Theoretical and conceptual framing in academic writing is a challenge for many students.
So why do you need theory at all?
Why not simply identify a problem, conduct an interview or a survey, and report your results without using a theoretical base?
- Well, first, as a postgraduate student, you are required to use a theoretical or conceptual framework to make your research scholarly rather than anecdotal or subjective.
- Second, introducing theory shows your supervisor and examiners that you’ve read wisely and widely.
- Third, referencing theory gives you new insight and a broader understanding of your research problem.
- Fourth, theory can guide your research design and methodology.
- Fifth, theory will help you to interpret your findings at a more abstract level, i.e., beyond the particulars of your research.
- And sixth, theory will enable you to raise the level of your discussion by connecting your research to the research of other scholars.
But, to achieve all this, you will need to weave your theory right through your dissertation or thesis, from the introduction to the conclusion. You can’t just mention it in the introduction and not again!
So, at the outset, theory can provide a diagnosis or potential solution to your research and guide your propositions and research question(s); in the methodology section, theory can provide a structure for the design of your study; and in your discussion and conclusion sections, you can use theory to structure the interpretation of your findings (Casanave & Li, 2015).
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