Research Objectives and Questions
Session 11: Research Objectives and Questions
Total Session Time: 120 minutes + 240 minutes assignment
Prerequisites
None
Learning Tasks
By the end of this session students are expected to be able to:
Resources Needed
SESSION OVERVIEW
Activity/
Step Time Content
Method
1 05 minutes Presentation Introduction, Learning Tasks
10 minutes Presentation
2 Definition of General and Specific Objectives
Brainstorming
10 minutes Presentation
3 Characteristics of Research Objectives
Brainstorming
Presentation
4 20 minutes The Difference Between General and Specific
Buzzing Objectives
35 minutes Presentation
5 Preparation of Research Objectives
Lecture discussion
6 Development of Research Questions
25 minutes Presentation
05 minutes
7 Presentation Key Points
8 05 minutes Presentation Evaluation
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9 05 minutes Presentation Assignment
SESSION CONTENTS
STEP1: Presentation of Session Title and Learning Tasks (5 minutes)
READ or ASK students to read the learning tasks and clarify
ASK students if they have any questions before continuing
STEP 2: Definition of General and Specific Objectives (10 minutes)
Activity: Buzzing (5 minutes)
ASK students to pair up and buzz on the following questions for 2 minutes
ALLOW few pairs to respond and let other pairs to add on points not mentioned
WRITE their response on the flip chart/board
CLARIFY and SUMMARIZE by using the content below
o Broad objective
o Specific objectives
o Hypotheses (except in the case of purely exploratory or descriptive studies)
General objective also known as Broad objective
o The objective of a research project summarizes what is to be achieved by the study.
o The general objective of a study states what is expected to be achieved by the study in
general terms.
o It is possible (and advisable) to break down a general objective into smaller, logically
connected parts. These are normally referred to as specific objectives.
o Related to core problem
o Shows target population and place
o Use action verb
o Normally only one per study
Specific objectives
o Explain the broad objective in specific
o Should systematically address:
The various aspects of the problem‘
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Key factors that are assumed to influence or cause the problem.
They should specify what you will do in your study, where and for what purpose.
Usually focuses on quantifying or specifying the problem
o Statement/a specific prediction about the nature and expected direction of
the relationship between two or more variables that permit empirical testing.
o To clarify and focus your intentions /focus the study (narrowing it down to essentials).
o To have a basis for measuring your achievements at the end of the study.
o To avoid the collection of data which are not strictly necessary for understanding and
solving the problem, you have identified.
o To organize the study in clearly defined parts or phases.
o To facilitate the development of your research methodology and orient the collection,
analysis, interpretation and utilization of data.
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STEP 3: Characteristics of Research Objectives (10 minutes)
Activity: Brainstorming (3 minutes)
Ask students to brainstorm on the following question:
ALLOW few students to respond?
WRITE their responses on the flip chart/ board
CLARIFY and SUMMARISE by using the content below
purpose.
services dispensaries, then the general objective of the study could be to identify the
reasons for this low utilization pharmaceutical services dispensaries in Mongoro
district, in order to find solutions.
o Specific objectives should systematically address the various aspects of the problem
as defined under 'Statement of the Problem‘ and the key factors that are assumed to
influence or cause the problem.
o They should specify what you will do in your study, where and for what purpose.
problem and all major, directly contributing factors (analytic study) or major components
(descriptive or evaluation study) have been covered by the objectives.
operational study, either as part of the general objective or as a specific objective.
Refer students to Handout 11.1: Broad and Specific Objectives
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o It should cover the different aspects of the problem and its contributing factors in a
coherent way and in a logical sequence.
o Are clearly phrased in operational terms, specifying exactly what you are going to do,
where, and for what purpose.
o Are realistic considering local conditions.
o Use action verbs that are specific enough to be evaluated.
Examples of action verbs are, to determine, to reduce, to compare, to verify, to
calculate, to describe, and to establish.
o Avoid the use of vague non-action verbs such as, to appreciate, to understand, or to
study.
o Example of a Broad Objective: To determine factors associated with irrational
prescribing habits in district A.
o Examples of Specific objectives from the above broad objectives
To determine the magnitude of irrational prescribing habits in district A.
To identify number of drugs prescribed per prescription
To verify the availability of appropriate reference materials e.g.STG at
prescriber‘s office
To assess availability of essential drugs in the past 3 months
o It is ideally a prediction of an expected relationship between one or more factors and
the problem under study which can be tested.
o Are appropriate for field intervention or evaluation studies.
o Exploratory studies do not normally require hypothesis because they generally do not
test relationships between variables.
o Two types of research hypothesis are Null hypothesis and Alternative hypothesis
o A Null Hypothesis is the one that is stated in negation form. It indicates that there is no
relationship between variables. It is donated as (Ho). Example: Improved prescribing
habits have no effect in rational use of drugs
Alternation hypothesis (working hypothesis) is stated to indicate the actual
expectation.
It is donated as (H1).
Improved prescribing habits improves rational use of drugs.
o The Null Hypothesis denies the existence of any significant differences between any
compared values and stresses that even when such differences are observed, they have
occurred by chance.
o The Alternative Hypothesis is formulated in a way as to reject the null hypothesis.
o It states that there is a significant cause of the observed differences between
compared values and that the difference did not happen by chance.
