Topic Construct(s)
Identify the construct(s) at the core of your topic area
The topic construct is the abstract construct or "thing" that the research is all about. The literature review analysis should define one or more topic construct(s). If there is more than one, ideally they combine into a higher construct, e. g. "user satisfaction" and "user enjoyment" could combine into the more abstract "user response" construct. If a topic construct is measured as a quantity (numerically), it is a dependent variable, e. g. if the abstract construct "Usage" is measured by number of web hits it becomes a dependent variable. Don't confuse the topic construct with the things that affect it, or with those that it affects, e. g. in a thesis entitled "Web Site Effects" the topic construct was unclear, as the question "Effects on what?" was not answered. Possible topic constructs included the customer relationship, user site acceptance, web site usage, company marketing, other communication channels, etc., any one of which was a study in itself. The research meandered and gave weak results because the literature review failed to well define the topic construct.
Tags: Logical, Literature Review
Example(s)
(Use a descriptive name, e. g. "ITExample". Or click on an existing collection and edit it.)