Theoretical Framework Examples from Five Classic Theories

A theoretical framework does three jobs. It tells you which variables to measure, because the theory names them. It gives each hypothesis a reason, because the theory predicts the relationship. And it gives you something to discuss: whether your results support, refine or contradict the theory.

Start from the outcome your study explains, then pick the theory whose constructs already name your variables. All five below are used mainly in quantitative studies that test hypotheses with survey data; for qualitative lenses, see below.

If none of them names your outcome, your study may need a conceptual framework built from your own variables instead, which can still borrow one theory's structure.

The Theory of Planned Behavior is a social psychology theory that explains a deliberate behavior through the intention to perform it. Three beliefs predict intention: attitude toward the behavior, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control. Intention then predicts behavior. Perceived behavioral control also predicts behavior directly, which is what separates it from the earlier Theory of Reasoned Action.

Description used: Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1991). Attitude toward the behavior predicts intention. Subjective norm predicts intention. Perceived behavioral control predicts intention. Intention predicts behavior. Perceived behavioral control also predicts behavior directly.

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Source: Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 179–211.

Used for: health behavior, environmental behavior, technology use and education studies that measure intention with a questionnaire. Replace "the behavior" with yours, for example "attitude toward using a reusable cup".

UTAUT is a technology acceptance theory that unifies eight earlier models into four determinants of intention and use. It grew out of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM; Davis, 1989) and the others: performance expectancy plays the role of perceived usefulness, and effort expectancy the role of perceived ease of use. Performance expectancy, effort expectancy and social influence predict behavioral intention; behavioral intention and facilitating conditions predict use behavior.

Description used: Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology, UTAUT (Venkatesh, Morris, Davis & Davis, 2003). Performance expectancy predicts behavioral intention. Effort expectancy predicts behavioral intention. Social influence predicts behavioral intention. Behavioral intention predicts use behavior. Facilitating conditions predict use behavior.

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Source: Venkatesh, V., Morris, M. G., Davis, G. B., & Davis, F. D. (2003). User acceptance of information technology: Toward a unified view. MIS Quarterly, 27(3), 425–478.

This figure is simplified: the original model also has four moderators (gender, age, experience and voluntariness of use) on specific paths. They are left off here because drawing all of them makes the figure hard to read; see the original paper for which moderator acts on which path, and add the ones your study tests to the description, for example "Age moderates the effect of effort expectancy on behavioral intention."

The Health Belief Model is a public health theory that explains whether people take a recommended health action from their beliefs about the threat and about the action. Modifying factors shape perceived susceptibility and severity and the balance of perceived benefits against barriers. Susceptibility and severity, together with cues to action, make up perceived threat; perceived threat and the benefits-minus-barriers balance predict the likelihood of taking the recommended health action.

Description used: Health Belief Model (Rosenstock, 1974). Modifying factors (demographic variables, sociopsychological variables, structural variables) predict perceived susceptibility and severity, and predict perceived benefits minus perceived barriers. Perceived susceptibility and severity predicts perceived threat. Cues to action predict perceived threat. Perceived threat predicts likelihood of taking the recommended health action. Perceived benefits minus perceived barriers predicts likelihood of taking the recommended health action.

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Source: Rosenstock, I. M. (1974). Historical origins of the health belief model. Health Education Monographs, 2(4), 328–335. The grouping follows the diagram commonly reproduced from that era; see the original paper.

Used for: screening uptake, vaccination and medication adherence studies in nursing and public health. Many studies add self-efficacy as a further construct; write it into the description if yours does.

Social Cognitive Theory is a psychology theory that explains behavior through continuous interaction between the person, the behavior and the environment. Personal factors (cognition, affect and biological events), behavior and the environment each influence the other two. The generator merges each pair of opposite paths into one double-headed arrow.

Description used: Social Cognitive Theory, triadic reciprocal determinism (Bandura, 1986). Personal factors (cognition, affect, biological events) influence behavior and behavior influences personal factors. Behavior influences environmental factors and environmental factors influence behavior. Environmental factors influence personal factors and personal factors influence environmental factors.

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Source: Bandura, A. (1986). Social Foundations of Thought and Action: A Social Cognitive Theory. Prentice-Hall.

