriented facilitation) or enable changes in ways of working (holistic-oriented facilitation). Task-orientated facilitation skills might include, for example, the provision of contacts, practical help or project management skills, while holistic-oriented facilitation involves building and sustaining partnerships or support skills’ development across a range of capabilities. These conceptualisations aligned with our consultations with facilitators of engagement in CAPE. We further extended these to include aspects identified in our evaluation activities: strategic planning, contextual awareness and entrepreneurial orientation.

Piloting and refining the modified framework through stakeholder engagement

We piloted an early version of the modified framework to develop a survey for all CAPE programme participants. During this pilot stage, we sought feedback from the CAPE delivery team members across HEI and policy contexts in England. CAPE delivery team members are based at five collaborating universities with partners in the Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology (POST) and Government Office for Science (GO-Science), and Nesta (a British foundation that supports innovation). The HEI members include academics and professional services knowledge mobilisation staff, responsible for leading and coordinating CAPE activities. The delivery team comprised approximately 15–20 individuals (with some fluctuations according to individual availabilities).

We assessed appropriateness and utility, refined terminology, added domain elements and explored nuances. For example, stakeholders considered the multi-layered possibilities within the domain ‘capacity’, where some HEI or policy departments may demonstrate a belief that it is important to use research in policy, but this might not be the perception of the organisation as a whole. We also sought stakeholders’ views on the utility of the new domains, for example, the identification of facilitator expertise such as acting as a knowledge broker or intermediary; providing training, advice or guidance; facilitating engagement opportunities; creating engagement programmes; and sustainability of engagement that could be conceptualised at multiple levels: personally, in processes or through systems.

Testing against criteria for useful action framework

The modified framework fulfils the properties of a useful action framework [ 20 ]:

It has a clearly articulated purpose: development and evaluation of academic-policy engagement interventions through linear, relational and/or system approaches. It has identified loci for change, at the level of the individual, the organisation or system.

It has been informed by existing understandings, including conceptual work of the original SPIRIT framework, conceptual models identified from the literature, published empirical findings, understandings from consultation with stakeholders, and evaluation activities in CAPE.

It can be applied to the development, implementation and evaluation of targeted academic-policy engagement actions, the selection of points for intervention and identification of potential outcomes, including the work of sustaining them and unanticipated consequences.

It provides a structure to build knowledge by guiding the generation of hypotheses about mechanisms of action in academic-policy engagement interventions, or by adapting the framework further through application in practice.

The proliferation of frameworks to articulate processes of research translation reveals a need for their adaptation when applied in specific contexts. The majority of models in implementation science relate to translation of research into practice. By contrast, our focus was on engagement between academia and policy. There are a growing number of academic-policy engagement interventions but a lack of published evaluations [ 10 ].

Our framework modification provides an exemplar for others who are considering how to adapt existing conceptual frameworks to address new or expanded purposes. Field et al. identified the multiple, idiosyncratic ways that the Knowledge to Action Framework has been applied in practice, demonstrating its ‘informal’ adaptability to different healthcare settings and topics [ 35 ]. Others have reported on specific processes for framework refinement or extension. Wiltsey Stirman et al. adopted a framework that characterised forms of intervention modification, using a “pragmatic, multifaceted approach” ( [ 36 ], p.2). The authors later used the modified version as a foundation to build a further framework to encompass implementation strategies in a range of settings [ 21 ]. Oiumet et al. used the approach of borrowing from a different disciplinary field for framework adaptation, by using a model of absorptive capacity from management science to develop a conceptual framework for civil servants’ absorption of research knowledge [ 37 ].

We also took the approach of “adapting the tools we think with” ( [ 38 ], p.305) during our evaluation activities on the CAPE programme. Our conceptual modifications align with the literature on motivation and entrepreneurial orientation in determining policy-makers’ and researchers’ intentions to carry out engagement in addition to ‘usual’ roles [ 39 , 40 ]. Our framework offers an enabler for academic-policy engagement endeavours, by providing a structure for approaches beyond the linear transfer of information, emphasising the role of multidirectional relational activities, and the importance of their facilitation and maintenance. The framework emphasises the relationship between individuals’ and groups’ actions, and the social contexts in which these are embedded. It offers additional value by capturing the organisational and systems level factors that influence evidence-informed policymaking, incorporating the dynamic features of contexts shaping engagement and research use.

Conclusions

Our modifications extend the original SPIRIT framework’s focus on policy agencies’ use of research, to encompass dynamic academic-policy engagement at the levels of individuals, organisations and systems. Informed by the knowledge and experiences of policy professionals, HEI staff and knowledge mobilisers, it is designed to be meaningful and accessible for people working across varied contexts and functions in the evidence-policy ecosystem. It has potential applications in how academic-policy engagement interventions might be developed, evaluated, facilitated and improved, and it fulfils Redman et al.’s criteria as a useful action framework [ 20 ].

