Let’s say you were interested in the aforementioned “successful nurses.” If you adopted Bass and Avolio’s (1995) Full Range of Leadership Model as your framework, you would focus on what that model cares about: transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership behaviors. You might ask questions of these nurses about their transformational leadership behaviors, their transactional leadership behaviors, and their laissez-faire leadership behaviors.


Action Steps: So, which theoretical or conceptual framework should I choose?
First, figure out how your doctoral program deals with theoretical and conceptual frameworks. Go find the most recent 25 dissertations from your doctoral program. Try to find dissertations that are generally the same research design as you are pursuing: Quantitative or qualitative. Second, ask yourself: “Where, explicitly, is the theoretical or conceptual framework discussed in these dissertations?” If they show up in multiple chapters, ask yourself, “What role do they play in each of these chapters?” Third, make a list of all the theoretical or conceptual frameworks you encounter. Note the authors that created the framework, the purpose statement of the study, and the research questions asked. Finally, continue your literature search/review work in earnest. Don’t force yourself to choose a framework right away. Instead, keep a running list of the theories and models you encounter as you do your natural reading. You should not select your theoretical or conceptual framework, in my view, until you have a list of at least ten other theories or models that you could have adopted.