After learning the basics of creating a conceptual framework, it is necessary to start developing your own. This should be a straightforward undertaking if you follow the process described here below. Remember that it does not have to look exactly like others because factors such as amount of ideas to be incorporated, your research phenomenon, and the extent of your model must be considered. In this section, we offer a deeper description of how to develop a conceptual framework through a step-by-step process. 1. Determine Key Concepts in Existing Literature Commence developing a conceptual framework by examining the existing body of literature on your research topic to find key ideas that other researchers have used. Focus on specific factors described in publications that are important for your work or dissertation proposal, what the literature says about them, and how they are related. Also, you should attend to what you read by looking at section’s titles as this helps orient you in a direction of the most essential information. Besides, consider the beginning and end of a study because most authors respectively introduce and summarize important issues in these sections. Additionally, take note of recurring phrases or words in documents because the frequency with which some variables occur demonstrates their relative value and will point you toward that main concept. 2. Come Up With a Research Question After conducting the literature review, you have insights into the main ideas surrounding your topic. A vital phase of developing your conceptual frame work that follows involves formulating a research question to guide the exploration. You need to be specific here by laying out specific details about the what, who, where, when, how, and why of your theme. Keep in mind that providing concise and defined answers to anything you come up with is essential at this stage. If you cannot address an issue wholly and accurately, create another one. This is important because a problem forms a foundation of the conceptual framework as it influences the selection of appropriate designs and approaches to be used in your work. For example, you can formulate a question such as: “What is the influence of service quality on service loyalty?” Potential methods for a study here may include surveys, questionnaires, and an experiment. 3. Identify Your Independent and Dependent Variables The next step, as you continue creating a conceptual framework, necessitates identifying your independent and dependent variables. This is usually done after you have explored other studies thoroughly and identified essential concepts for your work. An independent variable is that which you can control, such as “service quality” from our previous example. A dependent variable is what you will measure, e.g. “service loyalty”. While the two differ, they are related directly because if one changes, the other acts correspondingly. As can be seen, the question formulated earlier determines the ideas selected in this part of developing a research paper, thesis, or dissertation conceptual framework. 4. Create a Model Representing Causal Relationship Now that you have your essential variables, you must establish how they relate to each other. Note that any direct connection between them does not automatically mean that there is already a cause-and-effect type of association. You should still demonstrate how they affect each other. An effective technique here entails creating a visual representation with an arrow indicating how your ideas interact. This acts as the framework and conceptual map for a study that clarifies how an independent variable causes changes in your dependent variable. A pictorial example of conceptual framework demonstrating a cause-and-effect relationship between service quality and service loyalty is provided below.   5. Include Other Variables You also need to define other variables and include them in your conceptual framework. After reviewing other studies, you must have encountered numerous concepts that affect your topic. However, since you cannot select all the existing ideas for your research, it is important to focus on the most relevant ones. Additional variables that you should consider include: Moderating Mediating Control. Moderating Variables Moderating variables are those that influence the relationship between your two main variables in the research conceptual framework by altering their strength or direction. They are represented by illustrating when or based on which conditions a certain effect is anticipated. You can use them to reinforce, refute, or influence how your independent construct relates to the dependent one. This helps in determining your findings’ external validity. Using moderating variables is beneficial as they demonstrate the association between different ideas in your topic, enhance your study design, and offer an explanation of why a specific outcome happened. In turn, this provides more accurate and realistic findings by presenting insights into connotations that could otherwise not have been achieved. In our sample of conceptual framework in the research paper, the customer’s income is an example of a moderator variable.   Mediating Variables Mediating variables are also essential in a conceptual framework because they help you understand the mechanism by which your two primary variables are connected. You can either include them in your research design, in which case the study will focus on changing the mediator, or in your findings to explain how a specific effect happened. Mediating variables are usually caused by an independent variable and affect your dependent variable. This enables you to describe the kind of linkage between them. In turn, this contributes to determining the nature of your work more functionally and accurately. Based on our previous question, an example of a mediator in a conceptual framework would be customer satisfaction.   Control variables You should also consider control variables in your conceptual framework. They allow you to define the factors under your control. These elements may potentially affect your project’s findings. However, they are not very important when developing your model, meaning that you will not be studying them. Control variables have an ability to decrease the impact of other elements outside your work’s scope. This enhances your study’s validity by ensuring that nothing affects the relationship you are examining. As you continue learning about how to make a conceptual framework, remember that these variables are generally kept constant throughout the investigation. You can depict them directly by altering only an independent construct, indirectly through random selection to lessen their influence, or statistically to isolate their effects. An example of a control variable in a conceptual model is a health condition requiring a special diet.   6. Revise Your Conceptual Framework Now that you have followed all previous steps, the final phase is to edit and revise your conceptual framework and make any necessary changes. Regardless of how you demonstrate your model, ensure that all variables, including their names, are laid out. Also, make sure that your diagram illustrates connections between concepts using arrows, lines, and boxes. Remember that you should reflect on your research question at this stage as this makes the framework relevant to your topic. [Original source: https://studycrumb.com/conceptual-framework]