in setting research objectives

Research Objectives: The Compass of Your Study

Table of contents

• 1 Definition and Purpose of Setting Clear Research Objectives
• 2 How Research Objectives Fit into the Overall Research Framework
• 3 Types of Research Objectives
• 4 Aligning Objectives with Research Questions and Hypotheses
• 5 Role of Research Objectives in Various Research Phases
• 6.1 Key characteristics of well-defined research objectives
• 6.2 Step-by-Step Guide on How to Formulate Both General and Specific Research Objectives
• 6.3 How to Know When Your Objectives Need Refinement
• 7 Research Objectives Examples in Different Fields
• 8 Conclusion

Embarking on a research journey without clear objectives is like navigating the sea without a compass. This article delves into the essence of establishing precise research objectives, serving as the guiding star for your scholarly exploration.

We will unfold the layers of how the objective of study not only defines the scope of your research but also directs every phase of the research process, from formulating research questions to interpreting research findings. By bridging theory with practical examples, we aim to illuminate the path to crafting effective research objectives that are both ambitious and attainable. Let’s chart the course to a successful research voyage, exploring the significance, types, and formulation of research paper objectives.

Definition and Purpose of Setting Clear Research Objectives

Defining the research objectives includes which two tasks? Research objectives are clear and concise statements that outline what you aim to achieve through your study. They are the foundation for determining your research scope, guiding your data collection methods, and shaping your analysis. The purpose of research proposal and setting clear objectives in it is to ensure that your research efforts are focused and efficient, and to provide a roadmap that keeps your study aligned with its intended outcomes.

To define the research objective at the outset, researchers can avoid the pitfalls of scope creep, where the study’s focus gradually broadens beyond its initial boundaries, leading to wasted resources and time. Clear objectives facilitate communication with stakeholders, such as funding bodies, academic supervisors, and the broader academic community, by succinctly conveying the study’s goals and significance. Furthermore, they help in the formulation of precise research questions and hypotheses, making the research process more systematic and organized. Yet, it is not always easy. For this reason, PapersOwl is always ready to help. Lastly, clear research objectives enable the researcher to critically assess the study’s progress and outcomes against predefined benchmarks, ensuring the research stays on track and delivers meaningful results.

How Research Objectives Fit into the Overall Research Framework

Research objectives are integral to the research framework as the nexus between the research problem, questions, and hypotheses. They translate the broad goals of your study into actionable steps, ensuring every aspect of your research is purposefully aligned towards addressing the research problem. This alignment helps in structuring the research design and methodology, ensuring that each component of the study is geared towards answering the core questions derived from the objectives. Creating such a difficult piece may take a lot of time. If you need it to be accurate yet fast delivered, consider getting professional research paper writing help whenever the time comes. It also aids in the identification and justification of the research methods and tools used for data collection and analysis, aligning them with the objectives to enhance the validity and reliability of the findings.

Furthermore, by setting clear objectives, researchers can more effectively evaluate the impact and significance of their work in contributing to existing knowledge. Additionally, research objectives guide literature review, enabling researchers to focus their examination on relevant studies and theoretical frameworks that directly inform their research goals.

Types of Research Objectives

In the landscape of research, setting objectives is akin to laying down the tracks for a train’s journey, guiding it towards its destination. Constructing these tracks involves defining two main types of objectives: general and specific. Each serves a unique purpose in guiding the research towards its ultimate goals, with general objectives providing the broad vision and specific objectives outlining the concrete steps needed to fulfill that vision. Together, they form a cohesive blueprint that directs the focus of the study, ensuring that every effort contributes meaningfully to the overarching research aims.

• General objectives articulate the overarching goals of your study. They are broad, setting the direction for your research without delving into specifics. These objectives capture what you wish to explore or contribute to existing knowledge.
• Specific objectives break down the general objectives into measurable outcomes. They are precise, detailing the steps needed to achieve the broader goals of your study. They often correspond to different aspects of your research question , ensuring a comprehensive approach to your study.

To illustrate, consider a research project on the impact of digital marketing on consumer behavior. A general objective might be “to explore the influence of digital marketing on consumer purchasing decisions.” Specific objectives could include “to assess the effectiveness of social media advertising in enhancing brand awareness” and “to evaluate the impact of email marketing on customer loyalty.”

