Identify
Explore
Discover
Discuss
Summarise
Describe
Last, format your objectives into a numbered list. This is because when you write your thesis or dissertation, you will at times need to make reference to a specific research objective; structuring your research objectives in a numbered list will provide a clear way of doing this.
To bring all this together, let’s compare the first research objective in the previous example with the above guidance:
Research Objective:
1. Develop finite element models using explicit dynamics to mimic mallet blows during cup/shell insertion, initially using simplified experimentally validated foam models to represent the acetabulum.
Checking Against Recommended Approach:
Q: Is it specific? A: Yes, it is clear what the student intends to do (produce a finite element model), why they intend to do it (mimic cup/shell blows) and their parameters have been well-defined ( using simplified experimentally validated foam models to represent the acetabulum ).
Q: Is it measurable? A: Yes, it is clear that the research objective will be achieved once the finite element model is complete.
Q: Is it achievable? A: Yes, provided the student has access to a computer lab, modelling software and laboratory data.
Q: Is it relevant? A: Yes, mimicking impacts to a cup/shell is fundamental to the overall aim of understanding how they deform when impacted upon.
Q: Is it timebound? A: Yes, it is possible to create a limited-scope finite element model in a relatively short time, especially if you already have experience in modelling.
Q: Does it start with a verb? A: Yes, it starts with ‘develop’, which makes the intent of the objective immediately clear.
Q: Is it a numbered list? A: Yes, it is the first research objective in a list of eight.
1. making your research aim too broad.
Having a research aim too broad becomes very difficult to achieve. Normally, this occurs when a student develops their research aim before they have a good understanding of what they want to research. Remember that at the end of your project and during your viva defence , you will have to prove that you have achieved your research aims; if they are too broad, this will be an almost impossible task. In the early stages of your research project, your priority should be to narrow your study to a specific area. A good way to do this is to take the time to study existing literature, question their current approaches, findings and limitations, and consider whether there are any recurring gaps that could be investigated .
Note: Achieving a set of aims does not necessarily mean proving or disproving a theory or hypothesis, even if your research aim was to, but having done enough work to provide a useful and original insight into the principles that underlie your research aim.
Be realistic about what you can achieve in the time you have available. It is natural to want to set ambitious research objectives that require sophisticated data collection and analysis, but only completing this with six months before the end of your PhD registration period is not a worthwhile trade-off.
Each research objective should have its own purpose and distinct measurable outcome. To this effect, a common mistake is to form research objectives which have large amounts of overlap. This makes it difficult to determine when an objective is truly complete, and also presents challenges in estimating the duration of objectives when creating your project timeline. It also makes it difficult to structure your thesis into unique chapters, making it more challenging for you to write and for your audience to read.
Fortunately, this oversight can be easily avoided by using SMART objectives.
Hopefully, you now have a good idea of how to create an effective set of aims and objectives for your research project, whether it be a thesis, dissertation or research paper. While it may be tempting to dive directly into your research, spending time on getting your aims and objectives right will give your research clear direction. This won’t only reduce the likelihood of problems arising later down the line, but will also lead to a more thorough and coherent research project.
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Almost all industries use research for growth and development. Research objectives are how researchers ensure that their study has direction and makes a significant contribution to growing an industry or niche.
Research objectives provide a clear and concise statement of what the researcher wants to find out. As a researcher, you need to clearly outline and define research objectives to guide the research process and ensure that the study is relevant and generates the impact you want.
In this article, we will explore research objectives and how to leverage them to achieve successful research studies.
Research objectives are what you want to achieve through your research study. They guide your research process and help you focus on the most important aspects of your topic.
You can also define the scope of your study and set realistic and attainable study goals with research objectives. For example, with clear research objectives, your study focuses on the specific goals you want to achieve and prevents you from spending time and resources collecting unnecessary data.
However, sticking to research objectives isn’t always easy, especially in broad or unconventional research. This is why most researchers follow the SMART criteria when defining their research objectives.
Think of research objectives as a roadmap to achieving your research goals, with the SMART criteria as your navigator on the map.
SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. These criteria help you ensure that your research objectives are clear, specific, realistic, meaningful, and time-bound.
Here’s a breakdown of the SMART Criteria:
Specific : Your research objectives should be clear: what do you want to achieve, why do you want to achieve it, and how do you plan to achieve it? Avoid vague or broad statements that don’t provide enough direction for your research.
Measurable : Your research objectives should have metrics that help you track your progress and measure your results. Also, ensure the metrics are measurable with data to verify them.
Achievable : Your research objectives should be within your research scope, timeframe, and budget. Also, set goals that are challenging but not impossible.
Relevant: Your research objectives should be in line with the goal and significance of your study. Also, ensure that the objectives address a specific issue or knowledge gap that is interesting and relevant to your industry or niche.
Time-bound : Your research objectives should have a specific deadline or timeframe for completion. This will help you carefully set a schedule for your research activities and milestones and monitor your study progress.
Clarity : Your objectives should be clear and unambiguous so that anyone who reads them can understand what you intend to do. Avoid vague or general terms that could be taken out of context.
Specificity : Your objectives should be specific and address the research questions that you have formulated. Do not use broad or narrow objectives as they may restrict your field of research or make your research irrelevant.
Measurability : Define your metrics with indicators or metrics that help you determine if you’ve accomplished your goals or not. This will ensure you are tracking the research progress and making interventions when needed.
Also, do use objectives that are subjective or based on personal opinions, as they may be difficult to accurately verify and measure.
Achievability : Your objectives should be realistic and attainable, given the resources and time available for your research project. You should set objectives that match your skills and capabilities, they can be difficult but not so hard that they are realistically unachievable.
For example, setting very difficult make you lose confidence, and abandon your research. Also, setting very simple objectives could demotivate you and prevent you from closing the knowledge gap or making significant contributions to your field with your research.
Relevance : Your objectives should be relevant to your research topic and contribute to the existing knowledge in your field. Avoid objectives that are unrelated or insignificant, as they may waste your time or resources.
Time-bound : Your objectives should be time-bound and specify when you will complete them. Have a realistic and flexible timeframe for achieving your objectives, and track your progress with it.
Identify the research questions.
The first step in writing effective research objectives is to identify the research questions that you are trying to answer. Research questions help you narrow down your topic and identify the gaps or problems that you want to address with your research.
For example, if you are interested in the impact of technology on children’s development, your research questions could be:
Once you have your research questions, you can brainstorm possible objectives that relate to them. Objectives are more specific than research questions, and they tell you what you want to achieve or learn in your research.
You can use verbs such as analyze, compare, evaluate, explore, investigate, etc. to express your objectives. Also, try to generate as many objectives as possible, without worrying about their quality or feasibility at this stage.
Once you’ve brainstormed your objectives, you’ll need to prioritize them based on their relevance and feasibility. Relevance is how relevant the objective is to your research topic and how well it fits into your overall research objective.
Feasibility is how realistic and feasible the objective is compared to the time, money, and expertise you have. You can create a matrix or ranking system to organize your objectives and pick the ones that matter the most.
The next step is to refine and revise your objectives to ensure clarity and specificity. Start by ensuring that your objectives are consistent and coherent with each other and with your research questions.
A useful way to refine your objectives is to make them SMART, which stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.
The final step is to review your objectives for coherence and alignment with your research questions and aim. Ensure your objectives are logically connected and consistent with each other and with the purpose of your study.
You also need to check that your objectives are not too broad or too narrow, too easy or too hard, too many or too few. You can use a checklist or a rubric to evaluate your objectives and make modifications.
Example 1- Psychology
Research question: What are the effects of social media use on teenagers’ mental health?
Objective : To determine the relationship between the amount of time teenagers in the US spend on social media and their levels of anxiety and depression before and after using social media.
What Makes the Research Objective SMART?
The research objective is specific because it clearly states what the researcher hopes to achieve. It is measurable because it can be quantified by measuring the levels of anxiety and depression in teenagers.
Also, the objective is achievable because the researcher can collect enough data to answer the research question. It is relevant because it is directly related to the research question. It is time-bound because it has a specific deadline for completion.
Example 2- Marketing
Research question : How can a company increase its brand awareness by 10%?
Objective : To develop a marketing strategy that will increase the company’s sales by 10% within the next quarter.
How Is this Research Objective SMART?
The research states what the researcher hopes to achieve ( Specific ). You can also measure the company’s reach before and after the marketing plan is implemented ( Measurable ).
The research objective is also achievable because you can develop a marketing plan that will increase awareness by 10% within the timeframe. The objective is directly related to the research question ( Relevant ). It is also time-bound because it has a specific deadline for completion.
Research objectives are a well-designed roadmap to completing and achieving your overall research goal.
However, research goals are only effective if they are well-defined and backed up with the best practices such as the SMART criteria. Properly defining research objectives will help you plan and conduct your research project effectively and efficiently.
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Dr. Chris Drew is the founder of the Helpful Professor. He holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. [Image Descriptor: Photo of Chris]
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Research objectives refer to the definitive statements made by researchers at the beginning of a research project detailing exactly what a research project aims to achieve.
These objectives are explicit goals clearly and concisely projected by the researcher to present a clear intention or course of action for his or her qualitative or quantitative study.
Research objectives are typically nested under one overarching research aim. The objectives are the steps you’ll need to take in order to achieve the aim (see the examples below, for example, which demonstrate an aim followed by 3 objectives, which is what I recommend to my research students).
Research aim and research objectives are fundamental constituents of any study, fitting together like two pieces of the same puzzle.
The ‘research aim’ describes the overarching goal or purpose of the study (Kumar, 2019). This is usually a broad, high-level purpose statement, summing up the central question that the research intends to answer.
Example of an Overarching Research Aim:
“The aim of this study is to explore the impact of climate change on crop productivity.”
Comparatively, ‘research objectives’ are concrete goals that underpin the research aim, providing stepwise actions to achieve the aim.
Objectives break the primary aim into manageable, focused pieces, and are usually characterized as being more specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART).
Examples of Specific Research Objectives:
1. “To examine the effects of rising temperatures on the yield of rice crops during the upcoming growth season.” 2. “To assess changes in rainfall patterns in major agricultural regions over the first decade of the twenty-first century (2000-2010).” 3. “To analyze the impact of changing weather patterns on crop diseases within the same timeframe.”
The distinction between these two terms, though subtle, is significant for successfully conducting a study. The research aim provides the study with direction, while the research objectives set the path to achieving this aim, thereby ensuring the study’s efficiency and effectiveness.
I usually recommend to my students that they use the SMART framework to create their research objectives.
SMART is an acronym standing for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. It provides a clear method of defining solid research objectives and helps students know where to start in writing their objectives (Locke & Latham, 2013).
Each element of this acronym adds a distinct dimension to the framework, aiding in the creation of comprehensive, well-delineated objectives.
Here is each step:
You’re not expected to fit every single element of the SMART framework in one objective, but across your objectives, try to touch on each of the five components.
1. Field: Psychology
Aim: To explore the impact of sleep deprivation on cognitive performance in college students.
2. Field: Environmental Science
Aim: To understand the effects of urban green spaces on human well-being in a metropolitan city.
3. Field: Technology
Aim: To investigate the influence of using social media on productivity in the workplace.
4. Field: Education
Aim: To examine the effectiveness of online vs traditional face-to-face learning on student engagement and achievement.
5. Field: Health
Aim: To determine the impact of a Mediterranean diet on cardiac health among adults over 50.
6. Field: Environmental Science
Aim: To analyze the impact of urban farming on community sustainability.
7. Field: Sociology
Aim: To investigate the influence of home offices on work-life balance during remote work.
8. Field: Economics
Aim: To evaluate the effects of minimum wage increases on small businesses.
9. Field: Education
Aim: To explore the role of extracurricular activities in promoting soft skills among high school students.
10. Field: Technology
Aim: To assess the impact of virtual reality (VR) technology on the tourism industry.
11. Field: Biochemistry
Aim: To examine the role of antioxidants in preventing cellular damage.
12. Field: Linguistics
Aim: To determine the influence of early exposure to multiple languages on cognitive development in children.
13. Field: Art History
Aim: To explore the impact of the Renaissance period on modern-day art trends.
14. Field: Cybersecurity
Aim: To assess the effectiveness of two-factor authentication (2FA) in preventing unauthorized system access.
15. Field: Cultural Studies
Aim: To analyze the role of music in cultural identity formation among ethnic minorities.
16. Field: Astronomy
Aim: To explore the impact of solar activity on satellite communication.
17. Field: Literature
Aim: To examine narrative techniques in contemporary graphic novels.
18. Field: Renewable Energy
Aim: To investigate the feasibility of solar energy as a primary renewable resource within urban areas.
19. Field: Sports Science
Aim: To evaluate the role of pre-game rituals in athlete performance.
20. Field: Ecology
Aim: To investigate the effects of urban noise pollution on bird populations.
21. Field: Food Science
Aim: To examine the influence of cooking methods on the nutritional value of vegetables.
