This topic focuses on how to state your study’s purpose and research questions as you go on to introduce your own project. Check your comprehension of the topic by doing self-check comprehension activities in the next tab.
Once the research gap has been identified, it is time for the author to introduce the proposed study. This is usually done by stating the study’s general purpose or explaining what it seeks to do to address the research gap.
Here are some examples of “purpose statements” found in research articles and proposals:
What language do the authors use to announce the purpose of their studies?
As is the case with most journal articles, the statement of the purpose is often followed by the formulation of the so-called research questions (RQs)—statements (1-5) in the form of questions that allow the author to define the focus of the study and capture the specific (and novel!) points that call for examination. Formulating RQs is often believed to be one of the key initial steps in a research project, a step that will guide the research process. However, they can be adjusted as the project evolves and new, often unexpected, findings emerge.
Writing effective RQs may pose a challenge to novice researchers. RQs should be narrow and specific enough to be answerable under the current conditions. If too broad or complex (e.g., “What is the effect of technology on Russian citizens’ voting patterns”?), RQs can disorient the writer as to what the focus of the study is, where to begin the research, what methods and procedures to employ, and how to interpret the findings. Such questions may never get to be answered, as it will be quite difficult to conduct appropriate research without first identifying what kind of technology is implied, what time period is involved, what percentage of the Russian voters we are thinking about, how to access voting data, etc.?
The purpose of this study is to explore how the use of specific text variables may contribute to different perceptions of a speaker in English-language CMC. I also want to explore the possibility that text cues can contribute to perceptions of other personal characteristics such as race, internet use, and education level. To this aim, this study will address the following research questions:
We further deemed it useful to explore what difference there might be dependent upon the proficiency level of the writer. Hence our research questions were: 1) What kinds of unguided feedback in English do Taiwanese university students give in online response to English compositions by unknown peers mediated by a Web 2.0 resource? 2) Is their feedback different depending on the level of writing proficiency exhibited in the compositions? (Chwo, 2015) (Applied Linguistics)
Specifically, the study focuses on the following research questions: 1) How do L2 students engage in the collaborative writing process using Web-based word processing tools? 2) What is the nature of group participation in Web-based collaborative writing? (Kessler et al., 2012) (Applied Linguistics).
If you have identified your research gap at this stage, how would you formulate your study's purpose and initial research questions?
This section will take you through typical language that is used to talk about the purpose or nature of your study. We encourage you to complete follow-up language activities in the next tab to have more practice with target vocabulary from this section.
Here are a number of ways to introduce the purpose or nature of the present study. Note the frequent use of I/We pronouns and the Present/ Future Simple tenses. In most cases, purpose statements tend to take the active voice, as shown below:
Below is a list of verbs used to state the nature or purpose of the proposed study. These verbs follow different patterns, as shown below:
| Verb + Object | Verb + Infinitive | Verb + That + Clause | |
|
analyze assess calculate compare consider describe determine develop discuss estimate evaluate examine expand |
explore extend illustrate introduce investigate measure outline present propose provide review test |
aim to (BUT: “aim at” + V-ing) attempt to propose to seek to set out to
|
argue confirm demonstrate establish propose prove reveal show suggest uncover validate
|
Here are some common verb and noun collocations used to state the purpose or objectives of the present study:
| analyze | a model, the association (between), the effect (of), the potential (for) |
| assess | the impact (of), the importance (of), the rate (of) |
| compare | changes (in), the influence (of), the share (of) |
| calculate | the index (for), the rate (of), the share (of) |
| consider | an approach, an increase/decrease (in), the amount/ number (of) |
| determine | the conditions, the parameter(s), the relation (between) |
| estimate | the frequency (of), the relationship (between), the value (of) |
| examine | the level (of), the measures (of), the question (of) |
| expand | the coverage (of), the model, the set (of) |
| propose | a framework (for), a mechanism (for), a model (for) |
| provide | an analysis (of), evidence (of/ that …), a measure (of) |
| test | the idea (that), the hypothesis, the implications (of) |
A number of nouns are commonly used when describing the objectives of the study: aim, goal, objective, purpose, intention, motivation (the reason for doing smth), rationale (for):
Below are some common noun and adjective collocations that are employed to describe the purpose, aim(s) or objectives of the study:
|
The |
main major primary principal
|
aim goal purpose objective |
of |
this proposal/ study |
is |
to |