Aligning Objectives with Research Questions and Hypotheses

The harmony between what research objectives should be, questions, and hypotheses is critical. Objectives define what you aim to achieve; research questions specify what you seek to understand, and hypotheses predict the expected outcomes.

This alignment ensures a coherent and focused research endeavor. Achieving it necessitates a thoughtful consideration of how each component interrelates, ensuring that the objectives are not only ambitious but also directly answerable through the research questions and testable via the hypotheses. This interconnectedness facilitates a streamlined approach to the research process, enabling researchers to systematically address each aspect of their study in a logical sequence. Moreover, it enhances the clarity and precision of the research, making it easier for peers and stakeholders to grasp the study’s direction and potential contributions.

Role of Research Objectives in Various Research Phases

Throughout the research process, objectives guide your choices and strategies – from selecting the appropriate research design and methods to analyzing data and interpreting results. They are the criteria against which you measure the success of your study. In the initial stages, research objectives inform the selection of a topic, helping to narrow down a broad area of interest into a focused question that can be explored in depth. During the methodology phase, they dictate the type of data needed and the best methods for obtaining that data, ensuring that every step taken is purposeful and aligned with the study’s goals. As the research progresses, objectives provide a framework for analyzing the collected data, guiding the researcher in identifying patterns, drawing conclusions, and making informed decisions.

Crafting Effective Research Objectives

The effective objective of research is pivotal in laying the groundwork for a successful investigation. These objectives clarify the focus of your study and determine its direction and scope. Ensuring that your objectives are well-defined and aligned with the SMART criteria is crucial for setting a strong foundation for your research.

Key characteristics of well-defined research objectives

Well-defined research objectives are characterized by the SMART criteria – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Specific objectives clearly define what you plan to achieve, eliminating any ambiguity. Measurable objectives allow you to track progress and assess the outcome. Achievable objectives are realistic, considering the research sources and time available. Relevant objectives align with the broader goals of your field or research question. Finally, Time-bound objectives have a clear timeline for completion, adding urgency and a schedule to your work.

Step-by-Step Guide on How to Formulate Both General and Specific Research Objectives

So lets get to the part, how to write research objectives properly?

• Understand the issue or gap in existing knowledge your study aims to address.
• Gain insights into how similar challenges have been approached to refine your objectives.
• Articulate the broad goal of research based on your understanding of the problem.
• Detail the specific aspects of your research, ensuring they are actionable and measurable.

How to Know When Your Objectives Need Refinement

Your objectives of research may require refinement if they lack clarity, feasibility, or alignment with the research problem. If you find yourself struggling to design experiments or methods that directly address your objectives, or if the objectives seem too broad or not directly related to your research question, it’s likely time for refinement. Additionally, objectives in research proposal that do not facilitate a clear measurement of success indicate a need for a more precise definition. Refinement involves ensuring that each objective is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound, enhancing your research’s overall focus and impact.

Research Objectives Examples in Different Fields

The application of research objectives spans various academic disciplines, each with its unique focus and methodologies. To illustrate how the objectives of the study guide a research paper across different fields, here are some research objective examples:

• In Health Sciences , a research aim may be to “determine the efficacy of a new vaccine in reducing the incidence of a specific disease among a target population within one year.” This objective is specific (efficacy of a new vaccine), measurable (reduction in disease incidence), achievable (with the right study design and sample size), relevant (to public health), and time-bound (within one year).
• In Environmental Studies , the study objectives could be “to assess the impact of air pollution on urban biodiversity over a decade.” This reflects a commitment to understanding the long-term effects of human activities on urban ecosystems, emphasizing the need for sustainable urban planning.
• In Economics , an example objective of a study might be “to analyze the relationship between fiscal policies and unemployment rates in developing countries over the past twenty years.” This seeks to explore macroeconomic trends and inform policymaking, highlighting the role of economic research study in societal development.

These examples of research objectives describe the versatility and significance of research objectives in guiding scholarly inquiry across different domains. By setting clear, well-defined objectives, researchers can ensure their studies are focused and impactful and contribute valuable knowledge to their respective fields.