The importance of research objectives cannot be overstated. In essence, these guideposts articulate what the researcher aims to discover, understand, or examine (Kothari, 2014).
When drafting research objectives, it’s essential to make them simple and comprehensible, specific to the point of being quantifiable where possible, achievable in a practical sense, relevant to the chosen research question, and time-constrained to ensure efficient progress (Kumar, 2019).
Remember that a good research objective is integral to the success of your project, offering a clear path forward for setting out a research design , and serving as the bedrock of your study plan. Each objective must distinctly address a different dimension of your research question or problem (Kothari, 2014). Always bear in mind that the ultimate purpose of your research objectives is to succinctly encapsulate your aims in the clearest way possible, facilitating a coherent, comprehensive and rational approach to your planned study, and furnishing a scientific roadmap for your journey into the depths of knowledge and research (Kumar, 2019).
Kothari, C.R (2014). Research Methodology: Methods and Techniques . New Delhi: New Age International.
Kumar, R. (2019). Research Methodology: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners .New York: SAGE Publications.
Doran, G. T. (1981). There’s a S.M.A.R.T. way to write management’s goals and objectives. Management review, 70 (11), 35-36.
Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (2013). New Developments in Goal Setting and Task Performance . New York: Routledge.
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Formulating research aim and objectives in an appropriate manner is one of the most important aspects of your thesis. This is because research aim and objectives determine the scope, depth and the overall direction of the research. Research question is the central question of the study that has to be answered on the basis of research findings.
Research aim emphasizes what needs to be achieved within the scope of the research, by the end of the research process. Achievement of research aim provides answer to the research question.
Research objectives divide research aim into several parts and address each part separately. Research aim specifies WHAT needs to be studied and research objectives comprise a number of steps that address HOW research aim will be achieved.
As a rule of dumb, there would be one research aim and several research objectives. Achievement of each research objective will lead to the achievement of the research aim.
Consider the following as an example:
Research title: Effects of organizational culture on business profitability: a case study of Virgin Atlantic
Research aim: To assess the effects of Virgin Atlantic organizational culture on business profitability
Following research objectives would facilitate the achievement of this aim:
Figure below illustrates additional examples in formulating research aims and objectives:
Formulation of research question, aim and objectives
Common mistakes in the formulation of research aim relate to the following:
1. Choosing the topic too broadly . This is the most common mistake. For example, a research title of “an analysis of leadership practices” can be classified as too broad because the title fails to answer the following questions:
a) Which aspects of leadership practices? Leadership has many aspects such as employee motivation, ethical behaviour, strategic planning, change management etc. An attempt to cover all of these aspects of organizational leadership within a single research will result in an unfocused and poor work.
b) An analysis of leadership practices in which country? Leadership practices tend to be different in various countries due to cross-cultural differences, legislations and a range of other region-specific factors. Therefore, a study of leadership practices needs to be country-specific.
c) Analysis of leadership practices in which company or industry? Similar to the point above, analysis of leadership practices needs to take into account industry-specific and/or company-specific differences, and there is no way to conduct a leadership research that relates to all industries and organizations in an equal manner.
Accordingly, as an example “a study into the impacts of ethical behaviour of a leader on the level of employee motivation in US healthcare sector” would be a more appropriate title than simply “An analysis of leadership practices”.
2. Setting an unrealistic aim . Formulation of a research aim that involves in-depth interviews with Apple strategic level management by an undergraduate level student can be specified as a bit over-ambitious. This is because securing an interview with Apple CEO Tim Cook or members of Apple Board of Directors might not be easy. This is an extreme example of course, but you got the idea. Instead, you may aim to interview the manager of your local Apple store and adopt a more feasible strategy to get your dissertation completed.
3. Choosing research methods incompatible with the timeframe available . Conducting interviews with 20 sample group members and collecting primary data through 2 focus groups when only three months left until submission of your dissertation can be very difficult, if not impossible. Accordingly, timeframe available need to be taken into account when formulating research aims and objectives and selecting research methods.
Moreover, research objectives need to be formulated according to SMART principle,
where the abbreviation stands for specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound.
Study employee motivation of Coca-Cola | To study the impacts of management practices on the levels of employee motivation at Coca-Cola US by December 5, 2022
|
Analyze consumer behaviour in catering industry
| Analyzing changes in consumer behaviour in catering industry in the 21 century in the UK by March 1, 2022 |
Recommend Toyota Motor Corporation management on new market entry strategy
| Formulating recommendations to Toyota Motor Corporation management on the choice of appropriate strategy to enter Vietnam market by June 9, 2022
|
Analyze the impact of social media marketing on business
| Assessing impacts of integration of social media into marketing strategy on the level of brand awareness by March 30, 2022
|
Finding out about time management principles used by Accenture managers | Identifying main time-management strategies used by managers of Accenture France by December 1, 2022 |
Examples of SMART research objectives
At the conclusion part of your research project you will need to reflect on the level of achievement of research aims and objectives. In case your research aims and objectives are not fully achieved by the end of the study, you will need to discuss the reasons. These may include initial inappropriate formulation of research aims and objectives, effects of other variables that were not considered at the beginning of the research or changes in some circumstances during the research process.
John Dudovskiy
Picture yourself on a road trip without a destination in mind — driving aimlessly, not knowing where you’re headed or how to get there. Similarly, your research is navigated by well-defined research aims and objectives. Research aims and objectives are the foundation of any research project. They provide a clear direction and purpose for the study, ensuring that you stay focused and on track throughout the process. They are your trusted navigational tools, leading you to success.
Understanding the relationship between research objectives and aims is crucial to any research project’s success, and we’re here to break it down for you in this article. Here, we’ll explore the importance of research aims and objectives, understand their differences, and delve into the impact they have on the quality of research.
In research, aims and objectives are two important components but are often used interchangeably. Though they may sound similar, they are distinct and serve different purposes.
Research aims are broad statements that describe the overall purpose of your study. They provide a general direction for your study and indicate the intended achievements of your research. Aims are usually written in a general and abstract manner describing the ultimate goal of the research.
Research objectives are specific, measurable, and achievable goals that you aim to accomplish within a specified timeframe. They break down the research aims into smaller, more manageable components and provide a clear picture of what you want to achieve and how you plan to achieve it.
In the example, the objectives provide specific targets that must be achieved to reach the aim. Essentially, aims provide the overall direction for the research while objectives provide specific targets that must be achieved to accomplish the aims. Aims provide a broad context for the research, while the objectives provide smaller steps that the researcher must take to accomplish the overall research goals. To illustrate, when planning a road trip, your research aim is the destination you want to reach, and your research objectives are the specific routes you need to take to get there.
Aims and objectives are interconnected. Objectives play a key role in defining the research methodology, providing a roadmap for how you’ll collect and analyze data, while aim is the final destination, which represents the ultimate goal of your research. By setting specific goals, you’ll be able to design a research plan that helps you achieve your objectives and, ultimately, your research aim.
The impact of clear research aims and objectives on the quality of research cannot be understated. But it’s not enough to simply have aims and objectives. Well-defined research aims and objectives are important for several reasons:
Formulating effective research aims and objectives involves a systematic process to ensure that they are clear, specific, achievable, and relevant. Start by asking yourself what you want to achieve through your research. What impact do you want your research to have? Once you have a clear understanding of your aims, you can then break them down into specific, achievable objectives. Here are some steps you can follow when developing research aims and objectives:
There are several common mistakes that researchers can make when writing research aims and objectives. These include:
To avoid these common pitfalls, it is important to be specific, clear, relevant, and realistic when writing research aims and objectives. Seek feedback from colleagues or supervisors to ensure that the aims and objectives are aligned with the research problem , questions, and methodology, and are achievable within the constraints of the research project. It’s important to continually refine your aims and objectives as you go. As you progress in your research, it’s not uncommon for research aims and objectives to evolve slightly, but it’s important that they remain consistent with the study conducted and the research topic.
In summary, research aims and objectives are the backbone of any successful research project. They give you the ability to cut through the noise and hone in on what really matters. By setting clear goals and aligning them with your research questions and methodology, you can ensure that your research is relevant, impactful, and of the highest quality. So, before you hit the road on your research journey, make sure you have a clear destination and steps to get there. Let us know in the comments section below the challenges you faced and the strategies you followed while fomulating research aims and objectives! Also, feel free to reach out to us at any stage of your research or publication by using #AskEnago and tagging @EnagoAcademy on Twitter , Facebook , and Quora . Happy researching!
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What they are & how to write them (with examples)
By: Derek Jansen (MBA) | Expert Reviewed By: Eunice Rautenbach (DTech) | March 2023
If you’re new to academic research, you’re bound to encounter the concept of a “ research problem ” or “ problem statement ” fairly early in your learning journey. Having a good research problem is essential, as it provides a foundation for developing high-quality research, from relatively small research papers to a full-length PhD dissertations and theses.
In this post, we’ll unpack what a research problem is and how it’s related to a problem statement . We’ll also share some examples and provide a step-by-step process you can follow to identify and evaluate study-worthy research problems for your own project.
What is a research problem.
A research problem is, at the simplest level, the core issue that a study will try to solve or (at least) examine. In other words, it’s an explicit declaration about the problem that your dissertation, thesis or research paper will address. More technically, it identifies the research gap that the study will attempt to fill (more on that later).
Let’s look at an example to make the research problem a little more tangible.
To justify a hypothetical study, you might argue that there’s currently a lack of research regarding the challenges experienced by first-generation college students when writing their dissertations [ PROBLEM ] . As a result, these students struggle to successfully complete their dissertations, leading to higher-than-average dropout rates [ CONSEQUENCE ]. Therefore, your study will aim to address this lack of research – i.e., this research problem [ SOLUTION ].
A research problem can be theoretical in nature, focusing on an area of academic research that is lacking in some way. Alternatively, a research problem can be more applied in nature, focused on finding a practical solution to an established problem within an industry or an organisation. In other words, theoretical research problems are motivated by the desire to grow the overall body of knowledge , while applied research problems are motivated by the need to find practical solutions to current real-world problems (such as the one in the example above).
As you can probably see, the research problem acts as the driving force behind any study , as it directly shapes the research aims, objectives and research questions , as well as the research approach. Therefore, it’s really important to develop a very clearly articulated research problem before you even start your research proposal . A vague research problem will lead to unfocused, potentially conflicting research aims, objectives and research questions .
As the name suggests, a problem statement (within a research context, at least) is an explicit statement that clearly and concisely articulates the specific research problem your study will address. While your research problem can span over multiple paragraphs, your problem statement should be brief , ideally no longer than one paragraph . Importantly, it must clearly state what the problem is (whether theoretical or practical in nature) and how the study will address it.
Here’s an example of a statement of the problem in a research context:
Rural communities across Ghana lack access to clean water, leading to high rates of waterborne illnesses and infant mortality. Despite this, there is little research investigating the effectiveness of community-led water supply projects within the Ghanaian context. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the effectiveness of such projects in improving access to clean water and reducing rates of waterborne illnesses in these communities.
As you can see, this problem statement clearly and concisely identifies the issue that needs to be addressed (i.e., a lack of research regarding the effectiveness of community-led water supply projects) and the research question that the study aims to answer (i.e., are community-led water supply projects effective in reducing waterborne illnesses?), all within one short paragraph.
Wherever there is a lack of well-established and agreed-upon academic literature , there is an opportunity for research problems to arise, since there is a paucity of (credible) knowledge. In other words, research problems are derived from research gaps . These gaps can arise from various sources, including the emergence of new frontiers or new contexts, as well as disagreements within the existing research.
Let’s look at each of these scenarios:
New frontiers – new technologies, discoveries or breakthroughs can open up entirely new frontiers where there is very little existing research, thereby creating fresh research gaps. For example, as generative AI technology became accessible to the general public in 2023, the full implications and knock-on effects of this were (or perhaps, still are) largely unknown and therefore present multiple avenues for researchers to explore.
New contexts – very often, existing research tends to be concentrated on specific contexts and geographies. Therefore, even within well-studied fields, there is often a lack of research within niche contexts. For example, just because a study finds certain results within a western context doesn’t mean that it would necessarily find the same within an eastern context. If there’s reason to believe that results may vary across these geographies, a potential research gap emerges.
Disagreements – within many areas of existing research, there are (quite naturally) conflicting views between researchers, where each side presents strong points that pull in opposing directions. In such cases, it’s still somewhat uncertain as to which viewpoint (if any) is more accurate. As a result, there is room for further research in an attempt to “settle” the debate.
Of course, many other potential scenarios can give rise to research gaps, and consequently, research problems, but these common ones are a useful starting point. If you’re interested in research gaps, you can learn more here .
Given that research problems flow from research gaps , finding a strong research problem for your research project means that you’ll need to first identify a clear research gap. Below, we’ll present a four-step process to help you find and evaluate potential research problems.
If you’ve read our other articles about finding a research topic , you’ll find the process below very familiar as the research problem is the foundation of any study . In other words, finding a research problem is much the same as finding a research topic.
