University of San Carlos

P. del Rosario St., Cebu City 6000

School of Business and Economics

Department of Business Administration

EXERCISES ON DRAFTING CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the course
BA109N Business Research
Group No.3 7:30-9:00 pm MW GR456MC

Submitted by:
Group 2
ONG, DANIEL EMERSON B.

Submitted to:
GRACE MARIE LAPE
Date:
December 10, 2014

Definitions and Examples

1.

Conceptual Framework
Conceptual frameworks, according to educational researcher Smyth (2004), are structured
from a set of broad ideas and theories that help a researcher to properly identify the problem
they are looking at, frame their questions and find suitable literature. Most academic
research uses a conceptual framework at the outset because it helps the researcher to clarify
his research question and aims. It is also a tool researchers use to guide their inquiry; it is a
set of ideas used to structure the research, a sort of map that may include the research
question, the literature review, methods and data analysis. Researchers use a conceptual
framework to guide their data collection and analysis. If, for example the researcher wanted
to know whether boys did better than girls in a certain subject then he might look at
literature on the development of both sexes, and on the methods of socialization of boys and
girls as this could influence what subjects were of interest. The researcher would then look
at existing literature on male and female development and socialization as this would help
to clarify what questions she should ask e.g are girls more interested in history when it is
concerned with actual people or do boys prefer the history of battles etc. The ways in which
boys and girls viewed a subject could influence their progress in that area.

How to make a Conceptual Framework?

1. Mapping the selected data sources
The first task is to map the spectrum of multidisciplinary literature regarding the
phenomenon in question. This process includes identifying text types and other
sources of data, such as existing empirical data and practices. It must begin with an
extensive review of the multidisciplinary texts, and it is also recommended to
undertake initial interviews with practitioners, specialists, and scholars from various
disciplines whose work focuses on the targeted phenomenon. Data collection should
be a comprehensive and complete fishing trip or scoping (Morse & Richards,
2002), and should facilitate holistic mapping and complete data collection to ensure
validity (Morse & Mitcham, 2002).
2. Extensive reading and categorizing of the selected data
The aim in this phase is to read the selected data and categorize it both by discipline
and by a scale of importance and representative power within each discipline. This
process maximizes the effectiveness of our inquiry and ensures effective
representation of each discipline.
3. Identifying and naming concepts
The aim in this phase is to read and reread the selected data and discover concepts
(Glaser & Strauss. 1967; Strauss & Corbin. 1990). Its result is a list of numerous
competing and sometimes contradictory concepts. Generally, this method allows
concepts to emerge from the literature. Indeed, Morse, Hupcey, et al. (2002) have
suggested that qualitative inquiry that commences with the concept, rather than the
phenomenon itself, is subject to violating the tenet of induction, thus is exposed to
particular threats of invalidity (p. 68).

4. Deconstructing and categorizing the concepts

The aim of this phase is to deconstruct each concept; to identify its main attributes,
characteristics, assumptions, and role; and, subsequently, to organize and categorize
the concepts according to their features and ontological, epistemological, and
methodological role. The result of this phase is a table that includes four columns.
The first includes the names of the concepts; the second includes a description of
each concept; the third categorizes each concept according to its ontological,
epistemological, or methodological role; and the fourth presents the references for
each concept.
5. Integrating concepts
The aim in this phase is to integrate and group together concepts that have
similarities to one new concept. This phase reduces the number of concepts
drastically and allows us to manipulate to a reasonable number of concepts.
6. Synthesis, resynthesis, and making it all make sense
The aim in this phase is to synthesize concepts into a theoretical framework. The
researcher must be open, tolerant, and flexible with the theorization process and the
emerging new theory. This process is iterative and includes repetitive synthesis and
resynthesis until the researcher recognizes a general theoretical framework that
makes sense. Researchers should know how to build their conceptual frameworks. As
Miles and Huberman (1994) have suggested, researchers who use qualitative
methods need to know how they are constructing theory as analysis proceeds,
because that construction will . . . inevitably influence and constrain data collection,
data reduction, and the drawing and verification of conclusions (p. 434).
7. Validating the conceptual framework
The aim in this phase is to validate the conceptual framework. The question is
whether the proposed framework and its concepts make sense not only to the
researcher but also to other scholars and practitioners. Does the framework present a
reasonable theory for scholars studying the phenomenon from different disciplines?
Validating a theoretical framework is a process that starts with the researcher, who
then seeks validation among outsiders. Presenting an evolving theory at a
conference, a seminar, or some other type of academic framework provides an
excellent opportunity for researchers to discuss and receive feedback.
8. Rethinking the conceptual framework
A theory or a theoretical framework representing a multidisciplinary phenomenon
will always be dynamic and may be revised according to new insights, comments,
literature, and so on. As the framework is multidisciplinary, the theory should make
sense for those disciplines and enlarge their theoretical perspective on the specific
phenomenon in question.
Read more: http://www.ehow.com/about_6664512_meaning-conceptual-frameworkresearch_.html

2.

