howMed Know Yourself
A goal is general and long term overall desired outcome for a project. It is bigger in impact than an objective, is vague, has no specific time frame and is usually not measurable.
Following the conception of scientific idea, the starting point should be to phrase the study objective. An objective is measurable and operational. It tells specific things you will accomplish in your project.
The objective should be as clearly and crisply stated as possible. Usually only one or at the most two objectives should be tackled in one study. If there are more than two objectives, then it may be appropriate to address the additional objectives through a separate study.
The objectives should be:
• Usually one or two
• Clearly spelled out
• Realistic and measurable
• Achievable in a reasonable frame of time
• Tailor the study design to achieve the objective(s)
Characteristics of Objectives:
1. Specific
Precisely what you intend to accomplish
2. Important
Indicate the relevance/importance
3. Measurable
What you would do/measure
4. Practical
Solution to a problem
5. Realistic
6. Feasible
7. Evaluable
The objectives should be SMART.
• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Relevant
• Time bound
Read more about research methodology…
- Introduction to Research Methodology
- The Basics of Research Methodology
- A Concept of Research Process
- Choosing Research Topics
- Review of Literature for Research Purpose
- Formulating a Research Question
- Variables in Research
- Developing a Questionnaire in Research
- Sample Selection and Sampling Techniques
- Data Collection in Research
- Introduction to Study Designs