Step 1 – Identify your area of interest
Naturally, the starting point is to first identify a general area of interest . Chances are you already have something in mind, but if not, have a look at past dissertations and theses within your institution to get some inspiration. These present a goldmine of information as they’ll not only give you ideas for your own research, but they’ll also help you see exactly what the norms and expectations are for these types of projects.
At this stage, you don’t need to get super specific. The objective is simply to identify a couple of potential research areas that interest you. For example, if you’re undertaking research as part of a business degree, you may be interested in social media marketing strategies for small businesses, leadership strategies for multinational companies, etc.
Depending on the type of project you’re undertaking, there may also be restrictions or requirements regarding what topic areas you’re allowed to investigate, what type of methodology you can utilise, etc. So, be sure to first familiarise yourself with your institution’s specific requirements and keep these front of mind as you explore potential research ideas.
Step 2 – Review the literature and develop a shortlist
Once you’ve decided on an area that interests you, it’s time to sink your teeth into the literature . In other words, you’ll need to familiarise yourself with the existing research regarding your interest area. Google Scholar is a good starting point for this, as you can simply enter a few keywords and quickly get a feel for what’s out there. Keep an eye out for recent literature reviews and systematic review-type journal articles, as these will provide a good overview of the current state of research.
At this stage, you don’t need to read every journal article from start to finish . A good strategy is to pay attention to the abstract, intro and conclusion , as together these provide a snapshot of the key takeaways. As you work your way through the literature, keep an eye out for what’s missing – in other words, what questions does the current research not answer adequately (or at all)? Importantly, pay attention to the section titled “ further research is needed ”, typically found towards the very end of each journal article. This section will specifically outline potential research gaps that you can explore, based on the current state of knowledge (provided the article you’re looking at is recent).
Take the time to engage with the literature and develop a big-picture understanding of the current state of knowledge. Reviewing the literature takes time and is an iterative process , but it’s an essential part of the research process, so don’t cut corners at this stage.
As you work through the review process, take note of any potential research gaps that are of interest to you. From there, develop a shortlist of potential research gaps (and resultant research problems) – ideally 3 – 5 options that interest you.
Step 3 – Evaluate your potential options
Once you’ve developed your shortlist, you’ll need to evaluate your options to identify a winner. There are many potential evaluation criteria that you can use, but we’ll outline three common ones here: value, practicality and personal appeal.
Value – a good research problem needs to create value when successfully addressed. Ask yourself:
Practicality – a good research problem needs to be manageable in light of your resources. Ask yourself:
Personal appeal – a research project is a commitment, so the research problem that you choose needs to be genuinely attractive and interesting to you. Ask yourself:
Depending on how many potential options you have, you may want to consider creating a spreadsheet where you numerically rate each of the options in terms of these criteria. Remember to also include any criteria specified by your institution . From there, tally up the numbers and pick a winner.
Step 4 – Craft your problem statement
Once you’ve selected your research problem, the final step is to craft a problem statement. Remember, your problem statement needs to be a concise outline of what the core issue is and how your study will address it. Aim to fit this within one paragraph – don’t waffle on. Have a look at the problem statement example we mentioned earlier if you need some inspiration.
We’ve covered a lot of ground. Let’s do a quick recap of the key takeaways:
This post was based on one of our popular Research Bootcamps . If you're working on a research project, you'll definitely want to check this out ...
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Research statement, what is a research statement.
The research statement (or statement of research interests) is a common component of academic job applications. It is a summary of your research accomplishments, current work, and future direction and potential of your work.
The statement can discuss specific issues such as:
The research statement should be technical, but should be intelligible to all members of the department, including those outside your subdiscipline. So keep the “big picture” in mind. The strongest research statements present a readable, compelling, and realistic research agenda that fits well with the needs, facilities, and goals of the department.
Research statements can be weakened by:
The goal of the research statement is to introduce yourself to a search committee, which will probably contain scientists both in and outside your field, and get them excited about your research. To encourage people to read it:
Think of the overarching theme guiding your main research subject area. Write an essay that lays out:
There is a delicate balance between a realistic research statement where you promise to work on problems you really think you can solve and over-reaching or dabbling in too many subject areas. Select an over-arching theme for your research statement and leave miscellaneous ideas or projects out. Everyone knows that you will work on more than what you mention in this statement.
To find sample research statements with content specific to your discipline, search on the internet for your discipline + “Research Statement.”
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Patricia farrugia.
* Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, the
† Division of Orthopaedic Surgery and the
‡ Departments of Surgery and
§ Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont
There is an increasing familiarity with the principles of evidence-based medicine in the surgical community. As surgeons become more aware of the hierarchy of evidence, grades of recommendations and the principles of critical appraisal, they develop an increasing familiarity with research design. Surgeons and clinicians are looking more and more to the literature and clinical trials to guide their practice; as such, it is becoming a responsibility of the clinical research community to attempt to answer questions that are not only well thought out but also clinically relevant. The development of the research question, including a supportive hypothesis and objectives, is a necessary key step in producing clinically relevant results to be used in evidence-based practice. A well-defined and specific research question is more likely to help guide us in making decisions about study design and population and subsequently what data will be collected and analyzed. 1
In this article, we discuss important considerations in the development of a research question and hypothesis and in defining objectives for research. By the end of this article, the reader will be able to appreciate the significance of constructing a good research question and developing hypotheses and research objectives for the successful design of a research study. The following article is divided into 3 sections: research question, research hypothesis and research objectives.
Interest in a particular topic usually begins the research process, but it is the familiarity with the subject that helps define an appropriate research question for a study. 1 Questions then arise out of a perceived knowledge deficit within a subject area or field of study. 2 Indeed, Haynes suggests that it is important to know “where the boundary between current knowledge and ignorance lies.” 1 The challenge in developing an appropriate research question is in determining which clinical uncertainties could or should be studied and also rationalizing the need for their investigation.
Increasing one’s knowledge about the subject of interest can be accomplished in many ways. Appropriate methods include systematically searching the literature, in-depth interviews and focus groups with patients (and proxies) and interviews with experts in the field. In addition, awareness of current trends and technological advances can assist with the development of research questions. 2 It is imperative to understand what has been studied about a topic to date in order to further the knowledge that has been previously gathered on a topic. Indeed, some granting institutions (e.g., Canadian Institute for Health Research) encourage applicants to conduct a systematic review of the available evidence if a recent review does not already exist and preferably a pilot or feasibility study before applying for a grant for a full trial.
In-depth knowledge about a subject may generate a number of questions. It then becomes necessary to ask whether these questions can be answered through one study or if more than one study needed. 1 Additional research questions can be developed, but several basic principles should be taken into consideration. 1 All questions, primary and secondary, should be developed at the beginning and planning stages of a study. Any additional questions should never compromise the primary question because it is the primary research question that forms the basis of the hypothesis and study objectives. It must be kept in mind that within the scope of one study, the presence of a number of research questions will affect and potentially increase the complexity of both the study design and subsequent statistical analyses, not to mention the actual feasibility of answering every question. 1 A sensible strategy is to establish a single primary research question around which to focus the study plan. 3 In a study, the primary research question should be clearly stated at the end of the introduction of the grant proposal, and it usually specifies the population to be studied, the intervention to be implemented and other circumstantial factors. 4
Hulley and colleagues 2 have suggested the use of the FINER criteria in the development of a good research question ( Box 1 ). The FINER criteria highlight useful points that may increase the chances of developing a successful research project. A good research question should specify the population of interest, be of interest to the scientific community and potentially to the public, have clinical relevance and further current knowledge in the field (and of course be compliant with the standards of ethical boards and national research standards).
Feasible | ||
Interesting | ||
Novel | ||
Ethical | ||
Relevant |
Adapted with permission from Wolters Kluwer Health. 2
Whereas the FINER criteria outline the important aspects of the question in general, a useful format to use in the development of a specific research question is the PICO format — consider the population (P) of interest, the intervention (I) being studied, the comparison (C) group (or to what is the intervention being compared) and the outcome of interest (O). 3 , 5 , 6 Often timing (T) is added to PICO ( Box 2 ) — that is, “Over what time frame will the study take place?” 1 The PICOT approach helps generate a question that aids in constructing the framework of the study and subsequently in protocol development by alluding to the inclusion and exclusion criteria and identifying the groups of patients to be included. Knowing the specific population of interest, intervention (and comparator) and outcome of interest may also help the researcher identify an appropriate outcome measurement tool. 7 The more defined the population of interest, and thus the more stringent the inclusion and exclusion criteria, the greater the effect on the interpretation and subsequent applicability and generalizability of the research findings. 1 , 2 A restricted study population (and exclusion criteria) may limit bias and increase the internal validity of the study; however, this approach will limit external validity of the study and, thus, the generalizability of the findings to the practical clinical setting. Conversely, a broadly defined study population and inclusion criteria may be representative of practical clinical practice but may increase bias and reduce the internal validity of the study.
Population (patients) | ||
Intervention (for intervention studies only) | ||
Comparison group | ||
Outcome of interest | ||
Time |
A poorly devised research question may affect the choice of study design, potentially lead to futile situations and, thus, hamper the chance of determining anything of clinical significance, which will then affect the potential for publication. Without devoting appropriate resources to developing the research question, the quality of the study and subsequent results may be compromised. During the initial stages of any research study, it is therefore imperative to formulate a research question that is both clinically relevant and answerable.
The primary research question should be driven by the hypothesis rather than the data. 1 , 2 That is, the research question and hypothesis should be developed before the start of the study. This sounds intuitive; however, if we take, for example, a database of information, it is potentially possible to perform multiple statistical comparisons of groups within the database to find a statistically significant association. This could then lead one to work backward from the data and develop the “question.” This is counterintuitive to the process because the question is asked specifically to then find the answer, thus collecting data along the way (i.e., in a prospective manner). Multiple statistical testing of associations from data previously collected could potentially lead to spuriously positive findings of association through chance alone. 2 Therefore, a good hypothesis must be based on a good research question at the start of a trial and, indeed, drive data collection for the study.
The research or clinical hypothesis is developed from the research question and then the main elements of the study — sampling strategy, intervention (if applicable), comparison and outcome variables — are summarized in a form that establishes the basis for testing, statistical and ultimately clinical significance. 3 For example, in a research study comparing computer-assisted acetabular component insertion versus freehand acetabular component placement in patients in need of total hip arthroplasty, the experimental group would be computer-assisted insertion and the control/conventional group would be free-hand placement. The investigative team would first state a research hypothesis. This could be expressed as a single outcome (e.g., computer-assisted acetabular component placement leads to improved functional outcome) or potentially as a complex/composite outcome; that is, more than one outcome (e.g., computer-assisted acetabular component placement leads to both improved radiographic cup placement and improved functional outcome).
However, when formally testing statistical significance, the hypothesis should be stated as a “null” hypothesis. 2 The purpose of hypothesis testing is to make an inference about the population of interest on the basis of a random sample taken from that population. The null hypothesis for the preceding research hypothesis then would be that there is no difference in mean functional outcome between the computer-assisted insertion and free-hand placement techniques. After forming the null hypothesis, the researchers would form an alternate hypothesis stating the nature of the difference, if it should appear. The alternate hypothesis would be that there is a difference in mean functional outcome between these techniques. At the end of the study, the null hypothesis is then tested statistically. If the findings of the study are not statistically significant (i.e., there is no difference in functional outcome between the groups in a statistical sense), we cannot reject the null hypothesis, whereas if the findings were significant, we can reject the null hypothesis and accept the alternate hypothesis (i.e., there is a difference in mean functional outcome between the study groups), errors in testing notwithstanding. In other words, hypothesis testing confirms or refutes the statement that the observed findings did not occur by chance alone but rather occurred because there was a true difference in outcomes between these surgical procedures. The concept of statistical hypothesis testing is complex, and the details are beyond the scope of this article.
Another important concept inherent in hypothesis testing is whether the hypotheses will be 1-sided or 2-sided. A 2-sided hypothesis states that there is a difference between the experimental group and the control group, but it does not specify in advance the expected direction of the difference. For example, we asked whether there is there an improvement in outcomes with computer-assisted surgery or whether the outcomes worse with computer-assisted surgery. We presented a 2-sided test in the above example because we did not specify the direction of the difference. A 1-sided hypothesis states a specific direction (e.g., there is an improvement in outcomes with computer-assisted surgery). A 2-sided hypothesis should be used unless there is a good justification for using a 1-sided hypothesis. As Bland and Atlman 8 stated, “One-sided hypothesis testing should never be used as a device to make a conventionally nonsignificant difference significant.”
The research hypothesis should be stated at the beginning of the study to guide the objectives for research. Whereas the investigators may state the hypothesis as being 1-sided (there is an improvement with treatment), the study and investigators must adhere to the concept of clinical equipoise. According to this principle, a clinical (or surgical) trial is ethical only if the expert community is uncertain about the relative therapeutic merits of the experimental and control groups being evaluated. 9 It means there must exist an honest and professional disagreement among expert clinicians about the preferred treatment. 9
Designing a research hypothesis is supported by a good research question and will influence the type of research design for the study. Acting on the principles of appropriate hypothesis development, the study can then confidently proceed to the development of the research objective.