Concept Map
Concept maps are graphical tools for organizing and representing knowledge. They
include concepts, usually enclosed in circles or boxes of some type, and relationships
between concepts indicated by a connecting line linking two concepts. Words on the line,
referred to as linking words or linking phrases, specify the relationship between the two
concepts. We define concept as a perceived regularity or pattern in events or objects, or
records of events or objects, designated by a label. The label for most concepts is a word,
although sometimes we use symbols such as + or %, and sometimes more than one word is
used. Propositions are statements about some object or event in the universe, either
naturally occurring or constructed. Propositions contain two or more concepts connected
using linking words or phrases to form a meaningful statement. Sometimes these are called
semantic units, or units of meaning.

How to make a concept map?

Method 1 of 3: The Hierarchy Concept Map
1. Brainstorm a list of important topics.
Before you choose the subject at the top of
your hierarchy map, you should write down a
list of important subjects related to your
project or assignment. If you know that your
project should be about trees, for example,
then that word would go at the top of your
concept map. But if you just know that you
have to write or think about objects in nature,
or materials made from nature, then your task is a bit harder. First, write out all of
the concepts related to your general subject: Trees; Oxygen; Wood; Humans; Plants;
Animals; Houses; Paper.
2. Choose the most important concept. Once you've brainstormed a list of concepts
related to your project, you can choose the concept that is most essential to all of the
others -- the one from which all of the others stem. This may be obvious, or it may
require a little thought. Remember, if it's a hierarchical map, then the central word
should be the one that connects all of the others. In this case, the word is "Trees."
This word will appear in a box or oval at the top of your map.
Note that in some cases, you can skip the first step. If you already know that you
have to write a paper or give a presentation on "Trees," for example, you can
write that word at the top of the hierarchical map right away.
3. Link the key word to the second most important words from your list. Once
you've found your keys word, draw arrows extending downward to the left and right
that connect the word to the next two or three most important words. These next
words should be able to connect to the other words you've brainstormed, which will
appear below them. In this case, the hierarchical term is "Trees," and it will be
linked to the two next most important terms, "Oxygen," and "Wood."
4. Link the second key words to less important words. Now that you've found your key
word and the next most important words, you can write the words that relate to the
second key words below these. These terms will become more specific, and should

relate back to the words above them, "Oxygen" and "Wood," as well as the most central
word, "Trees." Here are the terms that you'll list below these more central terms:
Humans; Plants; Animals; Houses; Paper; Furniture.
5. Explain the relationship between the terms. Add lines to connect the terms, and
explain the relationship between the terms in a word or two. The relationships can
vary; one concept can be part of another, it can be crucial to another concept, it can
be used to produce another concept, or there can be a variety of other relationships.
Here are the relationships between the concepts on this map:
Trees give oxygen and wood
Oxygen is important to humans, plants, and animals
Wood is used to make houses, paper, furniture
Method 2 of 3: The Spider Concept Map
1. Write the main topic in the center. The
spider concept map is organized with a
main topic in the center, sub-topics
branching from the main topic, and
supporting details branching off the subtopics. This format will actually make the
map resemble a spider. This type of map is
also ideal for writing an essay, because it
can help you generate supporting evidence
and understand the primary and secondary
details of the subject.
The spider concept map is also very useful for helping you see which topics
are richer than others, because you'll see that you can "branch off" more
concepts from larger topics.
Let's say the main topic is "Health." Write this topic in the center of a piece of
paper and circle it. This circle should be larger and more prominent than the
others to emphasize that this is the most important topic.
2. Write the subtopics around the main topic. Now that you've written your main
topic, you can write down the subtopics around it. You can write them in smaller
circles and connect the circles to the main topic, "Health." You can first brainstorm a
list of subtopics before you choose a few of them -- let's say three. These subtopics
should be large enough for you to write at least three supporting details about each
of them.
Let's say you've brainstormed the following concepts related to health:
lifestyle, relaxation, no stress, sleep, healthy relationships, happiness, diet,
fruits and vegetables, exercise, avocado, massage, walking, running,
stretching, bike riding, three balanced meals, and proteins.
Pick the three most important subtopics, which can encompass many of these
terms and are broad enough to incorporate a number of concepts. From this
list, the most productive terms are: exercise, lifestyle, and diet. Write these
terms in circles around the main topic and connect them with lines. They
should be somewhat evenly spaced around the central topic, "Health."