Defining research studies objectives and problem statement is not just a preliminary step, but a continuous guiding force throughout the research journey. These goals of research illuminate the path forward and ensure that every stride taken is meaningful and aligned with the ultimate goals of the inquiry. Whether through the meticulous application of the SMART criteria or the strategic alignment with research questions and hypotheses, the rigor in crafting and refining these objectives underscores the integrity and relevance of the research. As scholars venture into the vast terrains of knowledge, the clarity, and precision of their objectives serve as beacons of light, steering their explorations toward discoveries that advance academic discourse and resonate with the broader societal needs.

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• Defining Research Objectives: How To  Write Them

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.

What Are Research Objectives?

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.

Understanding SMART Criteria in Research

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.

Characteristics of Effective Research Objectives

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. 

Steps to Writing Research Objectives

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:

• What is the relationship between technology use and academic performance among children?
• Are children who use technology more likely to do better in school than those who do not?
• What is the social and psychological impact of technology use on children?

Brainstorm Objectives

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.

Prioritize Objectives

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.

Refine Objectives

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. 

Make Objectives SMART

A useful way to refine your objectives is to make them SMART, which stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. 

• Specific : Objectives should clearly state what you hope to achieve.
• Measurable : They should be able to be quantified or evaluated.
• Achievable : realistic and within the scope of the research study.
• Relevant : They should be directly related to the research questions.
• Time-bound : specific timeframe for research completion.

Review and Finalize Objectives

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.

Examples of Well-Written Research Objectives

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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• research goals
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• Moradeke Owa

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Research Aims, Objectives & Questions

The “Golden Thread” Explained Simply (+ Examples)

By: David Phair (PhD) and Alexandra Shaeffer (PhD) | June 2022

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 you navigate your way through the fog.

Overview: The Golden Thread

• What is the golden thread
• What are research aims ( examples )
• What are research objectives ( examples )
• What are research questions ( examples )
• The importance of alignment in the golden thread

What is the “golden thread”?  

The golden thread simply refers to the collective research aims , research objectives , and research questions for any given project (i.e., a dissertation, thesis, or research paper ). These three elements are bundled together because it’s extremely important that they align with each other, and that the entire research project aligns with them.

Importantly, the golden thread needs to weave its way through the entirety of any research project , from start to end. In other words, it needs to be very clearly defined right at the beginning of the project (the topic ideation and proposal stage) and it needs to inform almost every decision throughout the rest of the project. For example, your research design and methodology will be heavily influenced by the golden thread (we’ll explain this in more detail later), as well as your literature review.

The research aims, objectives and research questions (the golden thread) define the focus and scope ( the delimitations ) of your research project. In other words, they help ringfence your dissertation or thesis to a relatively narrow domain, so that you can “go deep” and really dig into a specific problem or opportunity. They also help keep you on track , as they act as a litmus test for relevance. In other words, if you’re ever unsure whether to include something in your document, simply ask yourself the question, “does this contribute toward my research aims, objectives or questions?”. If it doesn’t, chances are you can drop it.

Alright, enough of the fluffy, conceptual stuff. Let’s get down to business and look at what exactly the research aims, objectives and questions are and outline a few examples to bring these concepts to life.

Research Aims: What are they?

Simply put, the research aim(s) is a statement that reflects the broad overarching goal (s) of the research project. Research aims are fairly high-level (low resolution) as they outline the general direction of the research and what it’s trying to achieve .

Research Aims: Examples  

True to the name, research aims usually start with the wording “this research aims to…”, “this research seeks to…”, and so on. For example:

“This research aims to explore employee experiences of digital transformation in retail HR.”   “This study sets out to assess the interaction between student support and self-care on well-being in engineering graduate students”  

As you can see, these research aims provide a high-level description of what the study is about and what it seeks to achieve. They’re not hyper-specific or action-oriented, but they’re clear about what the study’s focus is and what is being investigated.

Need a helping hand?

Research Objectives: What are they?

The research objectives take the research aims and make them more practical and actionable . In other words, the research objectives showcase the steps that the researcher will take to achieve the research aims.

The research objectives need to be far more specific (higher resolution) and actionable than the research aims. In fact, it’s always a good idea to craft your research objectives using the “SMART” criteria. In other words, they should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound”.

Research Objectives: Examples  

Let’s look at two examples of research objectives. We’ll stick with the topic and research aims we mentioned previously.  