The primary objective should be coupled with the hypothesis of the study. Study objectives define the specific aims of the study and should be clearly stated in the introduction of the research protocol. 7 From our previous example and using the investigative hypothesis that there is a difference in functional outcomes between computer-assisted acetabular component placement and free-hand placement, the primary objective can be stated as follows: this study will compare the functional outcomes of computer-assisted acetabular component insertion versus free-hand placement in patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty. Note that the study objective is an active statement about how the study is going to answer the specific research question. Objectives can (and often do) state exactly which outcome measures are going to be used within their statements. They are important because they not only help guide the development of the protocol and design of study but also play a role in sample size calculations and determining the power of the study. 7 These concepts will be discussed in other articles in this series.
From the surgeon’s point of view, it is important for the study objectives to be focused on outcomes that are important to patients and clinically relevant. For example, the most methodologically sound randomized controlled trial comparing 2 techniques of distal radial fixation would have little or no clinical impact if the primary objective was to determine the effect of treatment A as compared to treatment B on intraoperative fluoroscopy time. However, if the objective was to determine the effect of treatment A as compared to treatment B on patient functional outcome at 1 year, this would have a much more significant impact on clinical decision-making. Second, more meaningful surgeon–patient discussions could ensue, incorporating patient values and preferences with the results from this study. 6 , 7 It is the precise objective and what the investigator is trying to measure that is of clinical relevance in the practical setting.
The following is an example from the literature about the relation between the research question, hypothesis and study objectives:
Study: Warden SJ, Metcalf BR, Kiss ZS, et al. Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound for chronic patellar tendinopathy: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Rheumatology 2008;47:467–71.
Research question: How does low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) compare with a placebo device in managing the symptoms of skeletally mature patients with patellar tendinopathy?
Research hypothesis: Pain levels are reduced in patients who receive daily active-LIPUS (treatment) for 12 weeks compared with individuals who receive inactive-LIPUS (placebo).
Objective: To investigate the clinical efficacy of LIPUS in the management of patellar tendinopathy symptoms.
The development of the research question is the most important aspect of a research project. A research project can fail if the objectives and hypothesis are poorly focused and underdeveloped. Useful tips for surgical researchers are provided in Box 3 . Designing and developing an appropriate and relevant research question, hypothesis and objectives can be a difficult task. The critical appraisal of the research question used in a study is vital to the application of the findings to clinical practice. Focusing resources, time and dedication to these 3 very important tasks will help to guide a successful research project, influence interpretation of the results and affect future publication efforts.
FINER = feasible, interesting, novel, ethical, relevant; PICOT = population (patients), intervention (for intervention studies only), comparison group, outcome of interest, time.
Competing interests: No funding was received in preparation of this paper. Dr. Bhandari was funded, in part, by a Canada Research Chair, McMaster University.
Corresponding Author
Masha Remskar
Bath Centre for Mindfulness and Community, Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UK
Centre for Motivation and Health Behaviour Change, Department for Health, University of Bath, Bath, UK
Correspondence
Masha Remskar, Department for Health, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath BA2 7AY, UK.
Email: [email protected]
Contribution: Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Formal analysis, Data curation, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing, Funding acquisition
Max J. Western
Contribution: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing - review & editing, Supervision, Funding acquisition
Ben Ainsworth
School of Psychology, Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
Contribution: Conceptualization, Methodology, Supervision, Funding acquisition, Writing - review & editing
Mindfulness-based interventions can improve psychological health; yet the mechanisms of change are underexplored. This pre-registered remote RCT evaluated a freely accessible digital mindfulness programme aiming to improve well-being, mental health and sleep quality. Health behaviour cognitions were explored as possible mediators.
Participants from 91 countries ( N = 1247, M age = 27.03 [9.04]) were randomized to 30 days of mindfulness practice or attention-matched control condition. Measures of well-being, depression, anxiety, stress, sleep quality, barriers self-efficacy, self-regulation and behavioural predictors (e.g., attitudes and behavioural intentions) were taken at baseline, 1-month (post-intervention) and 2-months (follow-up). Linear regression examined intervention effects between and within groups. Longitudinal mediation analyses explored indirect effects through health behaviour cognitions.
Three hundred participants completed post-intervention measures. Those receiving mindfulness training reported significantly better well-being ( M difference = 2.34, 95%CIs .45–4.24, p = .016), lower depression ( M difference = −1.47, 95%CIs −2.38 to −.56, p = .002) and anxiety symptoms ( M difference = −.77, 95%CIs −1.51 to −.02, p = .045) than controls. Improvements in well-being and depression were maintained at follow-up. Intervention effects on primary outcomes were mediated by attitudes towards health maintenance and behavioural intentions. Mediating effects of attitudes remained when controlling for prior scores in models of depression and well-being.
Digital, self-administered mindfulness practice for 30 days meaningfully improved psychological health, at least partially due to improved attitudes towards health behaviours and stronger behavioural intentions. This trial found that digital mindfulness is a promising and scalable well-being tool for the general population, and highlighted its role in supporting health behaviours.
What is already known on this subject.
Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs), which facilitate structured practice of non-judgementally paying attention to the present moment (Shapero et al., 2018 ), have benefits to well-being and quality of life. They are commonly used to improve psychological symptoms and prevent relapse in clinical populations (Hofmann et al., 2010 ; McCartney et al., 2021 ), or advised as complementary treatment in managing long-term conditions (Bohlmeijer et al., 2010 ; Piet et al., 2012 ; Walker et al., 2010 ). MBIs can also act as preventative tools for improving psychological well-being, reducing stress and improving sleep quality in the general population (Chiesa & Serretti, 2009 ; Lomas et al., 2019 ; Rusch et al., 2018 ).
The increasing use of digital technology to support health care has enabled the translation of evidence-based MBI principles into more accessible, wide-reaching and inclusive digital tools. Empirical evidence suggests that digital MBIs can deliver benefits to attention regulation and psychological health comparable to interventions delivered in-person, such as 8-week mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) programmes (Mrazek et al., 2019 ). Digital MBIs have been found to reduce stress with a moderate effect size in a meta-analysis by Jayawardene et al. ( 2017 ), alleviate symptoms of depression and anxiety with similar potency (Boettcher et al., 2014 ; Querstret et al., 2018 ) and improve sleep—itself strongly associated with mental health outcomes (Jiang et al., 2021 ; Scott et al., 2021 ). The availability of digital mindfulness is increasing too: A recent review identified over 600 commercial app-based MBIs in European mobile app stores (Schultchen et al., 2021 ), some of which explicitly referenced standardized mindfulness and behaviour change techniques. While this increased reach is welcome and necessary in modern public health strategies (World Health Organization, 2021 ), care must be taken to ensure that benefits are not limited to individuals with increased resources (e.g., financial, health literacy and time) and ensure that benefits are accessible to those most in need of psychological support (Hunt & Eisenberg, 2010 ; Williams et al., 2016 ).
Understanding specific mechanisms through which MBIs support psychological health not only advances theoretical understanding, but guides the development and optimization of future interventions to make them maximally engaging and effective. Putative therapeutic mechanisms include supporting health-related behaviours, such as regular physical activity, a healthy diet and good sleep hygiene. Evidence shows that people with high dispositional mindfulness are more aware of the importance of positive health behaviours (Dutton, 2008 ), compared to those less mindful, and a meta-analysis of over 30,000 participants found those higher in trait mindfulness reported engaging in more health behaviours than their less mindful counterparts (Sala et al., 2020 ). In turn, evidence shows that both engagement in health behaviours and being more dispositionally mindful are associated with better psychological health (e.g., Singh et al.'s, 2023 ) meta-review evidencing the positive effects of physical activity on mental health; Tomlinson et al., 2018 , respectively. In two recent RCTs in primary care populations, individuals who received in-person mindfulness training demonstrated improved engagement in health-related behaviours (Gawande et al., 2019 ; Nymberg et al., 2021 ; see Remskar et al., 2023 , for a review). These effects are yet to be explored in digital MBIs.
Mindfulness training may support health behaviours by affecting key psychological processes and cognitions required for engagement. Self-efficacy, one's perceived capacity to engage in a behaviour or reach a goal (Bandura, 1986 ), and self-regulation (i.e., ‘the ability to adaptively regulate one's attention, emotions, cognition, and behaviour’; Schuman-Olivier et al., 2020 , p. 372), both predict behaviour (change) according to established theoretical models (e.g., Ajzen's, 1991 ; Theory of Planned Behaviour; Michie et al., 2011 ; Ryan & Deci, 2000 ). Cross-sectional evidence finds that higher trait mindfulness is associated with greater self-efficacy (Neace et al., 2022 ), better coping with obstacles or pain (Liu et al., 2013 ; Luberto et al., 2014 ) and more skilful self-regulation (Kadziolka et al., 2016 ). Hence, mindfulness training through MBIs may develop self-regulatory abilities, including non-judgement, acting with awareness (Black et al., 2012 ), emotion recognition and behavioural regulation (Luberto et al., 2014 ), positive reappraisal (Hanley & Garland, 2014 ) and intrinsic motivation (Ruffault et al., 2016 ). Developing self-regulatory skills and cognitions in this way facilitates the recognition of existing thought patterns and can prompt adaptive reappraisal of own states and attributions for them (e.g., beliefs about controllability of illness; Leventhal et al., 2002 ). This crucially shapes what behaviours are performed in response, and the health-related outcomes that follow (see Hagger & Orbell, 2022 , for an extended theoretical framework).
This research aimed to use a randomized controlled trial design to build on cross-sectional evidence between mindfulness, psychological health and health behaviour cognitions. It examined how digital mindfulness training affects psychological well-being, depression, anxiety, stress and sleep quality, and whether these changes are mediated by changes in health behaviour-related self-efficacy, self-regulation and behavioural predictors from the Theory of Planned Behaviour. Figure 1 presents the theoretical process model the study proposes to test.
Investigate the effects of self-administered, freely available digital mindfulness training through the Medito platform for 30 days on psychological health (i.e., well-being, symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress and perceived sleep quality).
We hypothesized that participants randomized to the intervention condition will report greater improvements in all psychological health outcomes relative to control condition.
Examine the effects of this training on health behaviour-related self-efficacy, self-regulation and predictor components from the Theory of Planned Behaviour (i.e., attitudes, social norms, perceived behavioural control and behavioural intentions).
We hypothesized that participants randomized to the intervention condition will report greater improvement in all health behaviour cognitions relative to control condition.
Explore whether any changes in psychological health (from aim 1) are mediated by changes in health behaviour cognitions (from aim 2).
These analyses were exploratory but based on theoretical frameworks, we hypothesized that any cognition with significant changes during the intervention period (T1–T2) will at least partially mediate the effects of intervention condition on psychological health outcomes at T3.
This was a prospective randomized controlled trial (RCT) with a 2 (Condition; mindfulness or active control; between-subjects) × 3 (Time; within-subjects; T1, T2, T3) mixed factorial design. This study was pre-registered with the Open Science Framework ( https://osf.io/8gncp/ ) and approved by the University of Bath Psychology Research Ethics Committee (PREC #22–015).
Adults aged 18 years or above who had not previously used digital mindfulness platform Medito (Medito Foundation, 2022 ) were eligible to participate. We aimed for a minimum required sample size of 274 participants to detect differences between conditions at post-intervention (Time 2) at 80% power, .05 significance level and expected effect size f = .17 (based on prior mindfulness intervention research; Ainsworth et al., 2022 ). Given the entirely remote format of the RCT we expected low retention (~30%; Torous et al., 2020 ), so our recruitment target was 1000 participants at baseline.
Recruitment was open between April and June 2022. Participants were recruited from adverts placed via social media and during the sign-up process of the Medito app. Users completed an eligibility questionnaire, informed consent form, demographics and baseline (Time 1) measures before automatic randomization (1:1) via online survey software (Qualtrics, 2022 ). Participant app usage was linked with survey responses through anonymized codes. Weekly reminder emails (Mailchimp, 2022 ) aimed to support engagement in both conditions during the active phase of the study (on days 8, 15, 22 and 29) as well as intervention instructions and personalized survey links at post-intervention (Day 31; T2) and follow-up (Day 61; T3). Participants who completed all three survey time points were eligible for a prize draw for 100 USD. The whole workflow (including random sequence generation, allocation to condition and sending personalized links to T2 and T3 surveys) was automated and required no researcher involvement, which preserved allocation concealment and protected against researcher-induced risk of bias.
