RESEARCH METHODS BIT II Goals and objectives Dr
RESEARCH METHODS BIT II Goals and objectives Dr. Angella Musiimenta, Ph. D
Defining Project goals and Objectives. • Project Goals and objectives should be SMART
Good goals and objectives should be (SMART): Characteristic s Specific Measurable Achievable Realistic/ Relevant Timely Requirements of drafting the research objective Avoid general statement rather write what the specific context of the project is. Should enable monitoring of the progress e. g how many will be trained, how many will be affected with in 6 months etc. Ensure that your objectives are clear enough to be fulfilled. Should be result oriented, Positive desired state Must be reached in a set time frame
Defining Project Goals and Objectives • The very first step in all projects: business, home, or education, is to define goals and objectives. • This step defines the projects outcome and the steps required to achieve that outcome. • People, including project managers, do not spend sufficient time on this step or complete it incorrectly thereby ensuring an
Defining Project Goals and Objectives • Poorly defined goals and objectives, or goals without objectives, pushes a project into overruns, territory battles, personality clashes, missed milestones, unhappy clients, and failed projects. • Goals and objectives must be clear statements of purpose. Each with its own purpose that drives the end result of the project. Goals and objectives MUST be measurable.
Defining Project Goals and Objectives Goals are the "WHAT“ • Goals are broad statements applied to a project. • Goals are the "what" of the process. In other words, "what" will the project accomplish? • Projects may have more than one goal, but many objectives per goal. Do not confuse goals with objectives.
Defining Project Goals and Objectives Examples of project goals • Reduce patient waiting time before seeing the physician using an electronic booking system • Increase adherence using electronic monitoring system and SMS reminders.
Defining Project Goals and Objectives are the "HOW" • Objectives are specific statements that support the goal. Every goal will have one or more objectives tied to it. In essence, the objective is the "how" of the process. • Always start an objective with an action verb. This ensures that the objective is measurable and that the projects end-result is addressed through the action of the objective. Each objective becomes a measurable milestone as well.
Defining Project Goals and Objectives • Examples of project objectives • Goal 1): Reduce patient waiting time before seeing the physician using an electronic booking system Objective for goal 1): 1. Develop and implement a medication adherence monitoring system and assess its impact on medication adherence. 2. Explore the role of SMS texting in supporting TB medication
Exercise 2: Project goal and objectives 1. Formulate a goal for your project idea 2. Formulate objectives
Research project activities • Formulated from objectives e. g. SOP 1: Develop and implement a medication adherence monitoring system and assess its impact on medication adherence. Potential activities: • Development of data collection tools • IRB approval • Requirement gathering • System development • System implementation • Impact assessment
Research project activities • Activities are often illustrated on a project ghant chart.
Exercise Draw a Ghant chart for your research
Research Project Titles • A project title play a pivotal role in communicating about you’re your research project. • For example, a published research paper may never get read or found by interested readers if it does not have a meaningful reader. This is because:
Research Project Titles. . . • Most electronic search engines, databases, or journal websites use the words in the title to decide whether and when to display the paper to interested readers. • The title(and the abstract) are often the only parts of the paper that are freely available on line incase of non-open access publications. Thus can influence decisions to purchase your paper
Write the title 1. Here are some steps (with examples) you can follow to write an effective title. • Answer the questions: what is my paper/research/project about? What techniques/designs were used? Who/what is studied? What are the results? • My research/project studies whether X therapy improves the cognitive function of patients suffering from dementia. • It was randomized trial. • I studied 40 cases from six cities in Japan. • There was an improvement in the cognitive function of patients.
Write the title 1. Use your answers to list key worlds. • Therapy • Randomized trail • Dementia • 6 Japanese cities • 40 Cases • Improved cognitive function
Write the title 3. Building a sentence with these key words This study is a randomized trial that investigates whether X therapy improved cognitive function in 40 dementia patients from 6 cities in Japan, it reports improved cognitive function. (28 words) 4. Delete all waste (e. g. study of, investigates) and repetitive words; link the remaining. This study is a randomized trial that investigates whether X therapy improved cognitive function in 40 dementia patients from 6 cities in Japan, it reports improved cognitive function. Randomized trial of X therapy for improving cognitive function in 40 dementia patients from 6 cities in Japan (18
Write the title • 5. Deleting non-essential information and reward. Randomized trial of X therapy for improved cognitive function in 40 dementia patients from 6 cities in Japan reports improved cognitive function. Randomized trial of X therapy for improving cognitive function in 40 dementia patients (13 words) OR (reword with subtitle and a focus on the result) X therapy improved cognitive function in 40 dementia patients: a randomized trial (12 words)
Exercise • Draft the title for your research project
Exercise 3: Project Title Write/refine the title for your project
Other exercises • Read about ENDNOTE reference management system and use it to manage your references. • Read about Microsoft Project and explore its potential application in your research
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