To create a theoretical framework, you must first identify a study problem and understand why your approach offers a practicable solution. You do this after reviewing relevant course texts in your dissertation. If you can provide an answer to the aforementioned issues, you have the foundations for composing your thesis or dissertation. The following steps demonstrate how to develop a theoretical framework based on the design mentioned previously. You can apply them in qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods studies.   1. Inspect Your Research Problem Consider your research problem or the subject of your work very closely because it acts as a theoretical base. You will build an appropriate model using it. Describe any gaps in understanding that drove your project and offer a summary of different ways others have tackled the issue. This provides a specific setting for your theoretical framework by showing how you are examining instances of broader phenomena. It also helps in linking your manuscript to the wider theoretical constructs, contested views, or existing gaps in your field. In turn, this enables you to demonstrate that the thesis aims to illuminate vital themes and is, therefore, crucial for your subject area. 2. Determine the Key Variables Next, list all variables you think are key in your theoretical framework. These can be: Independent and dependent variables Confounding variables Extraneous variables. In other words you should identify what factors contribute to the estimated outcome. This helps you locate, define, and break down the central terms related to your research question or problem statement. It is important because some of them can mean several things based on context. Thus, your theoretical work must clarify what each one denotes. You use this information in your future discussion about theories linking the identified concepts. For example, a business is unable to reach young customers under 25 years old. It operates a chain of cafes across the city. Although it has a new website and dishes for this group, there are no orders. The key leadership thinks adding online payment techniques will appeal to young clients and enhance user satisfaction. It is anticipated that this will simplify the buying process, attract more people, and grow the user base. Here, the core elements of a theoretical background are determined by: Identifying an issue, which is the lack of orders from young customers. Explaining the objective, i.e., examining if online payment techniques increase user satisfaction. Formulating a research question stated below. Does implementing online payments enhance user satisfaction among young online customers aged under 25 years old? The main components are: “user satisfaction” “clients aged under 25 years old” “online payments.” Your model must define and discuss these ideas. 3. Conduct a Literature Review The third step in developing a theoretical framework is conducting a literature review associated with your topic. The intention is to ascertain how others have discussed an issue, identify which tools and assumptions they applied and made respectively, and discover how they specified and built connections of key concepts. Remember to use credible and peer-reviewed works only as you research the theoretical framework. Your focus here is on contrasting and assessing the approaches of various scholars critically while writing a theoretical framework of a study. Specifically, check how they defined important ideas, their justifications, and what theories they used. This helps you in building your project and establishing vital and fitting definitions. You may need a sample literature review outline, we have a special blog to help you with this step. 4. Discuss Relevant Theories You also need to analyze relevant theories when writing a theoretical framework. Remember that while some of them are popular, no right or perfect system for your research paper exists. Therefore, you must state which approaches you encountered in your review of current studies, discuss what they propose or assume, and elaborate on how these suggestions relate to your study. Clarify how your selected model will assist in answering your research question and conducting an investigation. In other words, how can it serve as a reference for your project? This offers useful knowledge that helps in building a theoretical framework in research. You should also assess the relative value of each principle for your subject area to have a sense of which ones are commonly applied in examining your research problem. Additionally, identify how your work will implement those ideas by scrutinizing whether specific perspectives hold in the context of your inquiry. You will gain useful insights to help in selecting the best theories in research. What is more, in the framework a theory must relate to your most important propositions. Make sure this is the case. For example, if you found a certain belief unfit, explain why. 5. Go Beyond the Existing Theories In addition to evaluating and exemplifying extant viewpoints as you write a theoretical framework, you should demonstrate how your work refutes or supports actual theories. Specifically, position your research in a wider context or with varying models. This enables you to build a theoretical framework that offers genuine insights into your problem. It also helps you in examining if an existing view can be used to interpret your findings, deliberating on or challenging notions critically, and combining different philosophies in a new or unique way to form a distinct philosophy. Finish your theoretical writing by providing your audience with an explanation about how your project is useful or solves an issue feasibly in the field. You can then continue with other sections of your work such as research methodology, discussion section, or results section.  [Original source: https://studycrumb.com/theoretical-framework]