Lecture-03

Research Objectives
Research objectives describe concisely what the research is trying to achieve. They
summarize the accomplishments a researcher wishes to achieve through the project
and provides direction to the study.

CHARACTERISTICS OF RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

1. Research objectives is a concrete statement describing what the research is trying
to achieve. A well-worded objective will be SMART, i.e Specific, Measurable,
Attainable, Realistic, & Time- bound.
2. Research objective should be Relevant, Feasible, Logical, Observable,
Unequivocal and
Measurable.
3. Objective is a purpose that can be reasonably achieved within the expected
timeframe & with the available resources.
4. The objective or research project summarizes what is to be achieved by the study.
5. The research objectives are the specific accomplishment the researchers hope to
achieve by
the study.
6. The objective includes obtaining answers to research questions or testing the
research
hypothesis.
NEED OF RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
The formulation of research objectives helps the researcher to:
1. With clearly defined objectives, the researchers can focus on the study.
2. The formulation of research objectives will help researcher to avoid the collection
of data which are not strictly necessary for understanding & solving problem that he
or she has defined.
3. Properly formulated, specific objectives will facilitate the development of
research methodology & will help to orient the collection, analysis, interpretation,
&utilization of data.
TYPES OF RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
1. General objective
General objectives are broad goals to be achieved.
The general objectives of the study state what the researcher expects to achieve
by thestudy in general terms.
General objectives are usually less in number.
2. Specific objective
Specific objectives are short term & narrow in focus.
General objectives can broken into small logically connected parts to form
specific
objectives.
General objective is met through accomplishing all the specific objective.
The specific objectives are more in number & they systematically address various
aspects of problem as defined under ‘the statement of problem’ & key factor that is
assumed to influence or causes the problem.
They should specify what the researcher will do in the study, where, & for what
purpose.
EXAMPLES OF GENERAL & SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
Research statement: “Effectiveness of planned teaching on the knowledge of staff
nurses working in psychiatric unit regarding Physical Restraints for psychiatric
patient in selected hospital of Vidharbha region”.
General objective: To asses the knowledge of staff nurses working in psychiatric unit
regarding physical restraint.
Specific objective:
1. To assess the knowledge regarding Physical Restraints among nurses working in
psychiatric unit.
2. To evaluate the effect of planned teaching on Physical Restraints among nurses.
3. To associate the knowledge with selected demographic variables.
Research Question
A research question is a carefully worded question that addresses an aspect or
concept of a hypothesis. It is a key element of a research study because it defines the
main purpose or direction of the study.

Identification of Research Questions

Researchers do not simply make up research questions, but rather identify research
questions from a number of different sources. Some of these sources are as follows:
Practical experience: Practitioners working in the different settings may be inspired
to take up research on a particular issue or problem that concerns them; the research
questions may emerge from their daily work. For example, a teacher or social worker
working in a preschool setting may decide to study the impact of the preschool
program on children’s primary school achievement. Alternatively, another social
worker working on vocational training programs may want to check if the program
was successful in ensuring that the trained youth found employment. Therefore, real
life work situations can be an excellent source for identifying research questions.

Literature review: Literature reviews can also be a good source for research
questions. As we learned in a previous module, a literature review involves a critical
appraisal of the concerned literature on a said topic. While reviewing the literature,
a researcher has a good opportunity to examine previously conducted researches on
a given subject in order to understand the findings, the limitations and any emerging
trends. This process can give the researcher a good idea of what questions or issues
remain unanswered or unexplored. For example, while reading the literature, a
reviewer may find that little research exists about children’s perceptions of domestic
violence. The researcher can then choose this topic for a research study and draft a
research question.
A review of literature may also help uncover untested theories which provide a good
opportunity to identify research questions. Researchers may use existing theories to
test their applicability in various situations. For example, the “Broken Window”
theory asserts that crime rates increase in neighborhoods that are in a poor and
shabby condition. A researcher may be interested in applying this theory to school
settings, to see if the theory is verifiable in that context.
Types of Research Questions
There are three types of research questions, each of which reflect the type of research
study. These types are as follows:
i. Descriptive questions: these questions generally look at descriptions of a
particular issue or situation. Descriptive questions usually have just one variable, but
in cases where there are multiple variables, the direction of the relationship is not
specified in descriptive studies. An example of a descriptive question is “What
percentage of low income children complete primary school in communities of
Mumbai?”
ii. Exploratory questions: these questions explore a particular issue or phenomenon
and usually involve two or more variables. Example: “Is there a relationship between
maternal education and children’s school completion in rural Bihar?”
iii. Explanatory questions: these questions seek to establish causal effects between
two or more variables. Example: “Do parents who have completed their bachelor’s
degree have the same aspirations for their daughters as parents with education levels
less than SSC?

Elements of Good Research Questions

Any good research question has four elements which are:
The research question must be significant: It must have the potential to contribute to
and extend significant learning on an issue. In other words, the study results should
address a knowledge gap, and the new knowledge generated will be theoretically
valid and/or practically relevant. If a particular question has been answered before,
it is pertinent to ask if it is worth exploring again, and if so, in what contexts. When
explaining the significance of your project, connect your research to larger issues in
order to demonstrate its relevance to larger contexts.
The research question must be feasible. In other words, it takes into account the
availability of required resources such as money, time, and research subjects.
Therefore, consider your resource limitations when defining and finalizing your
questions. If the question is exploratory or explanatory, the researcher would also
need to take into account whether it is possible to manipulate the desired variables.
 The research question must be clear and concise. It must be grounded in updated
theoretical or empirical knowledge. This will make your research study relevant, and
will connect your study to existing knowledge. Use simple language to frame your
question because questions that are abstract or overly complex can make it difficult
to assess significance or relevance.
The research question must be ethically sound. The researcher needs to consider
whether the research question could cause any potential harm to the research
subjects. Further, researchers also need to make sure that questions do not
inadvertently lead to a breach in confidentiality procedures.

Tips for writing good research questions

Remember the research question is a question. Therefore, do not draft it as a
statement.
Ensure that your question is specific. If the question is too broad, it may confuse
and may contain other questions within it. If the question is too narrow, it can be
answered in a simple sentence. Both these types of questions are not appropriate
research questions.
Make sure the question is practical and can be investigated empirically. It may not
be possible to investigate some questions.
Make sure your questions relate one variable to another because that is what your
study will test.
Be sure to conduct a thorough literature review because this process can help you
in deciding and framing good research question/s.
Articulate your question clearly and make sure the terms are well defined. For
example, instead of saying “How does teacher training influence students?” it might
be better to say “How does teacher training influence student performance in annual
exams?”
Be sure to specify the population of your study in your research question. For
example, instead of saying “preschoolers” it would be more appropriate to be
specific and state “3-5 year old children.”
Make your question as interesting as possible!
 Frame your question in a provocative way. For example: “Why has the incidence
of smoking increased even though the frequency of anti-smoking campaigns has
increased?”
Limit your variables. Too many variables may result in a study that is too large or
too complicated.
Keep your research questions objective – your questions should avoid value
judgments. For example, it would be wrong to state a question like “Does the bad
habit of smoking cause lung cancer?”
Make sure your questions are ethical. For example, it might be feasible to do a
study with child abuse victims but it may not be ethical to do so if the study is going
to raise painful memories and experiences.