The article presented Conceptual art as the new avant-garde movement. In fact, the term ‘Conceptual art’ appeared for the first time in this article. The opening of LeWitt’s article has come to constitute the general statement of a Conceptual approach: ‘In Conceptual art the idea or concept is the most important aspect of the work The paper discusses four potential templates for conceptual papers – Theory Synthesis, Theory Adaptation, Typology, and Model – and their respective aims, approach for using theories, and contribution potential. Supported by illustrative examples, these templates codify some of the tacit knowledge that underpins the design of non-Cited by: 69 · Einstein is often cited as an example of a conceptual researcher, but he based his theories on experimental observations and proposed experiments, real and thought, which would test his theories. On the other hand, Edison is often considered an empiricist, the “Edisonian method” being a
Conceptual Research: Definition, Framework, Example and Advantages
As a powerful means of theory building, conceptual articles are increasingly called for in marketing academia. However, researchers struggle to design and write non-empirical articles because of the lack of commonly accepted conceptual article example to guide their development.
The aim of this paper is to highlight methodological considerations for conceptual papers: it is argued that such papers must be grounded in a clear research design, and that the choice of theories and their role in the analysis must be explicated and justified. The paper discusses four potential templates for conceptual papers — Theory Synthesis, Theory Adaptation, Typology, and Model — and their respective aims, approach for using theories, and contribution potential. Supported by illustrative examples, these templates codify some of the tacit knowledge that underpins the design of non-empirical papers and will be of use to anyone undertaking, supervising, conceptual article example, or reviewing conceptual research.
Indeed, many of the most impactful marketing papers of recent decades are conceptual as this type of research enables theory building unrestricted by the demands of empirical generalization e. Authors crafting conceptual papers can find valuable advice on problematizing Alvesson and Sandbergtheorizing and theory building Corley and Gioia ; Cornelissen ; Shepherd and Suddabyand the types of conceptual contribution that warrant publication Corley and Gioia ; MacInnis As a result, reviewers often face conceptual papers that offer little more than a descriptive literature review or interesting but disjointed ideas.
In empirical papers, the recipe typically is the research design that provides the paper structure and logic, guiding the process of developing new knowledge and offering conventions for reporting the key elements of the research Flickp, conceptual article example.
The research design explains how the ingredients of the study were selected, acquired, and analyzed conceptual article example effectively address the research problem, and reviewers conceptual article example evaluate the robustness of this process by reference to established conventions in the existing literature.
As conceptual papers generally do not fit the mold of empirical research, authors and reviewers lack any such recipe book, making the critical issue of analytical rigor more challenging. This paper addresses issues of methodology and research design for conceptual papers. This paper discusses four templates—Theory Synthesis, Theory Adaptation, Typology, and Model—and explicates their aims, their approach to theory use, and their contribution potential.
The paper does not focus on theory building itself but conceptual article example it, as analytical rigor is a prerequisite for high quality theorizing. Nor is the focus on literature reviews or meta-analyses; while these are important non-empirical forms of research, there are well articulated existing guidelines for such articles see for example Webster and Watson ; Palmatier et al, conceptual article example.
The ultimate goal of this paper is to direct scholarly attention to the importance of a systematic approach to developing a conceptual paper. Experienced editors and reviewers have noted that researchers sometimes underestimate how difficult it is to write a rigorous conceptual paper and consider this an easy route to publishing—an essay devoid of deeper scholarship Hirschheim In reality, developing a cogent argument and building a supporting theoretical explanation requires tacit knowledge and skills that doctoral programs seldom teach Yadav ; King and Lepak The paper is organized as follows, conceptual article example.
The next section outlines key methodological requirements for conceptual studies. Four common types of research design are then identified and discussed with supporting examples. The article ends with conclusions and recommendations for marketing scholars undertaking, supervising, or reviewing conceptual research. In short, the research design is a plan for collecting and analyzing evidence that helps to answer the question posed Raginp. Like any design, the research design should improve usability ; a good research design is the optimal tool for addressing the research problem, and it communicates the logic of the study in a transparent way.
In principle, any piece of research should be designed to deliver trustworthy answers to the question posed in a credible and justified manner. An empirical research design typically involves decisions about the underlying theoretical framing of the study as well as issues of data collection and analysis e.
Miller and Salkind Imagine, for example, an empirical paper where the authors did not argue for their sampling criteria or choice of informants, or failed to define the measures used or to show how the results were derived from the data.
It can be argued that conceptual papers entail similar considerations Table 1as the omission of equivalent elements would create similar confusion.