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PST 06210 Operational Research NTA Level 6 Semester 2 Facilitator Guide 92
STEP 4: The Difference Between General and Specific Objectives
(20 minutes)
Activity: Buzzing (5 minutes)
ASK students to pair up and buzz on the following question for 2 minutes
ALLOW few pairs to respond and let other pairs to add on points not mentioned
WRITE their response on the flip chart/board
CLARIFY and SUMMARIZE by using the content below
narrow in focus
Specific objectives is to specify what really you want to concentrate with or what you
want to do, show the main point you are focusing to
STEP 5: Preparation of Research Objectives in an Appropriate Format for
the Developed Project (35 minutes)
Take care that the objectives of your study:
o Cover the different aspects of the problem and its contributing factors in a coherent
way and in a logical sequence
o Are clearly phrased in operational terms, specifying exactly what you are going to do,
where, and for what purpose;
o Are realistic considering local conditions; and
o Use action verbs that are specific enough to be evaluated
Examples of action verbs are to determine, to compare, to verify, to calculate, to
describe, and to establish
Avoid the use of vague non-action verbs such as: to appreciate, to understand, or
to study
o It is not necessary to develop an objective for every single contributing factor
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STEP 6: Development of Research Questions Appropriate for the Study
(25 minutes)
Research question: Statement that identifies the phenomenon, situation or certain
Characteristics to be studied?
It's essential to develop a research questions that you're interested in or care about in order
to focus your research
For example,
o Researching a broad topic such as "business management" is difficult since there may
be hundreds of sources on all aspects of business management.
o On the other hand, a focused question such as "What are the pros and cons of
Japanese management style?" is easier to research and can be covered more fully and
in more depth.
o How do you develop a usable research question?
Choose an appropriate topic or issue for your research, one that actually can be
researched
Then list all of the questions that you'd like answered yourself.
Choose the best question, one that is neither too broad nor too narrow.
Sometimes the number of sources you find will help you discover whether your research
question is too broad, too narrow, or okay?
If you know a lot about the topic, you can develop a research question based on your own
knowledge. If you feel you don't know much about the topic, think again.
It's a good idea to evaluate your research question and to ask for feedback on your
research question.
Once you complete your list, review your questions in order to choose a usable one that is
neither too broad nor too narrow.
In this case, the best research question is "three"
o Question "one" is too narrow, since it can be answered with a simple statistic
o Question "two" is too broad; it implies that the researcher will cover many tactics for
reducing the problem of irrational drug use that could be used throughout the country
o Question "three," on the other hand, is focused enough to research in some depth
STEP 7: Key Points (5 minutes)
Writing introduction to research proposal leads the reader from a general subject area to a
topic of inquiry
The general objective of a study states what is expected to be achieved by the study in
general terms Specific objectives explain the broad objective in specific
STEP 8: Evaluation (5 minutes)
What is objective?
What are general and specific objectives?
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What are the characteristics of research objectives?
STEP 9: Assignment (5 minutes)
Activity: Take Home Individual Assignment (05 minutes)
DIVIDE students in groups or individuals
ASK the students to work on the following Assignment
research proposal
ALLOCATE time for students to do the assignments and submit
REFER students to recommended reference
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References
Hardon A, Boonmongkon P, and Streefland P. et al (editors)(2001). Applied Health research,
Anthropology of health and health care (3rd Ed.): Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Het
Spinhuis Publishers,
Kothari C.R (1985). Research Methodology – Methods and techniques, (2nd ed): New Delhi,
India: Wiley Eastern Limited
Varkevisser, C. M, Pathmanathan, I and Brownlee, A (1991). Designing and Conducting
Health Systems Research Projects, Vol. 2 Part I.:Ottawa, Canada: IDRC
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PST 06210 Operational Research NTA Level 6 Semester 2 Facilitator Guide 96
Handout 11.2: Examples of Broad and Specific Objectives
First Example
communities in Tanzania, was developed. It had its general
objective:
o To explore to what extent Community Home-Based Care (CHBC) projects in
Tanzania provide adequate, affordable and sustainable care of good quality to people
with HIV/AIDS, and to identify ways in which these services can be improved.
o It was split up in the following specific objectives:
To identify economic, psychosocial and other needs of patients and their families
affected by AIDS.
To determine the extent to which formal and informal support systems address
these needs from the viewpoint of service providers as well as patients.
To determine the economic costs of CHBC to the patient and family as well as to
the formal CHBC programme.
To relate the calculated costs to the quality of care provided to the patient by the
family and to the family/patient by the CHBC programme.
To determine how improved CHBC and informal support networks can contribute
to the needs of persons with AIDS and other chronically and terminally ill
patients.
To use the findings to make recommendations on the improvement of CHBC to
home care providers, donors and other concerned organisations, including
government.
support have been defined in the first objective. The objectives which follow concentrate
on adequacy, cost and quality of care provided whereas the last two objectives specify
possible improvements with respect to CHBC, and to whom the results and
recommendations of the study will be fed back
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PST 06210 Operational Research NTA Level 6 Semester 2 Facilitator Guide 97
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