Key Terms
concept
A word picture or mental idea of a phenomenon.
conceptual framework
A background or foundation for a study; a less well-developed structure than a theoretical framework; concepts are related in a logical manner by the researcher.
conceptual model
Symbolic presentation of concepts and the relationships between these concepts.
construct
A highly abstract phenomenon that cannot be directly observed but must be inferred by certain concrete or less abstract indicators of the phenomenon.
deductive reasoning
A reasoning process that proceeds from the general to the specific, from theory to empirical data.
empirical generalization
A summary statement about the occurrence of phenomena that is based on empirical data from a number of different research studies.
grand theories
Theories that are concerned with a broad range of phenomena in the environment or in the experiences of humans.
inductive reasoning
A reasoning process that proceeds from the specific to the general, from empirical data to theory.
middle-range theories
Theories that have a narrow focus; they are concerned with only a small area of the environment or of human experiences.
model
A symbolic representation of some phenomenon or phenomena.
proposition
A statement or assertion of the relationship between concepts.
theoretical framework
A study framework based on propositional statements from a theory.
theory
A set of related statements that describes or explains phenomena in a systematic way.
