Using Lenses to Make Sense of Research: A Review of Sharon M. Ravitch and Matthew Riggan’s Reason & Rigor: How Conceptual Frameworks Guide Research

Reviewer's Statement As a former doctoral student and a current professor of doctoral students, I realize the difficulties that many students have conceptualizing the purpose of their chapter two literature review. I personally found chapter two the most difficult chapter as I was working through the dissertation process because I lacked knowledge of the different sections and did not have a grasp of the big idea. I searched for books and articles that I could read to help me understand theoretical frameworks and how to synthesize prior research on my topic. Ravitch and Riggan (2017) have written the perfect book that all doctoral students should read, reflect, and discuss during their program in preparation for the dissertation process. This book is worth having students read from cover to cover as they prepare to write their conceptual framework. I have already added this book on my short list for doctoral students and will continue to use it in the future. The authors recognize the different verbiage that professors and authors use to describe chapter two and conceptual frameworks. Ravitch and Riggan believe that the entire chapter is a conceptual framework that argues why the topic matters and that the proposed study is appropriate to address the topic. In dissertation verbiage, the conceptual framework is all of chapter two, which includes the theoretical framework(s) and literature review. The authors spend the necessary time on the basics before moving the reader to the higher-level skill of linking a conceptual framework to each phase of the research process. This is a five-star book that challenges all readers to reflect on their prior knowledge of conceptual frameworks and to consider a new way of thinking and developing future research studies. [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] What Are Conceptual Frameworks? Ravitch and Riggan (2017) define conceptual frameworks as, "an argument about why the topic one wishes to study matters, and why the means proposed to study it are appropriate and rigorous" (p. xv). As stated in the title of the book, reason and rigor are important elements of conceptual frameworks, and the authors thoroughly explain how reason and rigor build a researcher's argument for the topic and methods chosen in the study. Ravitch and Riggan argue that a conceptual framework "both shapes the design and direction of your study and guides its development" (p. 4). In addition, they view conceptual frameworks as "a way of linking all of the elements of the research process" (p. 5). One of my favorite parts of the book is where the authors explain the different elements of a conceptual framework: personal interests and goals, identity and positionality, literature review, topical research, and theoretical frameworks. Under the literature review section, Ravitch and Riggan ask researchers to survey what is known and has been investigated about the chosen topic. They state, "... you must critically read and make connections between, or integrate and synthesize, existing work related to your emerging research topic and its multiple theoretical and practical contexts" (p. 10). Researchers are reminded that a conceptual framework will and should change during the course of the study. [FIGURE 2 OMITTED] How Do Conceptual Frameworks Inform Other Areas of Research? One strength of Ravitch and Riggan's (2017) book is their use of a variety of actual studies to share and teach the relationship of conceptual frameworks to research questions, research design, data collection, analysis of data, and the explanation of findings. For this review, let's dig deeper into conceptual frameworks and the analysis of data. The authors chose a qualitative study titled "Going for the Zone: The Social and Cognitive Ecology of Teacher-Student Interaction in Classroom Conversations" conducted and written by Frederick Erickson, a Professor of Anthropology of Education. The argument for this study centers on understanding interactions in the school environment. …