In other words, a well-designed conceptual paper must explicitly justify and explicate decisions about key elements of the study. Empirical and conceptual papers ultimately share a conceptual article example goal: to create new knowledge by building on carefully selected sources of information combined according to a set of norms. In the case of conceptual papers, arguments are not derived from data in the traditional sense but involve the assimilation and combination of evidence in the form of previously developed concepts and theories Hirschheim In that sense, conceptual papers are not without empirical insights but rather build on theories and concepts that are developed and tested through empirical research.
In an empirical study, the researcher determines what data are needed to address the research questions and specifies sampling criteria and research instruments accordingly. In similar fashion, a conceptual paper should explain how and why the theories and concepts on which it is grounded were selected.
In simple terms, there are two possible points of departure. The first option is to start from a focal phenomenon that is observable but not adequately addressed in the existing research. The authors may inductively identify differing conceptualizations of that phenomenon, and then argue that the aspect of interest is best addressed in terms of particular concepts or theories.
That is, the choice of concepts is based on their fit to the focal phenomenon and their complementary value in conceptualizing it, conceptual article example.
One key issue here is how the researcher conceptualizes the empirical phenomenon; in selecting particular concepts and theories, the researcher is de facto making an argument about the conceptual ingredients of the empirical phenomenon in question. A second and perhaps more common approach is to start from a focal theory by arguing that a particular concept, conceptual article example, theory, or research domain is internally incoherent or incomplete in some important respect and then introducing other theories to bridge the observed gaps.
In this case, the choice of theories or concepts is based on their ability to address the observed shortcoming in the existing literature, i.
their supplementary value. This simplified account raises a critical underlying question: what is the value that each selected concept, literature stream, conceptual article example, or theory brings to the study, and why are they selected in preference to something else?
Conceptual papers typically draw on multiple concepts, literature streams, conceptual article example, and theories that play differing roles. It is difficult to imagine a published empirical paper where the reader could not distinguish empirical data from the literature review. In this regard, conceptual article example, Lukka and Vinnari drew a useful distinction between domain theory and method theory.
For example, Brodie et al. The distinction is relative rather than absolute; whether a particular theory is domain or method theory depends on its role in the study in question Lukka and Vinnari Indeed, a single study can accommodate multiple domain and method theories.
Typically, conceptual article example, the role of the method theory is to provide some new insight into the domain theory—for example, to expand, organize, or offer a new or alternative explanation of concepts and relationships. This means that contribution usually centers on the domain theory, not the method theory Lukka and Vinnari For example, conceptual article example, marketing scholars often use established theories such as resource-based theory, institutional theory, conceptual article example, or practice theory as conceptual article example theories, but any suitable framework even from other disciplines can play this role.
Footnote 1, conceptual article example. Conceptual papers typically focus on proposing new relationships among constructs; the purpose is thus to develop logical and complete arguments about these associations rather than testing them empirically Gilson and Goldberg The issue of how to develop logical arguments is hence pivotal.
As well as arguing that concepts are linked, authors must provide a theoretical conceptual article example for that link. As that explanation demonstrates the logic of connections between concepts, it is critical for theory building King and Lepak In conceptual article example to analyze what constitutes a good argument, Hirschheim adopted a framework first advanced by the British philosopher Toulminaccording to which an argument has three necessary components: claims, grounds, and warrants.
Claims refer to the explicit statement or thesis that the reader is being asked to accept as true—the outcome of the research. Grounds are the evidence and reasoning used to support the claim and to persuade the reader. In a conceptual paper, conceptual article example, this evidence is drawn from previous studies rather than from primary data.
Finally, warrants are the underlying assumptions or presuppositions that link grounds to claims. Warrants are often beliefs implicitly accepted within the given research domain—for example the assumption that organizations strive to satisfy their customers. In a robust piece of research, claims should be substantiated by sufficient grounds, and should be of sufficient significance to make a worthwhile contribution to knowledge Hirschheim In practice, the chain of evidence in a conceptual conceptual article example is made visible to the reader by explicating the key steps in the argument.
How is the studied phenomenon conceptualized? Are the premises and axioms used to ground the arguments sufficiently explicit to enable another researcher to arrive at similar analytical conclusions? Conceptual clarity, parsimony, simplicity, and logical coherence are important qualities of any academic study but are arguably all the more critical when developing arguments without empirical data. While there is no single best way to structure a conceptual paper, what successful papers have in common is a careful matching of form and structure to theoretical purpose of the paper Fulmer The structure should therefore reflect both the aims of the research and the role of the various lenses deployed to achieve those aims—in other words, the structure highlights what the authors conceptual article example to explain.
