How to write your research objectives and research questions

Objectives and research questions look easy on the page, just a short list under a heading, but they honestly cause more confusion than almost any other part of chapter one. A lot of students write objectives that do not match their problem statement at all, or questions that simply repeat the objectives word for word instead of adding something new. Let's clear up how these two actually work together.

What your objectives are for

Your objectives are basically a direct answer to your problem statement. If your problem is that a gap exists somewhere, your objectives are the specific things you plan to do to understand or address that gap. Each one should be an action, something you can actually go and do, words like examine, assess, determine, or compare work well here.

Most projects work fine with one general objective and about three to five specific objectives under it. The general objective is the big picture version, one sentence capturing the overall aim of your study. The specific objectives then break that down into smaller, more achievable pieces.

Say your general objective is to examine the factors affecting mobile banking adoption among small business owners in a particular area. Your specific objectives could then be identifying the main barriers to adoption, assessing how aware people are of mobile banking services, and looking at whether age or education level affects adoption rate.

What your research questions are for

Research questions basically turn your objectives into questions that your data collection will actually go on to answer. Each objective usually maps to one research question, sometimes two if the objective is covering more than one idea. Using the example above, the objective about identifying barriers becomes a question like, what are the main barriers preventing small business owners from adopting mobile banking in this area?

Here is a mistake to avoid though. Do not treat research questions as just a rewording exercise. A question like "what are the barriers to mobile banking adoption" placed right under an objective that says "to identify barriers to mobile banking adoption" is fine, they are meant to be closely related, but your question should still be phrased in a way that your questionnaire, interview, or data analysis can actually answer directly.

Keeping everything lined up

A good habit before you move on is to lay your problem statement, objectives, and research questions side by side and just read through them together. Every objective should trace back to something you mentioned in your problem statement. Every research question should trace back to an objective. If you notice an objective that does not connect to anything in your problem statement, either that objective does not belong there, or your problem statement needs to be widened a little to justify it.

What about hypotheses

It is not every project that needs a hypothesis. If your study is more like you are exploring something or it is kind of descriptive, then just know that research questions alone are usually enough, unless your supervisor specifically requests that you include hypotheses. But if your study involves testing a relationship between variables, like comparing two groups or measuring how one factor affects another, you will most likely need hypotheses stated in both the null and alternative form. This is one requirement that varies a lot from department to department, so confirm with your supervisor before you assume either way.

Mistakes people make here

• Objectives that do not connect back to the problem statement

• Too many objectives, which spreads your project too thin

• Research questions that are really just objectives with a question mark added

• Forgetting hypotheses when your study design actually needs them

• Weak action verbs like "study" or "look at" instead of something sharper like "assess" or "determine"

Getting your objectives and research questions properly aligned early saves you a lot of stress later, since your chapter four analysis has to answer exactly these questions. If you would rather have this section reviewed or written for you around your specific topic, my team at ProjectPal is on WhatsApp and ready to help.