Goals and objectives in the research paper
In the introduction of any scientific work, it is necessary to write a goal and tasks. This requirement also applies in the research paper, although its introduction is usually less comprehensive than that of research having a scientific novelty.
What is the difference between the goal and objectives
Writing goals and objectives often causes difficulty in the essays. There are several reasons for this:
- Research papers begin to be asked already from the first semester of the first year, when students do not yet have experience writing their own research.
- Most of the research paper is taken from books or other sources already ready-made (maximum – slightly processed to pass the test for plagiarism), and the elements of the introduction have to be written independently.
- Topics are formulated by teachers in such a way that it is not always possible to easily figure out why such work is needed at all (except for obtaining a formal grade).
- Often there is confusion between the concepts of goals and objectives.
At the household level, the concepts of goals and objectives are often mixed: if your goal is to wash the dishes, then we can say that you are faced with the task of washing the dishes. To write the goal and objectives in the research paper, you need to clearly distinguish between these terms.
Differences in goals and objectives for the research paper:
- The goal of the work is most often one, but there are several tasks.
- Purpose means why the work is written in general, what the author wants to get at the end of his work (what is the result). Tasks more characterize the process, reflecting the stages through which you need to go to achieve the goal.
- The goal relates to the whole work and is determined by its theme. It is more logical to write tasks in sections (each paragraph is a separate task), then we can talk about structural decomposition, or dividing the research process into stages.
How to write a research paper goal
The purpose of the essay is based on its topic. The wording of the topic can be converted into a goal in two ways:
- By adding a verb denoting an action.
- By adding a verbal noun that characterizes the result.
The second way seems more justified. The following words may be helpful:
- Study of.
- Familiarization.
- Systematization.
- Classification
- Analysis.
Unlike term papers and final qualification works, the essay does not provide for the development of a project or the suggestion of measures; the maximum can be a critical reflection on the views of several areas. More often, the goal is limited to purely educational areas.
Example 1
Here are some examples of goals:
- R&D: “Monetarist views on inflation”, goal – “Familiarization with monetarist views on inflation”.
- R&D: “Forms and types of loans in a market economy”, goal – “Classification of forms and types of loans.”
The purpose of the work can (and should) be written before starting work on the main text. This allows you to set a guideline for further activities, to understand what you need to strive for.
How to write tasks in the research paper
There is no clear requirement for how many tasks need to be formulated. However, the generally accepted practice – the number of tasks coincides with the number of sections in the work. Each section (paragraph, paragraph) implements a solution to one of the problems.
Tasks are most conveniently written after a work plan has been drawn up. Then the process of writing tasks comes down to reformulating the points of the plan so that they answer the question “what needs to be done in this part of the work.”
Useful verbs for setting tasks:
- Reveal (concept).
- Describe.
- To characterize.
- To consider.
- Give (characterization).
- To classify.
- To analyze.
- Compare.
- To identify.
- Identify (pattern, relationship).
- To identify.
- To trace.
Example 2
For example, the task list for the essay about the Time of Troubles, consisting of three parts, might look like this:
- To analyze the background of the beginning of the Time of Troubles.
- Consider the events of the Time of Troubles.
- To trace the influence of the events of the Time of Troubles on the subsequent development of the state.
How to set a goal and tasks in the research paper
The goal and objectives are part of the introduction of the research paper. Some specific design of these sections is not required. The goal is written first. From a new paragraph (most often – immediately after describing the relevance of the topic), a sentence is typed: “The purpose of the work is …”, or “The purpose of this work is …”. The word “target” does not need to be bold or in other ways.
After the goal is placed information about the tasks. You can simply write “The tasks of this work:”, or you can indicate the relationship between the tasks and the plan of the research paper itself: “The tasks of this work that determined its structure:”. Tasks are made out in the form of the list (numbered or marked). As with the goal, highlighting the word “tasks” is not required.
When writing goals and objectives, the same font parameters are used as in the main text.