A total of 1268 eligible participants provided informed consent and were randomized after completing baseline questionnaires. Fifteen participants (1.1%; 2 intervention, 13 control) withdrew during the course of the study (Figure 2 ). In the baseline sample of 1253, six responses had invalid data, leaving the final N = 1247 (618 intervention, 629 control). A further 86 (6.9%; 46 intervention, 40 control) did not formally withdraw but unsubscribed from automated emails, so could not access personalized T2 and T3 survey links. A subset of 300 participants provided data at our primary end point post-intervention, exceeding our power calculation (24.1% retention rate at T2; 155 intervention, 145 control) and 202 responded to follow-up measures (16.2% retention rate at T3; 99 intervention, 103 control). A full CONSORT flow diagram is presented in Figure 2 .
Mindfulness condition.
The mindfulness intervention consisted of individual mindfulness meditation practice guided by audio files accessed in the Medito mobile application, which is a free commercially available app for iOS and Android devices ( https://meditofoundation.org/ ). After randomization, participants were asked to practice 10 min daily for 30 consecutive days and complete Medito's ‘30-Day Challenge’, a 30-session course aimed at people with little or no prior mindfulness skills. Each 10-min session consisted of initial relaxation, intention-setting, a body scan, focused attention using breath as an anchor (majority of the session) and brief reflection on own practice to conclude. Data S1 describe the platform in more detail, including the template for intervention description and replication (TIDieR; Hoffmann et al., 2014 ).
The control intervention consisted of daily audiobook excerpts from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll ( 1893 , 1909 ). Participants were instructed to ‘listen to daily 10-minute audio sessions’, which they accessed through a section the Medito app specifically added for this trial. It included the two audiobook recordings in the public domain ( https://librivox.org/alices-adventures-in-wonderland-by-lewis-carroll/ and https://librivox.org/through-the-looking-glass-by-lewis-carroll/ ) cut into 10-min consecutive sections. Audiobook recordings have been previously used and validated as an attention-matched control condition to guided relaxation interventions (Polaski et al., 2021 ; Zeidan et al., 2015 ). In our trial, the control condition was designed to match the process of accessing daily sessions, time spent listening and the act of following along an audio recording for 10 min per day—without providing the hypothesized active ingredient of mindfulness training.
Primary outcomes: psychological health and sleep quality.
Psychological well-being was measured with the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (WEMWBS; Tennant et al., 2007 ), a 14-item questionnaire with a higher total implying better psychological well-being (range 0–70, all α > .89).
Symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress were measured with the Depression, Anxiety and Stress short-form questionnaire (DASS-21; Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995 ); rating its 21 statements gives subscale scores of 0–21 for depression, anxiety and stress, where higher scores indicate more severe symptoms (all α > .91).
Sleep quality was measured with a single item (‘How would you rate the quality of your sleep over the past week?’). Participants responded on a slider scale from 0 (‘Worst possible sleep’) to 10 (‘Best possible sleep’).
Participants were instructed to spend a minute reflecting on the behaviours they engage in to keep themselves physical and mentally healthy and asked to keep those behaviours in mind during the following three questionnaires.
Motivation for engaging in health behaviours was measured with the Treatment Self-Regulation Questionnaire (TSRQ; Pelletier et al., 1997 ; all α > .81), a 16-item instrument on which nine controlled subscale items and seven autonomous subscale items give average controlled and autonomous self-regulation scores, 0–7 each. To measure a balance of the two types of regulation (i.e., the Relative Autonomy Index or RAI), the average controlled score is subtracted from average autonomous score.
Health behaviour self-efficacy was measured with the Barriers Self-Efficacy Scale (BARSE; McAuley & Courneya, 1992 ; all α > .84). It lists 13 commonly reported obstacles to health behaviour and higher average scores indicate greater self-efficacy (range: 0–7).
Behavioural predictors from the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB; Ajzen, 1991 ) were measured with a 12-item TPB questionnaire (TPBQ; Fishbein & Ajzen, 2010 ; all α > .76) on attitudes, social norms, perceived behavioural control and behavioural intentions for looking after one's health (three items each on a scale 0–7). Higher average scores indicate more positive attitudes, greater perceived social expectations, behavioural control or behavioural intentions.
All analyses were performed in SPSS v27 (IBM Corp, 2020 ) according to the pre-registered analysis plan ( https://osf.io/8gncp/ ) and followed modified intention-to-treat (ITT) principles, where participants were included in the analysis irrespective of their levels of adherence and engagement to their allocated intervention (McCoy, 2017 ).
Between-group differences in primary and secondary outcomes at T2 and T3 were assessed with univariate analyses of covariance (ANCOVAs) controlling for baseline scores, following best practice guidelines for this research design (see Twisk et al., 2018 for a discussion on analysing longitudinal RCT designs). Linear mixed models were conducted as a sensitivity analysis (data not shown—see Data S1 for model parameters, results and side-by-side comparison of findings). Since data in the full dataset were not missing completely at random (Little's MCAR test p = .001), data were not imputed for these analyses.
Longitudinal mediation models were run using the PROCESS macro for SPSS (Hayes, 2022 ), using a subset of data with T2 responders-only ( N = 300). In this dataset, missing data displayed no discernible pattern (Little's MCAR test p = .166), so we imputed missing data using the expectation-maximization algorithm. We entered condition as the categorical predictor, post-intervention scores for health behaviour cognitions as mediators and follow-up psychological health scores as outcomes, with separate models for each combination of mediator and outcome meeting mediation model criteria (Fritz & MacKinnon, 2007 ). Repeated analyses controlled for baseline (and post-intervention) mediator and outcome scores, respectively, in so-called ‘lagged’ models. Bootstrapping with 5000 samples was used to verify 95% CIs, where indirect effect CIs not containing zero were considered significant.
Baseline demographic information and variable scores are presented in Table 1 . Participants came from 91 different countries across all continents, with a majority having no (27%) or limited (36%) meditation experience and only 3% reporting abundant experience. Average baseline psychological well-being and sleep quality were moderate, and symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress were all in the normal-to-mild range (Lovibond & Lovibond, 1993 ).
Measures | Intervention ( = 618) | Control ( = 629) |
---|---|---|
Age, (SD) | 27.3 (10.5) | 26.8 (9.2) |
Gender (%) | Female (34%) | Female (37%) |
Male (64%) | Male (59%) | |
Other (2%) | Other (3%) | |
Ethnicity (%) | Asian (42%) | Asian (40%) |
Black (3%) | Black (4%) | |
White (39%) | White (41%) | |
Mixed (6%) | Mixed (6%) | |
Other (10%) | Other (9%) | |
Meditation experience (%) | None (28%) | None (27%) |
Limited (34%) | Limited (38%) | |
Some (20%) | Some (20%) | |
Moderate (15%) | Moderate (12%) | |
Abundant (3%) | Abundant (3%) | |
WEMWBS | 40.56 (8.73) | 39.98 (8.74) |
DASS-21 | ||
Depression | 8.90 (4.98) | 9.24 (5.16) |
Anxiety | 6.71 (4.43) | 6.73 (4.43) |
Stress | 9.60 (4.37) | 9.97 (4.37) |
Sleep quality | 5.70 (1.90) | 5.63 (1.93) |
TSRQ | ||
Autonomous SR | 5.31 (1.38) | 5.27 (1.38) |
Controlled SR | 3.13 (1.33) | 3.22 (1.37) |
RAI of SR | 2.16 (1.73) | 2.03 (1.72) |
BARSE | 3.40 (1.35) | 3.52 (1.37) |
TPBQ | ||
Attitudes | 5.60 (1.43) | 5.62 (1.39) |
Social norms | 3.68 (1.71) | 3.91 (1.79) |
PBC | 5.25 (1.53) | 5.22 (1.45) |
Behavioural intentions | 5.75 (1.42) | 5.72 (1.39) |
Responders to T2 surveys, whose data we used in the mediation analyses, had similar demographic profile and baseline scores. In comparison to drop-outs (i.e., participants who only provided data at T1), participants who also responded at T2 were more likely to be older [ M age = 28.6 vs. 26.5 years; t (414.88) = −2.81, p = .005] and have more meditation experience ( M exp = 2.60 vs. 2.19 on a 1–4 scale; t (461.03) = −5.41, p < .001). Allocation to condition, other demographic characteristics and baseline scores did not differ significantly between dropouts and T2 responders (all t < 1.78, p > .05).
Primary outcome scores for all time points are reported in Table 2 , along with between-group comparisons of estimated marginal means (i.e., T2 or T3 values corrected for baseline scores).
Primary outcomes | Intervention ( , SD) | Control ( , SD) | Intervention versus control comparison ( , 95% CI) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Baseline ( = 618) | Post-intervention ( = 155) | Follow-up ( = 80) | Baseline ( = 629) | Post-intervention ( = 145) | Follow-up ( = 83) | Post-intervention (T2) | Follow-up (T3) | |
Well-being (WEMWBS) | 40.56 (8.73) | 50.43 (9.33) | 51.61 (9.06) | 39.98 (8.74) | 46.95 (9.54) | 47.88 (10.91) | 2.34 (.45, 4.24) | 3.06 (.25, 5.87) |
Depression (DASS-21) | 8.90 (498) | 4.49 (4.53) | 3.76 (3.91) | 9.24 (5.16) | 6.43 (5.04) | 6.04 (5.42) | −1.47 (−2.38, −.56) | −1.86 (−3.17, −.54) |
Anxiety (DASS-21) | 6.71 (4.43) | 4.28 (3.83) | 3.54 (3.31) | 6.74 (4.43) | 5.15 (4.15) | 3.95 (3.94) | −.77 (−1.51, −.02) | −.56 (−1.45, .34) |
Stress (DASS-21) | 9.60 (4.37) | 6.44 (4.18) | 5.76 (3.68) | 9.97 (4.37) | 7.13 (4.34) | 6.52 (4.24) | −.57 (−1.47, .32) | −.88 (−2.04, .28) |
Sleep quality (VAS) | 5.70 (1.90) | 7.16 (1.80) | 7.49 (1.64) | 5.63 (1.93) | 6.88 (1.74) | 6.76 (2.10) | .19 (−.19, .58) | .68 (.17, 1.19) |
Secondary outcomes | Baseline | Post-intervention | Follow-up | Baseline | Post-intervention | Follow-up | Post-intervention (T2) | Follow-up (T3) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Autonomous SR (TSRQ) | 5.31 (1.38) | 5.75 (1.21) | 5.85 (1.15) | 5.27 (1.38) | 5.52 (1.32) | 5.46 (1.43) | .15 (−.09, .39) | .33 (.02, .64) |
Controlled SR (TSRQ) | 3.13 (1.33) | 2.83 (1.50) | 3.02 (1.51) | 3.22 (1.37) | 3.22 (1.57) | 3.23 (1.54) | −.17 (−.47, .14) | −.03 (−.41, .35) |
SR index (TSRQ RAI) | 2.16 (1.73) | 2.94 (1.86) | 2.83 (1.62) | 2.03 (1.72) | 2.29 (1.99) | 2.24 (1.99) | .27 (−.10, .63) | .42 (−.08, .91) |
Self-efficacy (BARSE) | 3.40 (1.35) | 3.86 (1.51) | 3.89 (1.29) | 3.52 (1.37) | 3.80 (1.29) | 3.64 (1.39) | .15 (−.19, .48) | .28 (−.13, .69) |
Attitudes (TPBQ) | 5.60 (1.43) | 6.06 (1.30) | 6.11 (1.20) | 5.62 (1.39) | 5.68 (1.36) | 5.77 (1.40) | .33 (.08, .57) | .37 (.04, .71) |
Social norms (TPBQ) | 3.68 (1.71) | 3.28 (1.86) | 3.36 (1.79) | 3.91 (1.79) | 3.97 (1.59) | 3.73 (1.83) | −.59 (−.95, −.22) | −.37 (−.83, .10) |
PBC (TPBQ) | 5.25 (1.53) | 5.92 (1.13) | 5.82 (1.37) | 5.22 (1.45) | 5.58 (1.26) | 5.49 (1.49) | .21 (.01, .42) | .26 (−.10, .61) |
Behavioural intention (TPBQ) | 5.75 (1.42) | 6.14 (1.09) | 6.08 (1.35) | 5.72 (1.41) | 5.74 (1.40) | 5.72 (1.39) | .26 (.03, .50) | .21 (−.12, .54) |
At post-intervention, between-group comparisons correcting for baseline scores showed that intervention group had significantly better psychological well-being ( M difference = 2.34, 95% CIs [.45, 4.24], p = .016), lower symptoms of depression ( M difference = −1.47, 95% CIs [−2.38, −.56], p = .002) and anxiety ( M difference = −.77, 95% CIs [−1.51, −.02], p = .045), relative to control. Stress and sleep quality scores did not differ between conditions.
At follow-up, the intervention group maintained better psychological well-being ( M difference = 3.06, 95% CIs [.25, 5.87], p = .033) and lower depression symptoms ( M difference = −1.86, 95% CIs [−3.17, −.54], p = .006), as well as reported better quality of sleep (M difference = .68, 95% CIs [.17, 1.19], p = .010), compared to control. Anxiety and stress levels did not differ between conditions.