For the digital transformation topic:

To observe the retail HR employees throughout the digital transformation. To assess employee perceptions of digital transformation in retail HR. To identify the barriers and facilitators of digital transformation in retail HR.

And for the student wellness topic:

To determine whether student self-care predicts the well-being score of engineering graduate students. To determine whether student support predicts the well-being score of engineering students. To assess the interaction between student self-care and student support when predicting well-being in engineering graduate students.

  As you can see, these research objectives clearly align with the previously mentioned research aims and effectively translate the low-resolution aims into (comparatively) higher-resolution objectives and action points . They give the research project a clear focus and present something that resembles a research-based “to-do” list.

Research Questions: What are they?

Finally, we arrive at the all-important research questions. The research questions are, as the name suggests, the key questions that your study will seek to answer . Simply put, they are the core purpose of your dissertation, thesis, or research project. You’ll present them at the beginning of your document (either in the introduction chapter or literature review chapter) and you’ll answer them at the end of your document (typically in the discussion and conclusion chapters).  

The research questions will be the driving force throughout the research process. For example, in the literature review chapter, you’ll assess the relevance of any given resource based on whether it helps you move towards answering your research questions. Similarly, your methodology and research design will be heavily influenced by the nature of your research questions. For instance, research questions that are exploratory in nature will usually make use of a qualitative approach, whereas questions that relate to measurement or relationship testing will make use of a quantitative approach.  

Let’s look at some examples of research questions to make this more tangible.

Research Questions: Examples  

Again, we’ll stick with the research aims and research objectives we mentioned previously.  

For the digital transformation topic (which would be qualitative in nature):

How do employees perceive digital transformation in retail HR? What are the barriers and facilitators of digital transformation in retail HR?  

And for the student wellness topic (which would be quantitative in nature):

Does student self-care predict the well-being scores of engineering graduate students? Does student support predict the well-being scores of engineering students? Do student self-care and student support interact when predicting well-being in engineering graduate students?  

You’ll probably notice that there’s quite a formulaic approach to this. In other words, the research questions are basically the research objectives “converted” into question format. While that is true most of the time, it’s not always the case. For example, the first research objective for the digital transformation topic was more or less a step on the path toward the other objectives, and as such, it didn’t warrant its own research question.  

So, don’t rush your research questions and sloppily reword your objectives as questions. Carefully think about what exactly you’re trying to achieve (i.e. your research aim) and the objectives you’ve set out, then craft a set of well-aligned research questions . Also, keep in mind that this can be a somewhat iterative process , where you go back and tweak research objectives and aims to ensure tight alignment throughout the golden thread.

The importance of strong alignment 

Alignment is the keyword here and we have to stress its importance . Simply put, you need to make sure that there is a very tight alignment between all three pieces of the golden thread. If your research aims and research questions don’t align, for example, your project will be pulling in different directions and will lack focus . This is a common problem students face and can cause many headaches (and tears), so be warned.

Take the time to carefully craft your research aims, objectives and research questions before you run off down the research path. Ideally, get your research supervisor/advisor to review and comment on your golden thread before you invest significant time into your project, and certainly before you start collecting data .  

Recap: The golden thread

In this post, we unpacked the golden thread of research, consisting of the research aims , research objectives and research questions . You can jump back to any section using the links below.

As always, feel free to leave a comment below – we always love to hear from you. Also, if you’re interested in 1-on-1 support, take a look at our private coaching service here.

Psst... there’s more!

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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39 Comments

Thank you very much for your great effort put. As an Undergraduate taking Demographic Research & Methodology, I’ve been trying so hard to understand clearly what is a Research Question, Research Aim and the Objectives in a research and the relationship between them etc. But as for now I’m thankful that you’ve solved my problem.

Well appreciated. This has helped me greatly in doing my dissertation.

An so delighted with this wonderful information thank you a lot.

so impressive i have benefited a lot looking forward to learn more on research.

I am very happy to have carefully gone through this well researched article.

Infact,I used to be phobia about anything research, because of my poor understanding of the concepts.

Now,I get to know that my research question is the same as my research objective(s) rephrased in question format.

I please I would need a follow up on the subject,as I intends to join the team of researchers. Thanks once again.

Thanks so much. This was really helpful.