3. Write the supporting topics around their subtopics. Now that you've chosen
three supporting topics, you can write the supporting topics around them. Just do the
same thing you did in the last step: brainstorm a list of supporting topics around the
subtopics. Once you've chosen your supporting topics, you can just connect them
with the subtopics with a line or even draw a circle around them to connect them.
They should appear smaller than the subtopics.
Around the subtopic "exercise," you can write the following terms: walking,
yoga, variety, how often, how much, and biking instead of driving.
Around the subtopic "lifestyle," you can write the following terms: sleep,
healthy relationships, relaxation, massage, routine, variety, and love.
Around the subtopic "diet," you can write the following terms: fruits,
vegetables, proteins, balance, carbs, and hydration.
4. Keep going (optional). If you'd like to make your spider concept map really
specific, then you could even take it a step further and write some supporting topics
around the supporting topics. This can be useful if you're dissecting a particularly
difficult topic that has many layers. It also depends on how long your paper,
assignment, or project should be -- if it requires more words or time, then you can
expand your concept map a bit.
Around the supporting topic "sleep," you can write, "8 hours a night," "don't
drink caffeine before bed," and "the same amount every night"
Around the supporting topic "yoga," you can write "yoga for meditation,"
"power yoga," or "vinyasa yoga".
Around the supporting topic "balance," you can write "three meals a day,"
"protein with every meal" and "healthy snacks."
Method 3 of 3: The Flowchart Concept Map
1. Choose your starting point or problem. The
flowchart map allows you to examine a process
and see the multiple options for getting it done.
The flowchart can be linear and can just flow
from one concept to the next, but it can also
have multiple elements for examining a variety
of outcomes. The starting point can be a
process or a problem that needs a solution.
Let's use the starting point, "Lamp doesn't turn
on."
2. Write the easiest solution for the problem. For the problem, "Lamp doesn't turn
on," the most typical solution is that the lamp is not plugged in. Just write, "Lamp
plugged in?" and connect it with an arrow to "Lamp doesn't turn on."
3. Write the two results for this solution. Write a line from "Lamp plugged in?" that
says "no" and another that says "yes." If you follow the line that says "no," then the
response would be "Plug in lamp." Connect this response to "no" with a line. You've
completed one flow of the concept, starting with "Lamp doesn't turn on" to "Plug in
lamp." If you follow this "flow," then it should solve the problem.
But if the lamp is plugged in, you'll follow "yes" to another option: "Bulb
burned out?" This is the next logical solution.

4. Write the results for the next solution. From the question, "Bulb burned out?"
you'll need to branch out two terms: "yes" and "no." If the answer to "Bulb burned
out" is "yes," then you'll need to connect this word to the solution, "Replace bulb."
You've completed another flow of the concept, because this should fix the broken
lamp. But if it turns out that the bulb is not burned out, you'll have to follow "no," to
the last option: "Repair lamp."
You have now completed a flowchart for the problem of a broken lamp, which
will lead you to one of three solutions: plugging it in, replacing the bulb, or
repairing the lamp.
Source: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Concept-Map
Figure 1 shows an example of a concept map that describes the structure of concept
maps and illustrates the above characteristics. In the Figure, "Concept Maps", "Organized
Knowledge", and "Focus Question(s)" are concepts, "represent", "needed to answer" are
linking words, and together they form the two propositions: "Concept Maps represent
Organized Knowledge", and "Organized Knowledge <is> needed to answer Focus
Question(s)".

Figure 1. A concept map showing the key features of concept maps. Concept maps tend to be read progressing
from the top downward.

3.

N-gram
In the fields of computational linguistics and probability, an n-gram is a contiguous
sequence of n items from a given sequence of text or speech. The items can
be phonemes, syllables, letters, words or pairs according to the application. The n-grams
typically are collected from a text or speech corpus.
An n-gram of size 1 is referred to as a "unigram"; size 2 is a "bigram" (or, less
commonly, a "digram"); size 3 is a "trigram". Larger sizes are sometimes referred to by the
value of n, e.g., "four-gram", "five-gram", and so on.

How to make an N-gram?

