Construction of Conceptual Frameworks in Research: An Information Systems Design Perspective

Conceptual frameworks (CFs) are essential to communicate about research. They enable the target audience to focus on something (inside the frame) and ignore other things (outside the frame). Prior studies have discussed how to build CFs, yet these are mainly focused on their specific research domain and conflate the construction of a CF with research design. Therefore, it can be difficult to view CFs as part of an independent phenomenon—the process of creating a CF to accomplish a definite purpose in research. This problem is particularly relevant in information systems, where CFs are important research contributions. This study adopts a design perspective on the construction of CFs and positions CF design as an independent phenomenon. Peircean Semiotics is used as a foundation for CF design, which allows strict separation between the CF and all aspects of research. Based on Peircean Semiotics, a scheme for CF design is proposed. The scheme is illustrated in a case. This study contributes to a better understanding of the construction of CFs.