Author(s)

Moses Muhumuza, Martie Sanders, Kevin Balkwill

University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Theoretical frameworks play a vital role in research, spelling out the constructs important in the research area, and the relationships between the constructs. An understanding of the theoretical constructs which underpin the research provides researchers with a framework, which enables them to understand when, how and why particular phenomena occur. Depending on the type of research, this either allows them to make reasoned predictions, which can be empirically tested during the research or gives direction for the research if it is open-ended and exploratory. Such frameworks not only guide the questions asked and the design of the research, but also help to interpret the data. If the situation being investigated is very complex, involving numerous interlinked variables, it is often difficult to identify a single theoretical framework that is suitable for a particular study. This article uses the case of human ecological behavioural problems associated with the conservation of biodiversity in the Rwenzori Mountains National Park, to show how a theoretical framework to investigate a complex situation was developed.

Theortical; Framework; Ecological; Problems; Biodiversity; Conservation; Investigating; National Parks; Rwenzori

Muhumuza, M. , Sanders, M. and Balkwill, K. (2013) A theoretical framework for investigating ecological problems associated with biodiversity conservation in national parks: A case of the Rwenzori Mountains National Park, Uganda. Open Journal of Ecology, 3, 196-204. doi: 10.4236/oje.2013.32023.