A clear structure also contributes to conceptual clarity by making the hierarchy of concepts and their elements intuitively available to the reader, eliminating any noise that might distort the underlying message. As Hirschheim noted, a clear structure ensures a place for everything—omitting nothing of importance—and puts everything in its place, avoiding redundancies.
In marked contrast to empirical research, there is no widely shared understanding of basic types of research design in respect to conceptual papers, with the exception of literature reviews and meta-analyses. To address this issue, the present study considers four such types: Theory Synthesis, conceptual article example, Theory Adaptation, Typologyand Model see Table 2. These types serve to clarify differences of methodological approach—that is, conceptual article example, how the argument is structured and developed—rather than the types of conceptual contributions that are the main consideration of MacInnis The four types discussed here derive from an analysis of goal setting, structuring, conceptual article example, and logic of argumentation in multiple articles published in high quality journals.
It should be said that the list is not exhaustive, and other researchers would no doubt have formulated differing perspectives. It should also be noted that the goals of a conceptual article can be as varied as in any other form of academic research. Table 2 identifies some possible or likely goals for each suggested type; these are not mutually exclusive conceptual article example are often combined.
A theory synthesis paper seeks to achieve conceptual integration across multiple theories or literature streams. Such papers offer a new or enhanced view of a concept or phenomenon by linking previously unconnected or conceptual article example pieces in a novel way. Papers of this type contribute by summarizing and integrating extant knowledge of a concept or phenomenon. According to MacInnissummarizing helps researchers see the forest for the trees by encapsulating, digesting, and reducing what is known to a manageable whole.
Integration enables researchers to see a concept or phenomenon in a new way by transforming previous findings and theory into a novel higher-order perspective that links phenomena previously considered distinct MacInnis For example, a synthesis paper might chart a new or unstructured phenomenon that has previously been addressed in piecemeal fashion across diverse domains or disciplines.
Such papers may also explore the conceptual underpinnings of an emerging theory or explain conflicting research findings by providing a more parsimonious explanation that pulls disparate elements into a more coherent whole, conceptual article example. This kind of systematization is especially helpful when research on a given topic is fragmented across different literatures, helping to identify and underscore commonalities that build coherence Cropanzano In more mature fields, synthesis can help to identify gaps in the extant research, which is conceptual article example the goal of systematic literature reviews.
However, gap spotting is seldom a sufficient source of contribution as the main aim of a conceptual paper should be to enhance existing theoretical understanding on the studied phenomenon or concept.
Although there is sometimes a fine line between theory synthesis and literature review, there remains a clear distinction between the two. While a well-crafted literature review takes stock of the field and can provide valuable insights into its development, scope, or future prospects, it remains within the conceptual article example conceptual or theoretical boundaries, describing extant knowledge rather than looking beyond it.
In the case of a conceptual paper, the literature review is a necessary tool but not the ultimate objective. Moreover, in a theory synthesis paper, the role of the literature review is to unravel the components of a concept or phenomenon and it must sometimes reduce or exclude incommensurable elements, conceptual article example.
For example, a literature review conceptual article example seeks to integrate multiple research perspectives may instead merely summarize in separate chapters what each has to say about the concept, conceptual article example. Typically, different research perspectives employ differing terms and structure, conceptual article example, or categorize conceptual elements in distinct ways.
Integration and synthesis requires that the researcher explicates and unravels the conceptual underpinnings and building blocks that different perspectives use to conceptualize a phenomenon, and the looks for common ground on which to build a new and enhanced conceptualization. A theory synthesis paper may seek to increase understanding of a relatively narrow concept or empirical phenomenon. For example, Lemon and Verhoef summarized the conceptual background and extant conceptualizations of customer journeys to produce a new integrative view.
Concept Analysis Assignment
, time: 12:46Conceptual vs. Empirical Research: Which Is Better? - Enago Academy
· Reflective or reflected meaning: multiple conceptual meanings. For example, the literal, dictionary definition of the word gay is "happy" or "bright" (colors), though in society's use today it has a much different meaning. Social meaning: the meaning given to words based on the social context that they're used in · LeWitt’s "Paragraphs on Conceptual Art" (), published in the widely read magazine "Artforum," helped solidify some of the tenets shared by many Conceptual artists. He explained, "In Conceptual art the idea or concept is the most important aspect of the work all of the planning and decisions are made beforehand and the execution is a perfunctory affair." The article presented Conceptual art as the new avant-garde movement. In fact, the term ‘Conceptual art’ appeared for the first time in this article. The opening of LeWitt’s article has come to constitute the general statement of a Conceptual approach: ‘In Conceptual art the idea or concept is the most important aspect of the work
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