Conceptual Framework

I just learned how important the conceptual framework is. I wrote a paper in its absence and my boss told me that the paper made no sense in its absence. 

What's a conceptual framework? Is it my literature review? Is it an outcome of the literature review?

To continue with the story about my thesis. I wrote a literature review draft, it was examined during the confirmation exercise and found to be a bit too restrictive. I went back and redid my literature review by reading a lot more literature and then I got stuck. 

So I have two unsatisfactory literature reviews and I didn't know which one was my conceptual framework. 

To make matters worse, by this time I had already collected all my data. Yes, I can go back and collect and half of them I collected with cognizant of what I found from the new literature review. But certain things I cannot change. Like my choice of site and sample. 

So what I did was to integrate the two unsatisfactory literature review, with knowledge of my collected data, and come up with a new literature review. It involved discarding some ideas I initially had but on hindsight seemed less crucial. This incorporation of my rudimentary analysis of the data to guide my conceptual framing, I believe is called ground up. Wow! 

So I'm still at this process. I'm watching the conceptual framework morph. It's painful. Because every time I write something, I do it with some pride and hope of permanence. But the research process is changing the way I see my writing. I have to accept that I will go through this rewriting many times. I also write with a great sense of dissatisfaction. And hence, rewriting is a chance to make what I have more to the point, more thoughtful and coherent. But it does change the way I think. I have never written so much about the same thing before. 

It's a difficult and painful process. But it's teaching me a lot. So I want to thank God. For giving me ideas but more importantly grace and perseverance to continue through the chaos. I hope to see the light and clarity one day!