This function takes an Integer denoting n number of elements, and a list of some type a.
Given these arguments, it returns the first n elements of a list of as. Thus, passing it the
number two and a list of words should give us... our first bigram:
Prelude> take 2 ["Colorless", "green", "ideas", "sleep", "furiously"]
["Colorless","green"]
Great! That worked out nice! Now from here on, the idea is to add this bigram to a list, and
to move the window one word to the right, so that we obtain the second bigram. Let us first
turn to the latter (as we will get the list part for free later on). How do we move the window
one word to the right? That is, how do we extract the second and third word in the list,
instead of the first and second? A possible would be to use Haskell's !! operator:
Prelude> :t (!!)
(!!) :: [a] -> Int -> a
This operator takes a list of as, and returns the nth element;
Prelude> ["Colorless", "green", "ideas", "sleep", "furiously"] !! 1
"green"
Prelude> ["Colorless", "green", "ideas", "sleep", "furiously"] !! 2
"ideas"
Great, this gives us the two words that make up the second bigram. Now all we have to do
is stuff them together in a list:
Prelude> ["Colorless", "green", "ideas", "sleep", "furiously"] !! 1 :
["Colorless", "green", "ideas", "sleep", "furiously"] !! 2 : []
["green","ideas"]

Well, this does the trick. However, it is not very convenient to wrap this up in a function,
and moreover, this approach is not very Haskellish. In fact, there is a better and more
elegant solution, namely to move the list instead of the window. Wait! What? Yes, move the
list instead of the window. But how? Well, we could just look at the first and second word in
the list again, after getting rid of the (previous) first word. In other words, we could look at
the first two words of the tail of the list of words:
Prelude> take 2 (tail ["Colorless", "green", "ideas", "sleep", "furiously"])
["green","ideas"]
Now that looks Haskellish! What about the next bigram? and the one after that? Well, we
could apply the same trick over and over again. We can look at the first two words of the
tail of the tails of the list of words:
Prelude> take 2 (tail (tail ["Colorless", "green", "ideas", "sleep", "furiously"]))
["ideas","sleep"]
... and the tail of the tail of the tail of the list of words:
Prelude> take 2 (tail (tail (tail ["Colorless", "green", "ideas", "sleep", "furiously"])))
["sleep","furiously"]
In fact, that last step already gives us the last bigrams in the sentence Colorless green ideas
sleep furiously. The last step would be to throw all these two word lists in a larger list, and
we have ourselves a list of bigrams. However, whereas this is manageable by hand for this
particular example, think about obtaining all the bigrams in the Brown corpus in this
manner (gives you nightmares, doesn't it?). Indeed, we would rather like to wrap this
approach up in a function that does all the hard word for us. Provided a list, this function
should take its first two arguments, and then repetitively do this for the tail of this, and the
tail of the tail of this list, and so forth. In other words, it should simply constantly take the
first bigram of a list, and do the same for its tail:
Prelude> take 2 (tail ["Colorless", "green", "ideas", "sleep", "furiously"])
["green","ideas"]
Now that looks Haskellish! What about the next bigram? and the one after that? Well, we
could apply the same trick over and over again. We can look at the first two words of the
tail of the tails of the list of words:
Prelude> take 2 (tail (tail ["Colorless", "green", "ideas", "sleep", "furiously"]))
["ideas","sleep"]
... and the tail of the tail of the tail of the list of words:

Prelude> take 2 (tail (tail (tail ["Colorless", "green", "ideas", "sleep", "furiously"])))
["sleep","furiously"]

Examples
Figure 1 n-gram examples from various disciplines
Field

Unit

Sample sequence

Vernacular name
Order
resulting Markov
model

1-gram sequence

2-gram sequence

3-gram sequence

unigram

bigram

trigram

of

Protein sequencing

amino
acid

Cys-Gly-Leu-Ser-Trp , Cys, Gly, Leu,

, Cys-Gly, Gly-Leu, Leu-Ser, Ser-Trp,

Ser, Trp,

DNA sequencing

base pair AGCTTCGA

Computational
linguistics

, t, o, _, b, e, _, o, r,
, to_, o_b, _be, be_, e_o, _
, to, o_, _b, be, e_, _o, or, r_, _n, no, ot, t_,
character to_be_or_not_to_be _, n, o, t, _, t, o, _, b,
or_, r_n, _no, not, ot_, t_t, _to, to
_t, to, o_, _b, be,
e,
o_b, _be,

Computational
linguistics

word

to be or not to be

, A, G, C, T, T, C,
, AG, GC, CT, TT, TC, CG, GA,
G, A,

, to, be, or, not, to,

, to be, be or, or not, not to, to be,
be,

, Cys-Gly-Leu,
Leu-Ser-Trp,

, AGC, GCT, CTT, TTC, TC

CGA,

, to be or, be or not, or not

not to be,

Figure 1 shows several example sequences and the corresponding 1-gram, 2-gram and 3-gram sequences.

