General information

Assignment 3
Conceptual Research Design: Specific Research Question
Assess and Double-check objectives

General information

Conceptual Research Design: Specific Research Question
Research design is a plan, structure and strategy of investigation so conceived as to obtain answers to research questions or problems (Figure 1).

Source: Matthijs Brink & Vanessa Torres van Grinsven, Wageningen university
Figure 1. Content of the research design
The conceptual framework is the basis of your research problem. It stems from the theoretical framework and usually focuses on the section(s) which become the basis of your study. Whereas the theoretical framework consists of the theories or issues in which your study is embedded, the conceptual framework describes the aspects you selected from the theoretical framework to become the basis of your enquiry.
Objectives are the goals you set out to attain in your study. Since these objectives inform a reader of what you want to achieve through the study, it is extremely important to word them clearly and specifically. Objectives should be listed under two headings:
main objectives;
subobjectives.
The main objective is an overall statement of the thrust of your study. It is also a statement of the main associations and relationships that you seek to discover or establish. The subobjectives are the specific aspects of the topic that you want to investigate within the main framework of your study.
The research questions to be answered through the study become the basis of your objectives. Use action-oriented words in the formulation of objectives.
The exact form of your question will depend on the length of your project, the type of research, the topic, and the research problem. But all research questions should be focused, specific, appropriately complex, and relevant to a social or scholarly issue.
The main difference between objectives and research questions is the way in which they are written. Research questions are obviously that – questions. Objectives transform these questions into behavioural aims by using actionoriented words such as ‘to find out’, ‘to determine’, ‘to ascertain’ and ‘to examine’. Some researchers prefer to reverse the process; that is, they start from objectives and formulate research questions from them. Some researchers are satisfied only with research questions, and do not formulate objectives at all. If you prefer to have only research questions or only objectives, this is fine, but keep in mind the requirements of your institution for research proposals.
Research questions should be listed under two headings:
General research questions
Specific research questions