I know you pepole have tried to break things into more understandable and easy format. And God bless you. Keep it up

i found this document so useful towards my study in research methods. thanks so much.

This is my 2nd read topic in your course and I should commend the simplified explanations of each part. I’m beginning to understand and absorb the use of each part of a dissertation/thesis. I’ll keep on reading your free course and might be able to avail the training course! Kudos!

Thank you! Better put that my lecture and helped to easily understand the basics which I feel often get brushed over when beginning dissertation work.

This is quite helpful. I like how the Golden thread has been explained and the needed alignment.

This is quite helpful. I really appreciate!

The article made it simple for researcher students to differentiate between three concepts.

Very innovative and educational in approach to conducting research.

I am very impressed with all these terminology, as I am a fresh student for post graduate, I am highly guided and I promised to continue making consultation when the need arise. Thanks a lot.

A very helpful piece. thanks, I really appreciate it .

Very well explained, and it might be helpful to many people like me.

Wish i had found this (and other) resource(s) at the beginning of my PhD journey… not in my writing up year… 😩 Anyways… just a quick question as i’m having some issues ordering my “golden thread”…. does it matter in what order you mention them? i.e., is it always first aims, then objectives, and finally the questions? or can you first mention the research questions and then the aims and objectives?

Thank you for a very simple explanation that builds upon the concepts in a very logical manner. Just prior to this, I read the research hypothesis article, which was equally very good. This met my primary objective.

My secondary objective was to understand the difference between research questions and research hypothesis, and in which context to use which one. However, I am still not clear on this. Can you kindly please guide?

In research, a research question is a clear and specific inquiry that the researcher wants to answer, while a research hypothesis is a tentative statement or prediction about the relationship between variables or the expected outcome of the study. Research questions are broader and guide the overall study, while hypotheses are specific and testable statements used in quantitative research. Research questions identify the problem, while hypotheses provide a focus for testing in the study.

Exactly what I need in this research journey, I look forward to more of your coaching videos.

This helped a lot. Thanks so much for the effort put into explaining it.

What data source in writing dissertation/Thesis requires?

What is data source covers when writing dessertation/thesis

This is quite useful thanks

I’m excited and thankful. I got so much value which will help me progress in my thesis.

where are the locations of the reserch statement, research objective and research question in a reserach paper? Can you write an ouline that defines their places in the researh paper?

Very helpful and important tips on Aims, Objectives and Questions.

Thank you so much for making research aim, research objectives and research question so clear. This will be helpful to me as i continue with my thesis.

Thanks much for this content. I learned a lot. And I am inspired to learn more. I am still struggling with my preparation for dissertation outline/proposal. But I consistently follow contents and tutorials and the new FB of GRAD Coach. Hope to really become confident in writing my dissertation and successfully defend it.

As a researcher and lecturer, I find splitting research goals into research aims, objectives, and questions is unnecessarily bureaucratic and confusing for students. For most biomedical research projects, including ‘real research’, 1-3 research questions will suffice (numbers may differ by discipline).

Awesome! Very important resources and presented in an informative way to easily understand the golden thread. Indeed, thank you so much.

Well explained

The blog article on research aims, objectives, and questions by Grad Coach is a clear and insightful guide that aligns with my experiences in academic research. The article effectively breaks down the often complex concepts of research aims and objectives, providing a straightforward and accessible explanation. Drawing from my own research endeavors, I appreciate the practical tips offered, such as the need for specificity and clarity when formulating research questions. The article serves as a valuable resource for students and researchers, offering a concise roadmap for crafting well-defined research goals and objectives. Whether you’re a novice or an experienced researcher, this article provides practical insights that contribute to the foundational aspects of a successful research endeavor.

A great thanks for you. it is really amazing explanation. I grasp a lot and one step up to research knowledge.

I really found these tips helpful. Thank you very much Grad Coach.

I found this article helpful. Thanks for sharing this.

thank you so much, the explanation and examples are really helpful

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Home » Research Objectives – Types, Examples and Writing Guide

Research Objectives – Types, Examples and Writing Guide

Table of Contents

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.

