Aims and Objectives of Research Project

/Read all the materials for Topic 1, Aims and Objectives. Write your own Aims and Objectives based on examples from the materials. No title page is needed.
An aim is the overall driving force of your research. It is a simple and broad statement of intent that describes exactly what you want to achieve from your research. It should emphasize what is to be accomplished and address the outcomes of your project. Most research projects only have one aim, although it is possible to have more than one aim for certain types of research. For this project, use one aim only.
The objectives are the means by which you intend to achieve the aim. They are detailed and more specific statements that describe specifically how you are going to address your research question, building on the main issue that has been introduced in the aim. Five to ten objectives is usually a good number, but this can be flexible, depending on the type of research. The main point is to make sure that your objectives show how you intend to meet your aim.
• Your aims and objectives should give a clear indication of the five Ws of your research (what, who, why, when, where). These should not be stated explicitly but should be implicit within your aims and objectives.
• Your aims and objectives should provide an indication of how your project will proceed: this is not a specific statement of methods but will give an indication through the terms used, for example: ‘identify,’ ‘describe,’ ‘explain,’ and ‘observe.’ This will also give an indication of your epistemological and methodological preferences.
• Your aims and objectives should support your methodology (for example, you should only mention the intention to generalize when this is your methodological goal).
• Your aims and objectives should be clear, succinct, and unambiguous, defining any technical terms used. They should also be brief and concise.
• Your aims and objectives should provide an indication of the long-term outcome, such as ‘produce an analysis’ and ‘develop associated theory.’
• Your aims and objectives must be realistic in terms of what you can achieve during your research (available resources, time, access to participants, for example). Don’t attempt too much or make your aims and objectives too ambitious.
• Your objectives should relate to your aim, and you should ensure that each objective is distinct and that they do not merely repeat another using different terms. Number your objectives so that they are clear and distinct. Limit to 5 objectives.
• Take care not to produce a list of issues that are merely related to your research topic and/or methods. Also, ensure that you do not mistake research objectives for project objectives (the latter is a list of practical steps involved in the day-to-day running of your research project).