At post-intervention, the intervention group had significantly more positive attitudes towards health maintenance ( M difference = .33, 95% CIs [.08, .57], p = .010), greater perceived behavioural control ( M difference = .21, 95% CIs [.01, .42], p = .045) and firmer behavioural intentions to look after their health ( M difference = .26, 95% CIs [.03, .50], p = .029). Social norms were also different between groups, with intervention condition reporting lesser perceived social expectations to maintain health, relative to control ( M difference = −.59, 95% CIs [−.95, −.22], p = .002). Conditions had comparable levels of autonomous SR, controlled SR, RAI and barrier self-efficacy.
At follow-up, intervention participants reported more autonomous SR ( M difference = .33, 95% CIs [.02, .64], p = .038), and maintained more positive attitudes towards health maintenance ( M difference = .37, 95% CIs [.04, .71], p = .027). Differences in behavioural intentions to look after one's health were no longer statistically significant ( M difference = .21, 95% CIs [−.12, .54], p = .219), and there were also no differences in controlled SR, RAI, barriers self-efficacy, social norms or perceived behavioural control.
Sensitivity analyses for effects of intervention on both primary and secondary outcomes detected largely congruent trends—namely, improvements in psychological health and signals of change in cognitions for the intervention condition over control (data not shown—see Data S1 for model parameters, results and side-by-side comparison of findings).
We conducted mediation analyses for all combinations of significant mediators at T2 (attitudes, social norms, PBC and behavioural intentions) and significant outcomes at T3 (well-being, depression and sleep quality). Given the exploratory nature of these analyses, we describe the findings to generate future hypotheses and not as conclusive findings.
Attitudes towards health behaviours and behavioural intentions to engage in them partially mediated the effect of condition (intervention vs. control) on all significant primary outcomes in simple models. Mediation was not detected through social norms nor perceived behavioural control. The mediating effect of attitudes was maintained when previous scores (‘lags’) were added into the models, whereas behavioural intentions did not maintain mediating indirect effects on in lagged models. All mediation models and additional details, including standard errors and exact p -values, are given in Data S1 .
This pragmatic randomized controlled trial found that the digital, widely accessible mindfulness intervention Medito resulted in substantial improvements in psychological well-being, depression, anxiety and, over the longer term, sleep quality. Effects on well-being and depression were maintained at 2-month follow-up. We further observed an increase in theory-based health behaviour cognitions—namely more positive attitudes, greater perceived behavioural control and stronger behavioural intentions to look after one's health, relative to active control. At follow-up, the intervention condition also reported greater autonomous self-regulation. Crucially, these cognitions mediated the effects on well-being and mental health: attitudes and behavioural intentions at post-intervention partially mediated the effects in simple mediation models, and for attitudes, the mediating effects were maintained even after controlling for prior scores of mediators and outcomes. Our findings indicate that potential benefits of mindfulness meditation for psychological health (i) can be achieved through accessible digital tools, and (ii) may be driven by improved attitudes towards own health and behavioural intentions to maintain it.
The findings largely align with theories of mindfulness in behaviour change, which posit that the principles and practice of mindfulness facilitate behaviour change through improved self-regulation (i.e., umbrella term for a collection of processes comprising emotional and cognitive appraisal, attentional control and self-related cognitions; Schuman-Olivier et al., 2020 ). Indeed, this work detected more autonomous self-regulation—in the narrower sense of internal versus external motivation—in the mindfulness group at follow-up, although we did not test this in our mediation models. This finding may be the first signal of a gradual shift in motivation to look after one's health, which is a key component of successful behaviour change interventions in the health domain (see Ntoumanis et al., 2020 , for a review). Future longitudinal work is needed to confirm whether MBIs indeed produce favourable shifts in motivation, or whether our finding was a type I error. These conclusions also concur with more general models of self-regulation in illness and threat perception (Hagger & Orbell, 2022 ), which further explain the pathway from causal attributions and cognitive appraisal to behavioural responses. Moreover, our results add initial causal evidence to existing cross-sectional data showing that people with higher levels of mindfulness engage in more health-promoting behaviours (Sala et al., 2020 )—at least via proxy measure of theoretical predictors—and report better health outcomes (Tomlinson et al., 2018 ).
Our data suggest that levels of barriers self-efficacy for looking after one's health were not changed by the intervention. While self-efficacy mediates behaviour change theoretically (Bandura, 1986 ) and in some empirical work (Prestwich et al., 2014 ; Schwarzer & Renner, 2000 ), its effects are often modest and overridden by practical constraints to enacting behaviour (e.g., access to facilities; Griffiths et al., 2007 ). Given that the scale used in this research focused in part on those practical barriers (e.g., ‘I believe that I could look after my health if my schedule conflicted with it’), which the mindfulness training intervention was unlikely to change, the results are understandable.
Having identified (some of) the mechanisms through which mindfulness training may improve psychological well-being and health, these constructs can be better targeted in future health behaviour change interventions or measured as mechanisms of action in future trials. Practical ways of implementation include optimization of mindfulness content so it deliberately targets the mechanisms, or raising users' awareness of them, which could provide additional motivation for engagement or appeal to groups beyond those currently engaging with MBIs. The current trial only focused on general health behaviour-related constructs (e.g., health behaviour self-regulation), whereas it is likely that behaviour-specific constructs can also be supported through this mechanism (Gawande et al., 2019 ; Ruffault et al., 2016 ). For example, mindfulness interventions aiming to support physical activity behaviour could target (and measure) physical activity-related self-regulation to untangle the mechanisms of mindfulness further. Notably, we did not measure health behaviour engagement. Instead, we focused on health behaviour cognitions that precede them. The intention-behaviour gap is well documented in health behaviour literature (Feil et al., 2023 ) and suggests that the mediating relationships may not be the same if behaviour itself were measured. Our work serves as a stepping stone towards research utilizing objective measures of specific health behaviours (e.g., number of daily steps).
This remote RCT evaluation of a ‘real-world’, commercially available intervention provides insight into the uptake and use patterns of digital health tools across a global population. Access to objective app use data revealed that participants' engagement levels and fidelity varied a lot (data not shown—see Data S1 ). This concurs with digital health behaviour change theories, which emphasize flexible design and usage patterns suited to individuals as most effective in the long term (Ainsworth et al., 2017 ). It also underscores the need for facilitating engagement with interventions aiming to provide well-being support. Emphasizing effective use would maximize the impact of tools designed for wide reach and accessibility, while maintaining effectiveness (Groot et al., 2022 ).
Our choice of an active control group increases confidence in the source of identified benefits to well-being and attitudes (i.e., mindfulness meditation training) and may even have masked some intervention effects. Trials with passive control groups tend to report more favourable findings towards intervention conditions, often due to placebo effects of participating in a trial (LaFave et al., 2019 ). Our control participants likely expected to practice and benefit from mindfulness meditation due to the nature of recruitment and accessing control content via the same mindfulness app as intervention condition, which could have induced some of the benefits they reported across time. Still, attention-matched controls are the gold standard in behavioural interventions (Aycock et al., 2018 ), with added complexity in the field of relaxation techniques (Ainsworth et al., 2019 ). Identifying appropriate active control interventions in MBI research is particularly challenging because of varied putative mechanisms of action (and corresponding control conditions; MacCoon et al., 2012 ). Our choice of audiobook excerpts aimed to control for time, attention and format of the intervention, as has been done previously (e.g., Polaski et al., 2021 ). Nevertheless, the specific audiobook we chose may have led to different participant experiences based on cultural relevance or interest, given our geographically diverse sample. Future research should explore cultural differences in response to active control conditions for MBIs and the precise mechanisms for which they control.
We observed a high attrition rate, which is reflective of real-world engagement on an as-needed basis (Huberty et al., 2019 ). It is also comparable to other entirely remote digital trials (Torous et al., 2020 ), and particularly characteristic of longitudinal programme-evaluation studies, where each participant is not guaranteed compensation by contributing (Cohen & Schleider, 2022 ). Low retention can introduce an unknown amount of bias into our data, such as ‘survivor bias’, where participants observing change are motivated to stay engaged, whereas those not benefitting are lost to follow-up (e.g., Hughes et al., 2022 ). In such datasets, results likely represent maximal rather than average effects, and should not be overstated (Fish et al., 2016 ). We attempted to guard against effects of attrition by sending weekly reminder emails to participants and pre-registering modified ITT analyses comparing scores at each time point separately via ANCOVAs, which avoided within-group comparisons of incomparable datasets across time. We were reassured to see that, while attrition between baseline and post-intervention was non-random, it was not dependent on condition allocation or baseline symptoms. Sensitivity analyses delivering comparable results of improved psychological health and initial changes in health behaviour cognitions provide further reassurance for our results despite incomplete data. Future digital trials could target retention even more explicitly, by exploring alternative remuneration options (Abshire et al., 2017 ), and using person-based co-participatory approaches (Yardley et al., 2015 ) that aim to optimize engagement in digital interventions. Despite attrition, the remote nature of our trial procedures proved efficient, facilitating recruitment of a large international sample in a relatively short time span of 2 months. This efficient method is likely to be cost-effective and environmentally conscious, while limiting the possibility for researcher bias or protocol deviation—a notable benefit in the sphere of behavioural interventions, where participant and researcher blinding is challenging (Ainsworth et al., 2019 ; Juul et al., 2020 ).
Our sample was more diverse (59.8% non-white) and had more male representation (61.7% male) than is the norm in mindfulness literature, where samples are predominantly white and female (Waldron et al., 2018 ). This was possibly due to recruitment via platforms with a larger male user base (such as YouTube; Statista, 2023 ) in addition to traditional digital recruitment. Our findings can inform future attempts to recruit, engage and support male and non-white participants in mental health research (NIHR, 2022 ). We did not collect data on socioeconomic indicators; however, our sample was likely still well educated and affluent. Finding ways to gather more representation of non-WEIRD (Western, educated, individualist, rich, democratic; Henrich et al., 2010 ) populations is an avenue for future work. In addition, we studied a self-administered digital intervention, which could have precluded participation of groups with lower health literacy or those with no internet access (Proulx et al., 2018 ; Rad et al., 2018 ). This format may also have not been sufficiently intensive or engaging for some users (Fish et al., 2016 ), as suggested by our high attrition. The sample was self-selected, had low levels of mental health symptoms at baseline and most participants downloaded the mobile application before entering the trial. This indicates that, while participants mostly had little experience with mindfulness meditation, they had an interest in it. Pre-existing interest may have strengthened the intervention effects and made them more likely to engage with the content—a possibility further reinforced by higher dropout rates among participants with less mindfulness experience. Yet, this recruitment and dropout pattern reflects the processes that occur in the real world when using scalable interventions in the general population, where mental health symptoms are generally below a clinical threshold (Sinclair et al., 2012 ). Any observed benefits to this type of sample may not replicate in clinical populations, although other work suggests that MBIs are a valuable approach for a range of clinical conditions (Jovanovic & Garfin, 2024 ; Sverre et al., 2023 ). Overall, studying broadly relevant and scalable digital tools is crucial to public health improvement strategies in increasingly digitalized prevention and treatment provision (HM Government, 2021 ; World Health Organization, 2021 ). Cost-effective digital platforms promote equitable access to health information and support, helping to narrow the digital health divide (Makri, 2019 ; Western, 2022 ; Western et al., 2021 ).
Finally, our study of a self-delivered MBI adds to the substantial literature base on the effectiveness of mindfulness-based approaches for improvements in mental health (Hofmann et al., 2010 ). While valuable, research suggests that MBIs and other third-wave therapies are not universally appropriate (e.g., MBIs have been associated with transient anxiety; Aizik-Reebs et al., 2021 ) nor effective (as was found recently in a large-scale trial of UK adolescents; Montero-Marin et al., 2022 ). Therefore, interventions such as the one tested here should be seen as one of the possible tools available to the general population at scale, rather than a universal approach recommended without consideration of the needs of each individual group.
The present pragmatic RCT of an accessible digital mindfulness-based intervention observed improvements in psychological well-being and mental health in a large, diverse, international sample. These changes may be mediated by health cognitions that precede engagement in health behaviour, including attitudes, behavioural intentions and gradual shifts in self-regulation. This work advances current understanding of mechanisms of action in mindfulness-based interventions, enabling future work to target more specific health behaviours and measure effects on tangible behaviours.
Masha Remskar: Conceptualization; methodology; software; formal analysis; data curation; writing – original draft; writing – review and editing; funding acquisition. Max J. Western: Conceptualization; methodology; writing – review and editing; supervision; funding acquisition. Ben Ainsworth: Conceptualization; methodology; supervision; funding acquisition; writing – review and editing.
The authors thank the Medito Foundation team for providing access to their platform, Dr Olivia Maynard and Prof Paul Chadwick for supervision and Dr Emma Cliffe and Miss Emma Osborne for analysis advice.
