The Centre for Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Studies in the Faculty of Management Sciences held a webinar on 27 October 2020, to discuss various research frameworks in the academic sphere. The aim of the discussion was to explore and unpack the differences between conceptual, theoretical, and analytical frameworks.

Prof. Dennis Dzansi, Director: Centre for Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Studies, said that the workshop would help unlock doors not only for students but also for anyone who wants to learn and those who are in the research territory. “I take special delight in welcoming esteemed researchers and professors in the faculty who still believe learning has no end.”

The guest speaker was Prof. Willie Tafadzwa Chinyamurindi, an NRF rated researcher and an Associate Professor from the University of Fort Hare. He shared his knowledge and unpacked ways in which academics can do better in their research. His presentation was structured into theoretical, conceptual, and analytical frameworks.

Prof. Chinyamurindi applauded CUT for the conference they often organise on entrepreneurship which is focused on the broader African context and on how ideas can be informed. “What is missing and what is critical is for us to take a step away from the old theories and start finding ways in which we can generate our understanding of knowledge and contextual variants of what it means to be scholars within an African context.”

When defining theoretical framework, Prof. Chinyamurindi said that it comprises of the different theories and theoretical constructs that assist to explain a phenomenon. “A theoretical framework is a single formal theory that sets out the various expectations that a theory posits and how they would apply to a specific case under analysis, and how one would use theory to explain a particular phenomenon. When a study is designed around a theoretical framework, the theory is the primary means in which the research problem is understood and investigated. Although theoretical frameworks tend to be used in quantitative studies, you will also see this approach in qualitative research.”

The conceptual framework describes the different concepts one would need to know to understand a particular phenomenon, without pretending to create casual links across variables and outcomes. The framework helps to identify and refine the concepts, define literature search and structure, select suitable data collection, and identify potential explanatory theories. It is also used to outline possible courses of action or to present a preferred approach to an idea or thought. It is like lenses through which you can see a particular phenomenon.”

 “Other authors describe an analytical framework as a conceptual framework that helps analyse particular phenomena, but I believe that the most important element of an analytical framework is instrumental. The purpose thereof is to help undertake analyses. Researchers use elements of analytical framework to deconstruct a specific concept or set of concepts or phenomenon,” he said.

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Pictured is Prof. Willie Tafadzwa Chinyamurindi.