We are testing the ‘SPIRIT-Modified for Engagement’ framework (SPIRIT-ME) through our ongoing evaluation of academic-policy engagement activities. Further empirical research is needed to explore how the framework may capture ‘additionality’, that is, to identify what is achieved through engagement actions in addition to what would have happened anyway, including long-term changes in strategic behaviours or capabilities [ 41 , 42 , 43 ]. Application of the modified framework in practice will highlight its strengths and limitations, to inform further iterative development and adaptation.

Availability of data and materials

Not applicable.

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Acknowledgements

We are very grateful to the CAPE Programme Delivery Group members, for many discussions throughout this work. Our thanks also go to the Sax Institute, Australia (where the original SPIRIT framework was developed), for reviewing and providing helpful feedback on the article. We also thank our reviewers who made very constructive suggestions, which have strengthened and clarified our article.

The evaluation of the CAPE programme, referred to in this report, was funded by Research England. The funding body had no role in the design of the study, analysis, interpretation or writing the manuscript.

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PM conceptualised the modification of the framework reported in this work. All authors made substantial contributions to the design of the work. PM drafted the initial manuscript. AB and KO contributed to revisions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Petra Mäkelä .

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Mäkelä, P., Boaz, A. & Oliver, K. A modified action framework to develop and evaluate academic-policy engagement interventions. Implementation Sci 19 , 31 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13012-024-01359-7

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s13012-024-01359-7

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what is conceptual framework in literature review pdf

Conceptual Framework and Literature Review

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Samia Mohamed Nour

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This chapter presents the conceptual and theoretical framework, and reviews the literature. The chapter also defines the concepts and describes the definitions and measures of national and regional systems of innovation. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a background for our study, mainly to highlight the importance of systems of innovation for economic development as confirmed in the new growth literature, to motivate the empirical analysis in the next chapters. Based on the background in chapter 2, which shows the economic development challenges and the need for building systems of innovation in the Arab region, and before we turn to the empirical analysis in chapters 4–6 to examine the characteristics and implications of national and regional systems of innovation in the Arab region from national and regional perspectives, it will be useful in this chapter to discuss the conceptual framework and review the literature.

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Nour, S.M. (2016). Conceptual Framework and Literature Review. In: Economic Systems of Innovation in the Arab Region. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137462213_3

