References:
- Nursing Review Guide, 1st Edition, ISBN 978-621-02-2289-0, by Glenn Reyes Luansing
A concept is a single abstract thought representing two or more interrelated ideas. It serves as the building blocks of a theory. A conceptual framework is a structural and diagrammatically presented set of relationships between concepts, and is referred to as a paradigm.
A theory is a tentative relationship between concepts and phenomena. These describe or explain the relationships of two or more concepts, and are mere abstractions of processes, interactions, and observations (Fawcett); a set of interrelated concepts, definitions, and propositions that presents a systematic view of phenomena by specifying the relationship among variables, with the purpose of explaining and predicting a phenomena (Kertinger, 1973). A theoretical framework is a general explanation of a problem under study utilizing existing, established, or well-defined theories.