objectives in a research paper

Aims and objectives It is often useful to consider your research questions in terms of aim(s) and objectives. The aim of the work, i.e. the overall purpose of the study, should be clearly and concisely defined. Aims: Are broad statements of desired outcomes, or the general intentions of the research, which 'paint a picture' of your research project Emphasize what is to be accomplished (not how it is to be accomplished) Address the long-term project outcomes, i.e. they should reflect the aspirations and expectations of the research topic. Once aims have been established, the next task is to formulate the objectives. Generally, a project should have no more than two or three aims statements, while it may include a number of objectives consistent with them. Objectives are subsidiary to aims and: Are the steps you are going to take to answer your research questions or a specific list of tasks needed to accomplish the goals of the project Emphasize how aims are to be accomplished Must be highly focused and feasible Address the more immediate project outcomes Make accurate use of concepts Must be sensible and precisely described Should read as an 'individual' statement to convey your intentions Here is an example of a project aim and subsidiary objectives: Aim To critically assess the collection and disposal operations for bulky household waste in order to identify factors, which contribute to performance and technical efficiency. Objectives To critically assess bulky waste operations by local authorities, including volumes/types of materials arising and current disposal/recovery routes. To classify and evaluate the operation of furniture recovery schemes nationally. To make recommendations to improve the operational effectiveness of, and to maximise recovery opportunities of bulky waste collection. Aims and Objectives should: Be concise and brief. Be interrelated; the aim.
This video explains the difference between a research aim and its objectives, and explains how to write research objectives.-- Created using PowToon -- Free.
Skip to main content. by Andrew Aarons The objective of the paper is the reason given for writing the paper. By stating your objective, you’re telling the reader exactly what you’re hoping to demonstrate, and exactly what they can hope to learn -- or be convinced of. The objective of a paper is often called a thesis statement, and it needs to be right up front and center in your paper -- if you write it well, and give it pride of place in your introduction, then it should give strong support to the rest of your paper. Be Clear When you’re writing an academic paper, it can be tempting to be verbose. Many students think that they’ll sound smart if they’re wordy. But there’s nothing smart about using ten words when you could use one word, or about using a ten-letter word when you could use a five-letter word. Confused readers are frustrated readers, not admiring readers. While it’s always important to use clear language when you’re writing an academic paper, this is especially true of the objective. If the reader can’t understand the point of the paper, there will be no reason for them to read further. Be Brief Remember that the objective is the purpose of the entire paper, not the entire paper itself. Don’t try to cram all of your research, sources, and evidence into one or two sentences. The objectives should reflect the main thrust of your paper, not delve into the nitty gritty details. Keeping your objectives short doesn’t mean selling them short: it means taking a bird’s eye-view of your paper and expressing the most important general principles concisely. Be Interesting “Objective” is a dry word, but if there’s one thing the objective of a paper should be, it’s interesting. If the objective of a paper is boring, you can bet that the paper is boring. Students often think that professors don’t care if a paper is interesting, but professors are like any other reader.
While your problem formulation serves to describe the aim of your thesis, the objectives provide an accurate description of the specific actions you will take in order to reach this aim. As with the problem formulation, the overall objective should be framed in a single sentence. Once again, take a look at the problem formulation from the previous lesson: “Is the level of knowledge on recommended nutritional practices related to the nutritional status of pregnant women attending antenatal care in Northern Uganda?” The correspondent overall objective should be written as an infinitive sentence e.g.: “To analyse the association between nutritional knowledge and the nutritional status of pregnant women attending antenatal care (ANC) in Northern Uganda. Here you see that the overall objective states exactly how you intend to address your problem: “I want to find the answer to problem A, by completing action B”. You then have to explain or detail action B through a set of specific objectives (usually between two and four), e.g.: To assess the knowledge level among ANC attendees on the recommended nutritional practices during pregnancy To assess the nutritional status of pregnant women attending ANC To analyse the statistical association between nutritional knowledge level and nutritional status in pregnant women attending ANC Each specific objective consists of one infinitive sentence and should be phrased in a way that makes it possible to draw a conclusion from within the scope of the thesis. The more precisely you formulate your specific objectives, the simpler it will be to define the type of study and which method(s) you will use in your further research. You can refine your specific objective by clearly stating if your given action is to understand, analyse or create – in tune with the hierarchy of learning objectives and the key to the assessment of knowledge.
Objectives must always be set after having formulated a good research question. After all, they are to explain the way in which such question is going to be answered. Objectives are usually headed by infinitive verbs such as: To identify To establish To describe To determine To estimate To develop To compare To analyse To collect Returning to the example given in the previous post about Unemployment in European Union and considering the two research questions posed: (1) What has been the unemployment rate in European Union over the last decade? and (2) Why have northern European countries registered a lower unemployment rate than southern countries?; the objectives could be as follow: 1º To compare the unemployment rate among all European countries. 2º To analyse the unemployment rate evolution from 2002 to 2012. 3º To identify the factors associated with high unemployment rates. 4º To develop an explanatory theory that associates unemployment rate with other indicators such as Growth Domestic Product (GDP). RELATED POSTS References Camino, J. R. (2011). Cómo escribir y publicar una tesis doctoral. ESIC Editorial. Saunders, Mark NK, et al. Research methods for business students , 5/e. Pearson Education India, 2011. Pearson.
You may have a clear idea of the topic you wish to investigate. However, if you are struggling to think of something, ask yourself the sequence of questions below. Which part of your degree interests you the most and why? E.g. local history, because I feel close to the people of the area in which I live. Now you have identified the subject area you are interested in, can you think of an issue which could be explored effectively? E.g. the role of women in the growth of trade unions in the cotton mills of Bolton. Will this issue be sufficiently academic to engage both you and your examiner? Hopefully, if you include evidence from relevant primary sources. You may wish to carry out a preliminary literature review to explore existing work on the topic. Can you now pose a question based on the above? This will be the basis of the title of your dissertation. E.g. how effective were women in influencing the growth of the Trade Union movement in Bolton before the Great War? If you are still unsure, try thinking about the following approaches: Choose a theory relevant to your subject area and explore its significance. E.g. are Talcott Parsons’ theories of the family still relevant in the 21st Century? Compare your subject with something else happening at the same time or with something that is similar in nature. E.g. which was the most influential in the improvement of the daily lives of the Lancashire mill workers in the early 20th century; the Trade Union movement or the Co-operative movement? Re-evaluate existing research. E.g. has Britain moved closer to Young and Willmott’s ‘symmetrical family’ in the last thirty years? Address a topical issue or problem and discuss what the implications are or how they can be resolved. E.g. to what extent is binge drinking a modern disease and is current legislation adequate to deal with the problem? Once you have thought of some.