Types of Research Objectives

Here are the different types of research objectives in research:

• Exploratory Objectives: These objectives are used to explore a topic, issue, or phenomenon that has not been studied in-depth before. The aim of exploratory research is to gain a better understanding of the subject matter and generate new ideas and hypotheses .
• Descriptive Objectives: These objectives aim to describe the characteristics, features, or attributes of a particular population, group, or phenomenon. Descriptive research answers the “what” questions and provides a snapshot of the subject matter.
• Explanatory Objectives : These objectives aim to explain the relationships between variables or factors. Explanatory research seeks to identify the cause-and-effect relationships between different phenomena.
• Predictive Objectives: These objectives aim to predict future events or outcomes based on existing data or trends. Predictive research uses statistical models to forecast future trends or outcomes.
• Evaluative Objectives : These objectives aim to evaluate the effectiveness or impact of a program, intervention, or policy. Evaluative research seeks to assess the outcomes or results of a particular intervention or program.
• Prescriptive Objectives: These objectives aim to provide recommendations or solutions to a particular problem or issue. Prescriptive research identifies the best course of action based on the results of the study.
• Diagnostic Objectives : These objectives aim to identify the causes or factors contributing to a particular problem or issue. Diagnostic research seeks to uncover the underlying reasons for a particular phenomenon.
• Comparative Objectives: These objectives aim to compare two or more groups, populations, or phenomena to identify similarities and differences. Comparative research is used to determine which group or approach is more effective or has better outcomes.
• Historical Objectives: These objectives aim to examine past events, trends, or phenomena to gain a better understanding of their significance and impact. Historical research uses archival data, documents, and records to study past events.
• Ethnographic Objectives : These objectives aim to understand the culture, beliefs, and practices of a particular group or community. Ethnographic research involves immersive fieldwork and observation to gain an insider’s perspective of the group being studied.
• Action-oriented Objectives: These objectives aim to bring about social or organizational change. Action-oriented research seeks to identify practical solutions to social problems and to promote positive change in society.
• Conceptual Objectives: These objectives aim to develop new theories, models, or frameworks to explain a particular phenomenon or set of phenomena. Conceptual research seeks to provide a deeper understanding of the subject matter by developing new theoretical perspectives.
• Methodological Objectives: These objectives aim to develop and improve research methods and techniques. Methodological research seeks to advance the field of research by improving the validity, reliability, and accuracy of research methods and tools.
• Theoretical Objectives : These objectives aim to test and refine existing theories or to develop new theoretical perspectives. Theoretical research seeks to advance the field of knowledge by testing and refining existing theories or by developing new theoretical frameworks.
• Measurement Objectives : These objectives aim to develop and validate measurement instruments, such as surveys, questionnaires, and tests. Measurement research seeks to improve the quality and reliability of data collection and analysis by developing and testing new measurement tools.
• Design Objectives : These objectives aim to develop and refine research designs, such as experimental, quasi-experimental, and observational designs. Design research seeks to improve the quality and validity of research by developing and testing new research designs.
• Sampling Objectives: These objectives aim to develop and refine sampling techniques, such as probability and non-probability sampling methods. Sampling research seeks to improve the representativeness and generalizability of research findings by developing and testing new sampling techniques.

How to Write Research Objectives

Writing clear and concise research objectives is an important part of any research project, as it helps to guide the study and ensure that it is focused and relevant. Here are some steps to follow when writing research objectives:

• Identify the research problem : Before you can write research objectives, you need to identify the research problem you are trying to address. This should be a clear and specific problem that can be addressed through research.
• Define the research questions : Based on the research problem, define the research questions you want to answer. These questions should be specific and should guide the research process.
• Identify the variables : Identify the key variables that you will be studying in your research. These are the factors that you will be measuring, manipulating, or analyzing to answer your research questions.
• Write specific objectives: Write specific, measurable objectives that will help you answer your research questions. These objectives should be clear and concise and should indicate what you hope to achieve through your research.
• Use the SMART criteria: To ensure that your research objectives are well-defined and achievable, use the SMART criteria. This means that your objectives should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
• Revise and refine: Once you have written your research objectives, revise and refine them to ensure that they are clear, concise, and achievable. Make sure that they align with your research questions and variables, and that they will help you answer your research problem.