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(PDF) Literature Reviews, Conceptual Frameworks, and Theoretical
The studies often include a literature review, which is a synthesis of major themes in the literature, or conceptual frameworks, which can be defined as a network of concepts relevant to the study ...
PDF CHAPTER CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORKS IN RESEARCH distribute
a literature review and a theoretical framework • Each of the component parts of a conceptual framework and how they fit together ... conceptual framework, theoretical framework, theory, idea context, logic model, and . concept maps, are used somewhat interchangeably and often in unclear ways.
Literature Reviews, Theoretical Frameworks, and Conceptual Frameworks
A literature review may reach beyond BER and include other education research fields. A theoretical framework does not rationalize the need for the study, and a theoretical framework can come from different fields. A conceptual framework articulates the phenomenon under study through written descriptions and/or visual representations.
PDF Conceptual Framework
dangerously misleading term. In developing your conceptual framework, you should not simply review and summarize some body of theoretical or empirical publications, for three reasons: 1. It can lead to a narrow focus on the literature, ignoring other conceptual resources that may be of equal or greater importance for your study.
PDF Literature Reviews, Conceptual Frameworks, and Theoretical Frameworks
literature review, theoretical framework, and conceptual framework as types of manuscripts. The first area to be discussed is that these terms are used interchangeably. The second area is that the literature review, theoretical framework, and conceptual framework serve similar functions within a manuscript reporting
Literature Reviews, Conceptual Frameworks, and Theoretical Frameworks
This discussion includes similarities and distinctions among these components and their relation to other sections of a manuscript such as the problem statement, discussion, and implications. The essay concludes with an overview of the literature review, theoretical framework, and conceptual framework as separate types of manuscripts.
Literature Reviews, Theoretical Frameworks, and Conceptual Frameworks
The first element we discuss is a review of research (literature reviews), which highlights the need for a specific research question, study problem, or topic of investi-gation. Literature reviews situate the relevance of the study within a topic and a field. The process may seem familiar to science researchers entering DBER fields, but new
Conceptual Framework and Literature Review
Abstract. While 'conceptual framework' means a researcher's own perceptions about the scope and structure of a problem, the literature review provides others' ideas and work in areas close to that under study. With such a philosophy in mind, this chapter first constructs the author's own thinking as to how the problem in question has ...
Building a Conceptual Framework: Philosophy, Definitions, and Procedure
A conceptual framework is defined as a network or a "plane" of linked concepts. Conceptual framework analysis offers a procedure of theorization for building conceptual frameworks based on grounded theory method. The advantages of conceptual framework analysis are its flexibility, its capacity for modification, and its emphasis on ...
What Is a Conceptual Framework?
A conceptual framework is a representation of the relationship you expect to see between your variables, or the characteristics or properties that you want to study. Conceptual frameworks can be written or visual and are generally developed based on a literature review of existing studies about your topic.
Conceptual frameworks: Issues for manuscript review and the
Manuscript review issues related to conceptual frameworks include the absence or incomplete articulation of the framework, lack of congruence between the framework and the research questions or hypotheses, and failure to refer to the frame-work in the interpretation of results. While for research reports these issues might appear to be more ...
PDF WIP 121018 conceptual frameworks
What is a Conceptual Framework. Specific approach to thinking about a research problem, usually represented as a diagram to show important concepts and processes. Frameworks are derived from related concepts (conceptual, practical) or existing theories. (theoretical) - benefit is using a. shared language.
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articulate differences between theory, theoretical framework and a conceptual framework for a proposed research project. This paper uses experiential methodology to draw upon my experience in practice, and systematic literature review methodology to draw upon supporting scholarly literature by leaders in the field, to contribute to existing
[PDF] Literature Reviews, Conceptual Frameworks, and Theoretical
This essay starts with a discussion of the literature review, theoretical framework, and conceptual framework as components of a manuscript. This discussion includes similarities and distinctions among these components and their relation to other sections of a manuscript such as the problem statement, discussion, and implications. The essay concludes with an overview of the literature review ...
(PDF) Literature reviews, conceptual frameworks, and theoretical
The second area is that the literature review, theoretical framework, and conceptual framework serve similar functions within a manuscript reporting the results of an empirical study. The third area presents the distinctions among literature review, theoretical framework, and conceptual framework as a component of an empirical manuscript.
PDF Conceptual Framework and Literature Review
and regional perspectives, it will be useful in this chapter to discuss the conceptual framework and review the literature. T he rest of this chapter is organized as follows: first we present the introduction, and then we discuss the conceptual framework and review the literature on national systems of innovation (NSI) from a national perspective.
Conceptual review papers: revisiting existing research to ...
Conceptual review papers can theoretically enrich the field of marketing by reviewing extant knowledge, noting tensions and inconsistencies, identifying important gaps as well as key insights, and proposing agendas for future research. The result of this process is a theoretical contribution that refines, reconceptualizes, or even replaces existing ways of viewing a phenomenon. This paper ...
What Is a Conceptual Framework?
A conceptual framework is a representation of the relationship you expect to see between your variables, or the characteristics or properties that you want to study. Conceptual frameworks can be written or visual and are generally developed based on a literature review of existing studies about your topic.
[Pdf] a Conceptual Framework for Qualitative Research: a Literature
The conceptual framework is an important part of a research. However, there is still a lot of research, especially among students who ignore it. Indeed the conceptual framework has a strategic position and role in research. This article discusses about the conceptual framework in qualitative research. Specifically, it is aimed at providing understanding and practical guidance for students who ...
A modified action framework to develop and evaluate academic-policy
The key elements of the original framework are catalysts, organisational capacity, engagement actions, and research use. We wished to build on the framework's embedded conceptual work, derived from literature reviews and semi-structured interviews, to identify policymakers' views on factors that assist policy agencies' use of research .
Digital twins for logistics and supply chain systems: Literature review
The literature review indicates research and practice gaps and needs that motivate proposing a new conceptual DT framework for LSCS. As each element of the new framework has different requirements and goals, it initiates new research opportunities and creates practical implementation challenges.
Conceptual Framework and Literature Review
Abstract. This chapter presents the conceptual and theoretical framework, and reviews the literature. The chapter also defines the concepts and describes the definitions and measures of national and regional systems of innovation. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a background for our study, mainly to highlight the importance of systems ...
Dynamic capabilities view practices of business firms: a systematic
A systematic literature review was used in this study to identify articles that define or conceptualize the concept of dynamic capabilities. We preferred the systematic review literature method because of the advantages it provides over narrative and meta-analysis. Some aspects of this approach have found acceptance in the social sciences.

Literature Reviews, Theoretical Frameworks, and Conceptual Frameworks: An Introduction for New Biology Education Researchers

Sophia Jeong

Robert Idsardi

Grant Gardner

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INTRODUCTION

LITERATURE REVIEWS

Building Literature Reviews

Suggestions and Advice

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS

Selecting Theoretical Frameworks

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORKS

Constructing Conceptual Frameworks

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS

Supplementary Material

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Moderating variables

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Control variables

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A modified action framework to develop and evaluate academic-policy engagement interventions

Contributions to the literature

Identifying relevant theories or models for missing elements

Engagement actions

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Piloting and refining the modified framework through stakeholder engagement

Testing against criteria for useful action framework

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