This work was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council (grant number 2381338). For the purpose of open access, the author has applied a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) licence to any author-accepted manuscript version arising.
MR served as (non-compensated) Medito Foundation's Research Officer at the time of the trial and is a (non-compensated) member of Medito Foundation's Scientific Advisory Board. BA is a (non-compensated) member of Medito Foundation's Scientific Advisory Board. Medito Foundation had no input into design, access to data beyond anonymous app metrics, analysis or interpretation of, nor the decision to submit for publication, although were asked to provide information for the manuscript. MJW has no conflicts of interest.
University of Bath's Psychology Research Ethics Committee approved this study (#22–015). The authors assert that all procedures contributing to this work comply with the ethical standards of the relevant national and institutional committees on human experimentation and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2008.
Data availability statement.
The data that support the findings of this study are openly available in the Open Science Framework at https://osf.io/8gncp/?view_only=d673391cb4134c76a8bbe3ad821f01d1 .
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Senior Lecturer in Economics, North-West University
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Competition is a good thing. This is the common thread through global competition law, which aims to prevent monopolies – when one firm dominates a sector.
For instance, if the two most prominent companies in an industry want to merge, a country’s competition authority would likely block the merger. This would be on the grounds that the new entity would reduce competition. Such dominance wouldn’t be good for consumers, as competition usually drives down prices and is good for product quality.
South Africa’s competition law follows the same principles. But it has another unique set of conditions too. South African law says that public interest should also be considered in company mergers or acquisitions. Mergers must consider the impact on employment, small and medium businesses, and ownership by historically disadvantaged persons (those who were discriminated against before 1994).
South Africa is not the only country whose competition policy includes public interest conditions. But it’s the only one which specifically includes this in the aims of the law: the Competition Act of 1998 . The public interest conditions have been part of merger reviews for the last two decades.
They are a way of dealing with South Africa’s socio-economic challenges: high levels of poverty , unemployment and inequality .
But the implementation of public interest objectives has had its critics. Business leaders and politicians, among others, have voiced concerns that the use of these conditions in merger transactions will deter investment in South Africa.
In one of the first published studies on the topic in South Africa, we analysed the application of public interest conditions in merger decisions since 2010.
Our research investigated the frequency of the competition authorities – the Competition Commission and the Competition Tribunal – applying these conditions in 221 merger cases between 2010 and 2019. This aspect of South Africa’s competition law framework has not been well researched. So our study, which used descriptive statistics and regression analysis , contributes to the understanding of the use of non-competition goals in adjudicating mergers and acquisitions.
Our results indicate that the competition authorities focused on employment, supplier development fund programmes and black economic empowerment conditions when considering merger cases.
We also found that public interest conditions were indeed used more often and more extensively as time went by. Statistical evidence confirms a potential change in the practical application of public interest conditions in merger decisions since 2015.
In most merger cases approved by the competition authority, the newly formed entity was not allowed to lay off any employees for a certain period after the merger. This condition was probably imposed because of South Africa’s high unemployment rate – currently 32.9% – and low economic growth .
More recently, further conditions were also used more often. One was to promote ownership by previously disadvantaged persons. This led to the merged entity providing employees with shares in the company through an employee share ownership programme .
We found that black economic empowerment, employment and supplier development fund conditions were imposed more often in cases where the value of the acquiring firm’s assets was high. This is probably because these companies have the financial capacity to help ease unemployment and assist smaller businesses.
In mining sector mergers, the probability of public interest conditions being imposed was high. The reason for this could be the large number of South African workers – 477,000 – employed by the mining sector.
If the merger increased the profits of the target firm, the probability of conditions being imposed also rose. This was true for conditions such as employment, supplier development fund programmes, black economic empowerment and conditions specific to the industrial sector or regional economy.
Authorities assess the impact of the proposed merger on the whole sector’s value chain and on the geographic region and location of the entity.
If, for instance, one party to a merger is the main employer or provider of a specific product or service in a specific area, public interest conditions would differ from those where there are multiple potential employers or suppliers.
Some empirical evidence points towards a focus on employment, supplier development funds and industrial sector or region conditions in merger cases in the manufacturing sector.
Lastly, we observed a tendency to impose conditions when the acquiring firm was not a local firm.
We conclude that South Africa’s use of public interest conditions is warranted because of the country’s circumstances, including high unemployment and the racially skewed nature of economic ownership. However, it must be done coherently. It must consider each merger case’s specifics. And it must not cause an undue increase in the costs of mergers and acquisitions. These include transaction and opportunity costs.
The appropriate application of these public interest conditions can lead to positive outcomes. The effective enforcement of all these conditions, especially of black economic empowerment and employment, can assist to reduce unemployment and get the country back on track to positive growth.
Supplier development fund programmes can create opportunities for small, medium and micro enterprises in South Africa to elevate their businesses and expand with the assistance of the larger corporations. We believe that these conditions can potentially benefit all in South Africa, but they need to be applied in a coherent and case sensitive manner to be truly in the public interest.
However, business leaders and politicians, among others, are increasingly voicing concerns over the inclusion of public interest conditions as part of merger transactions.
In one application of public interest conditions, a proposed merger involving Burger King was initially prohibited on public interest grounds – the first one ever in South Africa. In the run up to the 2024 elections the official opposition, the Democratic Alliance, called for public interest conditions to be repealed from the Competition Act.
For businesses involved in this process, the time delay in approving merger transactions leads to increased costs , as confirmed in media reports. It also adds to uncertainty about what to expect from the decision makers. In the case of international mergers, the process in South Africa is much more lengthy and completely different from experiences elsewhere.
At a time when big companies with long standing commitments in South Africa are leaving (such as Shell, GM Motors and BNP Paribas), the country’s way of assessing merger proposals could discourage potential investment. It’s questionable whether that would be in the public interest.
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Published on October 30, 2022 by Shona McCombes . Revised on October 19, 2023.
The research question is one of the most important parts of your research paper , thesis or dissertation . It’s important to spend some time assessing and refining your question before you get started.
The exact form of your question will depend on a few things, such as the length of your project, the type of research you’re conducting, the topic , and the research problem . However, all research questions should be focused, specific, and relevant to a timely social or scholarly issue.
Once you’ve read our guide on how to write a research question , you can use these examples to craft your own.
Research question | Explanation |
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The first question is not enough. The second question is more , using . | |
Starting with “why” often means that your question is not enough: there are too many possible answers. By targeting just one aspect of the problem, the second question offers a clear path for research. | |
The first question is too broad and subjective: there’s no clear criteria for what counts as “better.” The second question is much more . It uses clearly defined terms and narrows its focus to a specific population. | |
It is generally not for academic research to answer broad normative questions. The second question is more specific, aiming to gain an understanding of possible solutions in order to make informed recommendations. | |
The first question is too simple: it can be answered with a simple yes or no. The second question is , requiring in-depth investigation and the development of an original argument. | |
The first question is too broad and not very . The second question identifies an underexplored aspect of the topic that requires investigation of various to answer. | |
The first question is not enough: it tries to address two different (the quality of sexual health services and LGBT support services). Even though the two issues are related, it’s not clear how the research will bring them together. The second integrates the two problems into one focused, specific question. | |
The first question is too simple, asking for a straightforward fact that can be easily found online. The second is a more question that requires and detailed discussion to answer. | |
? dealt with the theme of racism through casting, staging, and allusion to contemporary events? | The first question is not — it would be very difficult to contribute anything new. The second question takes a specific angle to make an original argument, and has more relevance to current social concerns and debates. |
The first question asks for a ready-made solution, and is not . The second question is a clearer comparative question, but note that it may not be practically . For a smaller research project or thesis, it could be narrowed down further to focus on the effectiveness of drunk driving laws in just one or two countries. |
Note that the design of your research question can depend on what method you are pursuing. Here are a few options for qualitative, quantitative, and statistical research questions.
Type of research | Example question |
---|---|
Qualitative research question | |
Quantitative research question | |
Statistical research question |
If you want to know more about the research process , methodology , research bias , or statistics , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.
Methodology
Statistics
Research bias
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How to apply.
A cover letter is required for consideration for this position and should be attached as the first page of your resume. The cover letter should address your specific interest, experience, and qualifications in the position and outline skills and experience that directly relates to this position.
The Surveys of Consumers (SCA) at the Institute of Social Research, (ISR), at the University of Michigan is seeking to fill the position of Research Technician Senior.
The Surveys of Consumers Attitudes measures consumer expectations to capture the impact of the expectations of consumers on their spending and saving behavior. The consumer expectations index is a component of the Index of Leading Economic Indicators due to its ability to predict future changes in the economy. The data are widely used by government agencies, financial institutions, business firms, and scholars, as well as by ordinary citizens.
This longstanding research program conducts monthly surveys of the economic expectations and behaviors of American households and how changes in their expectations influence the course of the macro economy. Market moving economic data on consumer confidence and other measures are released twice a month to the public, market participants, and policy makers. The surveys also include data on other related topics from sponsors within and from outside the University. This project is located in the Survey Research Center ( SRC ) at the Institute for Social Research ( ISR ). This position reports to the Director of the Survey of Consumers.
In addition to a career filled with purpose and opportunity, the University of Michigan offers a comprehensive benefits package to help you stay well, protect yourself and any eligible family members, and plan for a secure future. Benefits include:
Learn more about U-M benefits.
Research Support - 50%
Carry out assignments in support of research on consumer attitudes toward the economy, household economic/financial behavior, as well as data collection and production for a longstanding economic survey. Tasks include: performing literature searches and summaries; data cleaning and documentation; analyzing data from internal and external sources; preparing results for and otherwise assisting with the production of presentations, publications, and reports including for internet distribution; drafting memos and documentation; assisting with IRB submissions; running programs to determine durations of questionnaire sections, review results, and send to sponsors
Manage Research Processes - 25%
Assist with editing of reports and publications; assist faculty and staff with project specific needs; organize & compile regular project reports with input from faculty and staff; complete bimonthly release tasks and assist assembling, reviewing, and revising monthly survey questionnaires and codebooks; test and assign testing of monthly survey instruments in Blaise; order, inventory and reconcile materials such as mailing supplies.
General Administration- 25%
Provide professional communications/customer service to respondents, researchers and the public via telephone and email; respond to email inquiries from researchers and private firms; respond to questions and concerns from respondents and coordinate required actions with the SRO SSL; facilitate data requests from other researchers; liaison with investigators, other departments and staff from ISR and university; handle media requests and communicate with media on behalf of investigators
We would like to hear from you if you have:
We are especially interested if you have:
Work Schedule/Location
This position is on-site at the University of Michigan, Institute of Social Research, Survey Research Center in Ann Arbor. We offer flexibility for hybrid work within our overall Center guidelines. Flexible work guidelines for this position is 100% in-office for the onboarding/training period. After successfully completing the onboarding/training period, the guidelines are 80% onsite, 4 days in the office and 20% remote, 1 day.
Positions that are eligible for hybrid or mobile/remote work mode are at the discretion of the hiring department. Work agreements are reviewed annually at a minimum and are subject to change at any time, and for any reason, throughout the course of employment. Learn more about the work modes .
Salary is dependent upon qualifications and experience of the selected candidate.
The statements included in this description are intended to reflect the general nature and level of work assigned to this classification and should not be interpreted as all-inclusive.
The Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan seeks to recruit and retain a diverse workforce as a reflection of our commitment to serve the diverse people of Michigan, to maintain the excellence of the University, and to ground our research in varied disciplines, perspectives, and ways of knowing and learning.
The University of Michigan conducts background checks on all job candidates upon acceptance of a contingent offer and may use a third-party administrator to conduct background checks. Background checks are performed in compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
The University of Michigan is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.
New research from Northwestern University has systematically proven that a mild zap of electricity can strengthen a marine coastline for generations — greatly reducing the threat of erosion in the face of climate change and rising sea levels.
In the new study, researchers took inspiration from clams, mussels and other shell-dwelling sea life, which use dissolved minerals in seawater to build their shells.
Similarly, the researchers leveraged the same naturally occurring, dissolved minerals to form a natural cement between sea-soaked grains of sand. But, instead of using metabolic energy like mollusks do, the researchers used electrical energy to spur the chemical reaction.
In laboratory experiments, a mild electrical current instantaneously changed the structure of marine sand, transforming it into a rock-like, immoveable solid. The researchers are hopeful this strategy could offer a lasting, inexpensive and sustainable solution for strengthening global coastlines.
The study was published in the journal Communications Earth and the Environment, a journal published by Nature Portfolio.
“Over 40% of the world’s population lives in coastal areas,” said Northwestern’s Alessandro Rotta Loria , who led the study. “Because of climate change and sea-level rise, erosion is an enormous threat to these communities. Through the disintegration of infrastructure and loss of land, erosion causes billions of dollars in damage per year worldwide. Current approaches to mitigate erosion involve building protection structures or injecting external binders into the subsurface.
Nearly 26% of the Earth’s beaches will be washed away by the end of this century, a 2020 study finds.