Used for: education and health promotion studies. If your study centers on self-efficacy or outcome expectations, name them as personal factors in the description.

Self-Determination Theory is a theory of human motivation that explains the quality of motivation through three basic psychological needs: autonomy, competence and relatedness. Satisfying those needs supports autonomous motivation, which in turn supports well-being.

Description used: Self-Determination Theory, simplified (Deci & Ryan, 1985; Ryan & Deci, 2000). Satisfaction of the need for autonomy, the need for competence and the need for relatedness each predicts autonomous motivation. Autonomous motivation predicts well-being.

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Source: Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination in Human Behavior. Plenum. Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68–78.

This figure is simplified: the full theory distinguishes several types of motivation along a continuum. Studies often add need frustration, or a specific outcome such as engagement or performance in place of well-being.

Qualitative studies often use a theory as a lens rather than a model of predicted paths, so there is no box-and-arrow figure to draw. Three common ones:

• Symbolic interactionism (Blumer, 1969): people act on the meanings things have for them, and those meanings come from social interaction. Used in interview studies of patients, students and workers.
• Sociocultural theory (Vygotsky, 1978): learning happens through social interaction and cultural tools before the learner can do it alone. Used in classroom and language-learning studies.
• Critical race theory (Delgado & Stefancic, 2001): racism is built into laws and institutions, not only into individual acts. Used in education and policy studies.

If your qualitative study does name relationships between concepts, write them as sentences and draw them like the examples above.

Sources: Blumer, H. (1969). Symbolic Interactionism: Perspective and Method. Prentice-Hall. Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Harvard University Press. Delgado, R., & Stefancic, J. (2001). Critical Race Theory: An Introduction. New York University Press.

Writing the theoretical framework section takes seven steps: name the theory, define its constructs, state its relationships, map your variables, explain changes, draw the figure and credit it.

1. Name the theory and cite the original source, not only a textbook that summarizes it.
2. Define each construct you will use, in the theory's own terms, and say how you will measure it.
3. State the relationships the theory predicts and which of them your study tests. If you test only part of a model, say so.
4. Map your variables onto the constructs. "Perceived usefulness" becomes "perceived usefulness of the hospital's patient portal".
5. Say what you change: constructs you add (such as trust in TAM studies), drop or move, and why.
6. Draw the figure and number its paths to match your hypotheses (H1, H2…), so a reader can find each hypothesis on it.
7. Credit the figure. If it follows a published diagram, write "Adapted from" with the citation in the caption.

A written example (Theory of Planned Behavior). "This study adopts the Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1991) as its theoretical framework. The theory explains a deliberate behavior through the intention to perform it, which depends on three beliefs: attitude toward the behavior, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control. In this study, the behavior is getting the seasonal flu vaccine. Attitude toward vaccination (H1), subjective norm (H2) and perceived behavioral control (H3) predict vaccination intention; intention predicts vaccination (H4), and perceived behavioral control also predicts vaccination directly (H5). Figure 1 shows the framework, adapted from Ajzen (1991)."

To draw it, open any example above in the generator and change the construct names, or write your hypotheses into the description ("Perceived usefulness predicts intention to use (H1)") and the numbers are drawn on the arrows.

A theoretical framework is an existing, published theory you apply, such as the five on this page. A conceptual framework is your own model of how your study's variables relate, often built from one or more theories. Many theses have both: the theory in Chapter 2 and the study's own model in Chapter 2 or 3. Some programs use only one of the two terms, so follow your department's template.

For worked examples of the second kind, see conceptual framework examples by field.

Every figure on this page came out of the conceptual framework generator from the description printed under it. A text model read the description into constructs and paths; code then laid out the boxes and arrows and set the labels in type, so the words are spelled the way you wrote them. The figures were not edited by hand; the images are only cropped to the figure.

What to check before you use one:

• The model's reading. The text model decides which construct is which and where each arrow goes. Compare every arrow with the theory and with your hypotheses.
• Simplifications. UTAUT and Self-Determination Theory are drawn in simplified form, as noted under each.
• Language. Descriptions in Chinese, Japanese or Korean, and uploaded sketches, are drawn by an image model instead of the code layout, so proofread every label in those.

See accuracy and limits for more.