Here are further examples; these are word-level 3-grams and 4-grams (and counts of the
number of times they appeared) from the Google n-gram corpus.
3-grams

ceramics collectables collectibles

(55)
ceramics collectables fine (130)
ceramics collected by (52)
ceramics collectible pottery (50)
ceramics collectibles cooking (45)

4-grams

serve as the incoming (92)

serve as the incubator (99)
serve as the independent (794)
serve as the index (223)
serve as the indication (72)
serve as the indicator (120)

Gly-Leu-S

4.

Annotated Bibliography
An annotated bibliography gives an account of the research that has been done on a
given topic. Like any bibliography, an annotated bibliography is an alphabetical list of
research sources. In addition to bibliographic data, an annotated bibliography provides a
concise summary of each source and some assessment of its value or relevance. Depending
on your assignment, an annotated bibliography may be one stage in a larger research
project, or it may be an independent project standing on its own.
The quality and usefulness of your bibliography will depend on your selection of
sources. Define the scope of your research carefully so that you can make good judgments
about what to include and exclude. Your research should attempt to be reasonably
comprehensive within well-defined boundaries.
An annotated bibliography entry consists of two components: the Citation and the
Annotation.
Citation
The citation should be formatted in the bibliographic style that your
professor has requested for the assignment. Some common citation styles
include APA, MLA, and Chicago. For more information, see the Style
Guides page.
Annotation
Generally, an annotation is approximately 100-300 words in length (one
paragraph). However, your professor may have different expectations so
it is recommended that you clarify the assignment guidelines.
An annotation may include the following information:
A brief summary of the source
The sources strengths and weaknesses
Its conclusions
Why the source is relevant in your field of study
Its relationships to other studies in the field
An evaluation of the research methodology (if applicable)
Information about the authors background
Your personal conclusions about the source

How to make an Annotated Bibliography?

1. Locate and record citations to books, periodicals, and documents that may contain
useful information and ideas on your topic. Briefly examine and review the actual
items. Then choose those works that provide a variety of perspectives on your topic.
2. Sort your sources by type: books, journal, or electronic sources. This step is more
important for extensive bibliographies with multiple types and numbers of each
source.
3. Cite the book, article, or document using the appropriate style.
4. Write a concise annotation that summarizes the central theme and scope of the book
or article. Include one or more sentences that (a) evaluate the authority or
background of the author, (b) comment on the intended audience, (c) compare or
contrast this work with another you have cited, or (d) explain how this work
illuminates your bibliography topic.

EXAMPLES
MLA style format for an Annotated Bibliography
Hanging Indents are required for citations in the bibliography, as shown below. That
is, the first line of the citation starts at the left margin, and subsequent lines are
indented 4 spaces.

The bibliography is double-spaced, both within the citation and between them.
Lozier, J. D., P. Aniello and M.J. Hickerson. "Predicting the Distribution of Sasquatch in
Western North America:

Anything Goes With Ecological Niche Modelling." Journal of Biogeography 36.9

(2009): 1623-1627. Academic
Search Premier. Web. 28 Jan. 2010.
This paper critiques the use of Ecological Niche Models (ENM) and species
distribution by performing a tongue-in-cheek examination of the distribution of the
fictional Sasquatch, based on reports from an online Bigfoot archive. Lozier's paper
powerfully demonstrates the issues faced by ENM, when reports come from nonspecialists, and highlights key problems with sourcing data from unmediated online
environments. The author neglects to compare the reliability of the many wildlife
databases with the single Bigfoot database, as well as other key issues, however in
closing the paper briefly mentions that many issues lie outside the scope of the short
article. Lozier's paper advises professionals in fields using ENM to carefully assess
the source of the data on which the model is based, and concludes that the distribution
of rare species in particular is often over-reported to misidentification.

APA style format (6th edition) for an Annotated Bibliography

Hanging Indents are required for citations in the bibliography, as shown below. That
is, the first line of the citation starts at the left margin, and subsequent lines of the
citation are indented 4 spaces.
The annotation is indented 2 additional spaces, as a block.

DElia, G., Jorgensen, C., Woelfel, J., & Rodger, E. J. (2002). The impact of the Internet
on public library use: An analysis of the current consumer market for library and
Internet services. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and
Technology 53(10), 808-820. doi:10.1002/asi.10102
In this study, the researchers examined if the Internet had affected public library usage
in the United States. This study is distinct because its researchers surveyed library
nonusers as well as users. The major finding was that 75.2% of people who used the
Internet also used the public library. However, the researchers surveyed only 3000
individuals in a population of millions; therefore, these results may not be statistically
significant. However, this study is relevant because it provides future researchers with
a methodology for determining the impact of the Internet on public library usage.