Development of the conceptual framework

A conceptual framework ‘explains, either graphically or in a narrative form, the main issues to be studied – the key factors, constructs or variables – and the presumed relationships between them’ (Miles and Hubermain, 1994). Yin (2009) describes the conceptual framework as a method the researcher can use to illustrate the main concepts pertaining to the study, their inter-relationships and the context within which the concepts and inter-relationships are applicable. This view is further supported by Rauitch and Riggan (2011) who describe a conceptual framework as a set of broad ideas and principles taken from the relevant fields of enquiry that can be a useful tool in the structuring and presentation of the main concepts and inter-relationships of the study. The development of the framework assists the researcher to develop an awareness and understanding of the situation under scrutiny and to communicate this to others. It assists the researcher in setting boundaries for the research, identifying the ‘how’ and ‘why’ rather than a description of the ‘what’, provides a structure for the discussion of the data from the various sources and sets out a reference frame to assist in making sense of the data.

The process for development of the framework for this study is closely related to a hermeneutic approach in that it is involves paying particular attention to the historical and social context surrounding an action when interpreting a data source (Collis and Hussy, 2003). The hermeneutic circle, whereby the researcher attempts to understand

“the whole through grasping its parts, and comprehending the meaning of the parts divining the whole” (Crotty, 1998) is a useful approach in the on-going development of the conceptual framework. The process involves an examination of the parts, defining each component before it is reintegrated into the whole (Bontekoe, 1996). The basic form of the hermeneutic circle is provided in Figure 6 and is described by Bontekoe (1996) as “The circle has what might be called two poles – on the one hand, the object of comprehension understood as a whole, and, on the other, the various parts of which the object of comprehension is composed”.

Figure 6 - Hermeneutic Circle (Bontekoe, 1996)

Whole   Contextualisation   (Illuminate)   Parts   Integration   (de`ine)  

Applied to this research study the hermeneutic circle now becomes

Figure 7 - Contextualised hermeneutic circle based on Bentekoe (1996).

As demonstrated in Figure 7 above, the phenomenon being investigated is understood as a ‘whole’, which is the ‘satisfaction of students with their experience of higher education within the specified context’. In order to fully understand the whole, the parts, and how and where they integrate into the whole, need to be understood in order to define the phenomenon. Due to the complexity of the case study, use of this approach can provide a contextualisation of each of the parts to clarify the phenomenon within the context. The parts in this study include;

1. Factors influencing student perception of their experiences

Whole   Student  satisfaction   Contextualisation   (Illuminate)   Parts  (factors   in`luencing  student  

perception  of  their   experience,   University/School  

input,  perceived   bene`its)   Integration  (de`ine).  

2. The role of the HEI and government policy in relation to higher education. 3. Exploration of the perceived benefits as a result of their experiences.

Gadamer (1975) supports the view that the hermeneutic circle of interpretation is never closed but is on going, with movement of understanding between the whole and the parts. As a result, at the end of a circle, a new circle is generated based on the greater understanding of the phenomenon. Gadamer (1975) further contends that research findings are understood through a fusion of horizons, by which the historical horizon of the past and present horizon of the current interpreter, bridges the gap between the familiar and the unfamiliar. Put into the context of this research study, the historical horizon is the material analysed in the literature review in Chapter 2 relating to the factors influencing student perceptions of their experiences and their levels of satisfaction. This includes general issues relating to age, gender, background etc. and more specific issues relating to their experience within a typical School of the Built Environment. The present horizon includes analysis of a number of data sources including the quantitative data from the published NSS results, verbatim comments from the NSS survey over a six-year period and transcripts of interviews with students who participated in this study. Gummerson (2000) defines an important factor in this type of approach as “pre-understanding refers to people’s knowledge, insight, and experience before they engage in a research programme or consulting assignment, while understanding refers to their improved insights emerging during the programme or assignment’. The pre-understanding of the research area will be improved as the research continues to become a pre-understanding to further investigation. As a result, this research has developed a framework of understanding based on the hermeneutic spiral concept. This concept is graphically represented in Figure 8 with some further explanation of the development stages provided below.

Figure 8 - Research pre-understanding based on Gummerson (2000).

Pre-­‐understanding  A  

Researcher’s  knowledge,  understanding  and  philosophical  assumptions.  

Critical  review  and  synthesis  of  literature  

Understanding  A/Pre-­‐understanding  B  

Initial  conceptual  framework  representing  the  factors  in`luencing  levels  of   student  satisfaction.  

Trend  analysis  of  statistical  data  from  the  NSS   and  in-­‐depth  analysis  of  the  verbatim   comments  provided  by  BE  students  over  a  

period  of  six  years.  

Understanding  B/Pre-­‐understanding  C  

Re`ined  conceptual  framework,  representing  factors  in`luencing  levels  of   student  satisfaction  within  SOBE.  

Semi-­‐structured  interview  with  students   relating  to  their  experiences  on  identi`ied   issues  from  the  analysis  of  the  verbatim  

comments.  

Understanding  C  

The  `inal  conceptual  framework  detailing  factors  in`luencing  student   satisfaction  within  SOBE    

Pre-understanding A of the research phenomenon, is based upon the researcher’s knowledge and understanding of the subject area and is underpinned by the philosophical positioning of this research as described in Chapter 4. The pre- understanding of the subject area is further developed and improved by undertaking a critical review of the literature which was used to develop the initial conceptual framework as shown in Figure 9 below. The development of the framework assisted with the structuring and presentation of the major concepts and the inter-relationships resulting in pre-understanding B. This pre-understanding provided the basis for further investigation in the form of the trend analysis of the quantitative data from the NSS and the detailed analysis of the verbatim comments. The understanding gained from the understanding B in turn led to further revision of the framework as illustrated in Figure 9 and identified the factors for further investigation/exploration in the semi-structured interviews. The next level of the research was undertaken using semi-structured interviews with students to investigate in detail the key issues identified from the analysis of the literature, the analysis of NSS data and other relevant documentary evidence from the School/university relating to the context of the case study. Interviews with students where undertaken until the data and understanding became saturated resulting in twenty-six in depth interviews. At this stage the conceptual framework was further refined to represent the knowledge and understanding from the case study.