Substruction: illustrating the connections from research question to analysis

This article examines the process of theoretical substruction as a heuristic device to assist graduate students and beginning investigators identify the conceptualization and operationalization phases of research proposals. As a thinking process, substruction enables investigators to delineate the foundational elements of studies. Creating the figure during substruction helps researchers increase their knowledge of the theoretical, empirical, or descriptive links between the conceptual and operational components of a study. Consequently, the researcher ascertains the fundamental pattern of the study. A qualitative and a quantitative example of substructed studies are included.