“My aim was to develop an approach capable of changing the status quo in coastal protection — one that didn’t require the construction of protection structures and could cement marine substrates without using actual cement. By applying a mild electric stimulation to marine soils, we systematically and mechanistically proved that it is possible to cement them by turning naturally dissolved minerals in seawater into solid mineral binders — a natural cement.”
Rotta Loria is the Louis Berger Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering . Andony Landivar Macias, a former Ph.D. candidate in Rotta Loria’s laboratory , is the paper’s first author. Steven Jacobsen , a mineralogist and professor of Earth and planetary sciences in Northwestern’s Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences , also co-authored the study.
From intensifying rainstorms to rising sea levels, climate change has created conditions that are gradually eroding coastlines. According to a 2020 study by the European commission’s Joint Research Centre, nearly 26% of the Earth’s beaches will be washed away by the end of this century.
To mitigate this issue, communities have implemented two main approaches: building protection structures and barriers, such as sea walls, or injecting cement into the ground to strengthen marine substrates, widely consisting of sand. But multiple problems accompany these strategies. Not only are these conventional methods extremely expensive, they also do not last.
“Sea walls, too, suffer from erosion,” Rotta Loria said. “So, over time, the sand beneath these walls erodes, and the walls can eventually collapse. Oftentimes, protection structures are made of big stones, which cost millions of dollars per mile. However, the sand beneath them can essentially liquify because of a number of environmental stressors, and these big rocks are swallowed by the ground beneath them.
“Injecting cement and other binders into the ground has a number of irreversible environmental drawbacks. It also typically requires high pressures and significant interconnected amounts of energy.”
To bypass these issues, Rotta Loria and his team developed a simpler technique, inspired by coral and mollusks. Seawater naturally contains a myriad of ions and dissolved minerals. When a mild electrical current (2 to 3 volts) is applied to the water, it triggers chemical reactions. This converts some of these constituents into solid calcium carbonate — the same mineral mollusks use to build their shells. Likewise, with a slightly higher voltage (4 volts), these constituents can be predominantly converted into magnesium hydroxide and hydromagnesite, a ubiquitous mineral found in various stones.
When these minerals coalesce in the presence of sand, they act like a glue, binding the sand particles together. In the laboratory, the process also worked with all types of sands — from common silica and calcareous sands to iron sands, which are often found near volcanoes.
“After being treated, the sand looks like a rock,” Rotta Loria said. “It is still and solid, instead of granular and incohesive. The minerals themselves are much stronger than concrete, so the resulting sand could become as strong and solid as a sea wall.”
While the minerals form instantaneously after the current is applied, longer electric stimulations garner more substantial results. “We have noticed remarkable outcomes from just a few days of stimulations,” Rotta Loria said. “Then, the treated sand should stay in place, without needing further interventions.”
Rotta Loria predicts the treated sand should keep its durability, protecting coastlines and property for decades.
Rotta Loria also says there is no need to worry negative effects on sea life. The voltages used in the process are too mild to feel. Other researchers have used similar processes to strengthen undersea structures or even restore coral reefs. In those scenarios, no sea critters were harmed.
And, if communities decide they no longer want the solidified sand, Rotta Loria has a solution for that, too, as the process is completely reversible. When the battery’s anode and cathode electrodes are switched, the electricity dissolves the minerals — effectively undoing the process.
“The minerals form because we are locally raising the pH of the seawater around cathodic interfaces,” Rotta Loria said. “If you switch the anode with the cathode, then localized reductions in pH are involved, which dissolve the previously precipitated minerals.”
The process offers an inexpensive alternative to conventional methods. After crunching the numbers, Rotta Loria’s team estimates that his process costs just $3 to $6 per cubic meter of electrically cemented ground. More established, comparable methods, which use binders to adhere and strengthen sand, cost up to $70 for the same unit volume.
Research in Rotta Loria’s lab shows this approach also can heal cracked structures made of reinforced concrete. Much of the existing shoreside infrastructure is made of reinforced concrete, which disintegrates due to complex effects caused by sea-level rise, erosion and extreme weather. And if these structures crack, the new approach bypasses the need to fully rebuild the infrastructure. Instead, one pulse of electricity can heal potentially destructive cracks.
“The applications of this approach are countless,” Rotta Loria said. “We can use it to strengthen the seabed beneath sea walls or stabilize sand dunes and retain unstable soil slopes. We could also use it to strengthen protection structures, marine foundations and so many other things. There are many ways to apply this to protect coastal areas.”
Next, Rotta Loria’s team plans to test the technique outside of the laboratory and on the beach.
The study, “Electrodeposition of calcareous cement from seawater in marine silica sands,” was supported by the Army Research Office and Northwestern’s Center for Engineering Sustainability and Resilience .
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Minerals play newly discovered role in earth’s phosphorus cycle, process stores carbon dioxide in concrete without strength loss.
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Leadership to discuss nasa’s boeing crew flight test.
Nasa headquarters.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and leadership will hold an internal Agency Test Flight Readiness Review on Saturday, Aug. 24, for NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test. About an hour later, NASA will host a live news conference at 1 p.m. EDT from the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Watch the media event on NASA+ , NASA Television, the NASA app , YouTube , and the agency’s website . Learn how to stream NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.
Media interested in attending the news conference must contact the newsroom at NASA Johnson no later than 1 p.m., Friday, Aug. 23, at 281-483-5111 or [email protected] . Media participating by phone must RSVP no later than one hour prior to the start of the event. A copy of NASA’s media accreditation policy is online.
NASA and Boeing have gathered data, both in space and on the ground, regarding the Starliner spacecraft’s propulsion and helium systems to better understand the ongoing technical challenges. The review will include a mission status update, review of technical data and closeout actions, as well as certify flight rationale to proceed with undocking and return from the space station.
NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test launched on June 5 on a ULA (United Launch Alliance) Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. It is an end-to-end test of the Starliner system as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. Through partnership with American private industry, NASA is opening access to low Earth orbit and the space station to more people, science, and commercial opportunities.
For NASA’s blog and more information about the mission, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew
Meira Bernstein / Josh Finch Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1100 [email protected] / [email protected]
Leah Cheshier / Sandra Jones Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 [email protected] / [email protected]
Steve Siceloff / Danielle Sempsrott / Stephanie Plucinsky Kennedy Space Center, Florida 321-867-2468 [email protected] / [email protected] / [email protected]
IMAGES
COMMENTS
Example: Research objectives. To assess the relationship between sedentary habits and muscle atrophy among the participants. To determine the impact of dietary factors, particularly protein consumption, on the muscular health of the participants. To determine the effect of physical activity on the participants' muscular health.
Research objectives also have few disadvantages, as listed below: 8. Absence of clearly defined objectives can lead to ambiguity in the research process; Unintentional bias could affect the validity and accuracy of the research findings; Key takeaways . Research objectives are concise statements that describe what the research is aiming to achieve.
The research aims, objectives and research questions (collectively called the "golden thread") are arguably the most important thing you need to get right when you're crafting a research proposal, dissertation or thesis.We receive questions almost every day about this "holy trinity" of research and there's certainly a lot of confusion out there, so we've crafted this post to help ...
The research statement is a common component of a potential candidate's application for post-undergraduate study. This may include applications for graduate programs, post-doctoral fellowships, or faculty positions. The research statement is often the primary way that a committee determines if a candidate's interests and past experience make them a good fit for their program/institution.
A research objective is defined as a clear and concise statement of the specific goals and aims of a research study. It outlines what the researcher intends to accomplish and what they hope to learn or discover through their research. Research objectives are crucial for guiding the research process and ensuring that the study stays focused and ...
Research Objectives. Research objectives refer to the specific goals or aims of a research study. They provide a clear and concise description of what the researcher hopes to achieve by conducting the research.The objectives are typically based on the research questions and hypotheses formulated at the beginning of the study and are used to guide the research process.
In order to write effective research aims and objectives, researchers should consider all aspects of their proposed work. For example, the sample(s) to be approached for participation in the primary data collection. Identifying research objectives that are SMART is key to ensuring key aspects of the work are considered prior to any data collection.
Research objectives are clear, concise statements that outline what a research project aims to achieve. They guide the direction of the study, ensuring that researchers stay focused and organized. Properly formulated objectives help in identifying the scope of the research and the methods to be used.
A research statement is a short document that provides a brief history of your past research experience, the current state of your research, and the future work you intend to complete. ... Prepare an outline of the topics you want to cover (e.g., professional objectives and personal background) and list supporting material under each main topic ...
A research objective is defined as a clear and concise statement that outlines the specific goals and aims of a research study. These objectives are designed to be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART), ensuring they provide a structured pathway to accomplishing the intended outcomes of the project.
Summary. One of the most important aspects of a thesis, dissertation or research paper is the correct formulation of the aims and objectives. This is because your aims and objectives will establish the scope, depth and direction that your research will ultimately take. An effective set of aims and objectives will give your research focus and ...
Research objectives are how researchers ensure that their study has direction and makes a significant contribution to growing an industry or niche. Research objectives provide a clear and concise statement of what the researcher wants to find out. As a researcher, you need to clearly outline and define research objectives to guide the research ...
Examples of Specific Research Objectives: 1. "To examine the effects of rising temperatures on the yield of rice crops during the upcoming growth season.". 2. "To assess changes in rainfall patterns in major agricultural regions over the first decade of the twenty-first century (2000-2010).". 3.
A research statement is a one to three page document that may be required to apply for an . academic job or (less frequently) graduate school. The purpose of a research statement is to describe the trajectory of your research to a selection/search committee. A research statement allows you to • show that you can take on independent research •
A research aim is a broad statement indicating the general purpose of your research project. It should appear in your introduction at the end of your problem statement, before your research objectives. Research objectives are more specific than your research aim. They indicate the specific ways you'll address the overarching aim.
Formulating research aim and objectives in an appropriate manner is one of the most important aspects of your thesis. This is because research aim and objectives determine the scope, depth and the overall direction of the research. Research question is the central question of the study that has to be answered on the basis of research findings.
The research aim should be broad and concise. Develop research objectives: Based on your research questions and research aim, develop specific research objectives that outline what you intend to achieve through your research. These objectives should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART).
From there, tally up the numbers and pick a winner. Step 4 - Craft your problem statement. Once you've selected your research problem, the final step is to craft a problem statement. Remember, your problem statement needs to be a concise outline of what the core issue is and how your study will address it.
The research statement (or statement of research interests) is a common component of academic job applications. It is a summary of your research accomplishments, current work, and future direction and potential of your work. The statement can discuss specific issues such as: The research statement should be technical, but should be intelligible ...
The development of the research question, including a supportive hypothesis and objectives, is a necessary key step in producing clinically relevant results to be used in evidence-based practice. A well-defined and specific research question is more likely to help guide us in making decisions about study design and population and subsequently ...
A research aim is a broad statement indicating the general purpose of your research project. It should appear in your introduction at the end of your problem statement, before your research objectives. Research objectives are more specific than your research aim. They indicate the specific ways you'll address the overarching aim.
ETHICS STATEMENT. University of Bath's Psychology Research Ethics Committee approved this study (#22-015). The authors assert that all procedures contributing to this work comply with the ethical standards of the relevant national and institutional committees on human experimentation and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2008.
Auditing Standard 1000 ("AS 1000") is an important step forward for investors and all users of financial statements. The standard reaffirms the auditor's duty to protect investors; to act with due professional care, skepticism, and judgment; and to perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance that the financial statements and internal controls over financial reporting are sound.
South Africa's use of competition law to achieve socio-economic objectives is justified, but its implementation lacks coherence and adds undue costs for companies.
The first question asks for a ready-made solution, and is not focused or researchable. The second question is a clearer comparative question, but note that it may not be practically feasible. For a smaller research project or thesis, it could be narrowed down further to focus on the effectiveness of drunk driving laws in just one or two countries.
Research Support - 50% . Carry out assignments in support of research on consumer attitudes toward the economy, household economic/financial behavior, as well as data collection and production for a longstanding economic survey. ... The statements included in this description are intended to reflect the general nature and level of work assigned ...
Statement on General Responsibilities of Auditors Gary Gensler Chair, ... the proposed standard would update the auditor's objective to cover both a financial statements audit, as well as an audit of internal control over financial reporting. ... See "PCAOB Updates Standard-Setting and Research Agendas" (May 4, 2022), ...
Research in Rotta Loria's lab shows this approach also can heal cracked structures made of reinforced concrete. Much of the existing shoreside infrastructure is made of reinforced concrete, which disintegrates due to complex effects caused by sea-level rise, erosion and extreme weather.
NASA Celebrates Ames's Legacy of Research on National Aviation Day. article 4 days ago. Highlights. 10 min read. Copernicus Trajectory Design and Optimization System. article 2 days ago. 3 min read. Station Science Top News: August 16, 2024. article 4 days ago. 3 min read. Perseverance Pays Off for Student Challenge Winners.