Describe your study — variables, expected relationships — and get a clean conceptual framework diagram. Fully vector, free to download.
A conceptual framework is a diagram showing the relationships you expect among a study's variables — it sits between broad theory and a testable hypothesis. It turns abstract ideas like "technology adoption" into boxes and arrows, sorting variables into four roles: independent, dependent, mediating, moderating.
You build it after the literature review and before data collection, because it forces you to state which variable causes which, and through what pathway — matching the framework to your research question and hypothesis.
The framework is not the theory itself but your application of it to your study's variables. Papers need this diagram, not the theory text, because reviewers check whether your hypotheses match what the boxes and arrows show.
The two terms get used interchangeably in casual writing, but reviewers do check the difference.
Study-specific map of your own variables
Borrowed structure from an existing theory
Six starting points, from a validated technology-adoption model to a bare input–process–output diagram.
Perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use as independent variables driving behavioral intention, with actual system use as the dependent variable — the most cited base model in information-systems research.
Inputs such as resources and team composition feed a process step that produces measurable outputs — a structure common in operations and team-performance studies.
Study habits and parental involvement as independent variables, motivation as a mediator, and GPA as the dependent variable.
Health literacy as an independent variable predicting medication adherence, with social support tested as a moderator of that relationship.
Brand trust and price sensitivity as independent variables shaping purchase intention, mediated by perceived value.
Leadership style and training as independent variables affecting job performance, moderated by organizational culture.
Paste a plain-language description of your study and the conceptual framework generator tags each variable by its methodological role, then places it in the correct position — independent variables on the left, dependent variables on the right, mediators and moderators on the paths between them.
A mediator sits on the causal path and explains why an effect happens; a moderator sits beside the path and explains when or for whom it happens. The generator draws mediators inline on the arrow and moderators branching into it, so the diagram itself teaches the distinction instead of hiding it.
No node-and-arrow editor to learn. Describe your hypotheses the way you would to a supervisor, and the conceptual framework maker infers the boxes, the labels, and the arrow directions from that description.
Every framework diagram exports as clean vector SVG for LaTeX and Word, or high-resolution PNG for slide decks — free, with no watermark and no account required.
* Exports high-resolution PNG today — SVG export coming soon.
An independent variable (IV) is the presumed cause you manipulate or measure — screen time, training hours, leadership style. A dependent variable (DV) is the outcome you measure — test scores, performance, purchase intention. Every framework needs one of each; the arrow between them is the hypothesis.
A mediating variable explains the mechanism between an IV and a DV: it sits on the causal path, so the arrow runs IV to mediator to DV. In TAM, perceived usefulness mediates design's effect on adoption — design works through perception, not directly.
A moderating variable changes the strength or direction of the IV-DV relationship without sitting on that path: the arrow points into the arrow itself. Self-control moderating social media's effect on grades means the effect is stronger for low-self-control students.
Four steps from a study description to an exportable diagram.
Write one or two sentences naming your independent, dependent, and any mediating or moderating variables — the same way you would summarize your hypothesis to a colleague.
The conceptual framework generator reads the description and assigns each variable its methodological role, then drafts the box layout.
Confirm each arrow direction matches your hypothesis, and move a variable between roles if the automatic classification does not match your design.
Download the framework as vector SVG for LaTeX or Word, or PNG for a slide deck, and drop it straight into your methodology chapter.
* Exports high-resolution PNG today — SVG export coming soon.
Methodology questions answered before you write your own.
* Exports high-resolution PNG today — SVG export coming soon.
Describe your study once and get a publication-ready conceptual framework diagram — free, no signup required.