Example of Research Objectives

Examples of research objectives Could be:

Research Objectives for the topic of “The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Employment”:

• To investigate the effects of the adoption of AI on employment trends across various industries and occupations.
• To explore the potential for AI to create new job opportunities and transform existing roles in the workforce.
• To examine the social and economic implications of the widespread use of AI for employment, including issues such as income inequality and access to education and training.
• To identify the skills and competencies that will be required for individuals to thrive in an AI-driven workplace, and to explore the role of education and training in developing these skills.
• To evaluate the ethical and legal considerations surrounding the use of AI for employment, including issues such as bias, privacy, and the responsibility of employers and policymakers to protect workers’ rights.

When to Write Research Objectives

• At the beginning of a research project : Research objectives should be identified and written down before starting a research project. This helps to ensure that the project is focused and that data collection and analysis efforts are aligned with the intended purpose of the research.
• When refining research questions: Writing research objectives can help to clarify and refine research questions. Objectives provide a more concrete and specific framework for addressing research questions, which can improve the overall quality and direction of a research project.
• After conducting a literature review : Conducting a literature review can help to identify gaps in knowledge and areas that require further research. Writing research objectives can help to define and focus the research effort in these areas.
• When developing a research proposal: Research objectives are an important component of a research proposal. They help to articulate the purpose and scope of the research, and provide a clear and concise summary of the expected outcomes and contributions of the research.
• When seeking funding for research: Funding agencies often require a detailed description of research objectives as part of a funding proposal. Writing clear and specific research objectives can help to demonstrate the significance and potential impact of a research project, and increase the chances of securing funding.
• When designing a research study : Research objectives guide the design and implementation of a research study. They help to identify the appropriate research methods, sampling strategies, data collection and analysis techniques, and other relevant aspects of the study design.
• When communicating research findings: Research objectives provide a clear and concise summary of the main research questions and outcomes. They are often included in research reports and publications, and can help to ensure that the research findings are communicated effectively and accurately to a wide range of audiences.
• When evaluating research outcomes : Research objectives provide a basis for evaluating the success of a research project. They help to measure the degree to which research questions have been answered and the extent to which research outcomes have been achieved.
• When conducting research in a team : Writing research objectives can facilitate communication and collaboration within a research team. Objectives provide a shared understanding of the research purpose and goals, and can help to ensure that team members are working towards a common objective.

Purpose of Research Objectives

Some of the main purposes of research objectives include:

• To clarify the research question or problem : Research objectives help to define the specific aspects of the research question or problem that the study aims to address. This makes it easier to design a study that is focused and relevant.
• To guide the research design: Research objectives help to determine the research design, including the research methods, data collection techniques, and sampling strategy. This ensures that the study is structured and efficient.
• To measure progress : Research objectives provide a way to measure progress throughout the research process. They help the researcher to evaluate whether they are on track and meeting their goals.
• To communicate the research goals : Research objectives provide a clear and concise description of the research goals. This helps to communicate the purpose of the study to other researchers, stakeholders, and the general public.

Advantages of Research Objectives

Here are some advantages of having well-defined research objectives:

• Focus : Research objectives help to focus the research effort on specific areas of inquiry. By identifying clear research questions, the researcher can narrow down the scope of the study and avoid getting sidetracked by irrelevant information.
• Clarity : Clearly stated research objectives provide a roadmap for the research study. They provide a clear direction for the research, making it easier for the researcher to stay on track and achieve their goals.
• Measurability : Well-defined research objectives provide measurable outcomes that can be used to evaluate the success of the research project. This helps to ensure that the research is effective and that the research goals are achieved.
• Feasibility : Research objectives help to ensure that the research project is feasible. By clearly defining the research goals, the researcher can identify the resources required to achieve those goals and determine whether those resources are available.
• Relevance : Research objectives help to ensure that the research study is relevant and meaningful. By identifying specific research questions, the researcher can ensure that the study addresses important issues and contributes to the existing body of knowledge.

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How to Write Research Objectives

3-minute read

• 22nd November 2021

Writing a research paper, thesis, or dissertation ? If so, you’ll want to state your research objectives in the introduction of your paper to make it clear to your readers what you’re trying to accomplish. But how do you write effective research objectives? In this post, we’ll look at two key topics to help you do this:

• How to use your research aims as a basis for developing objectives.
• How to use SMART criteria to refine your research objectives.

For more advice on how to write strong research objectives, see below.

Research Aims and Objectives

There is an important difference between research aims and research objectives:

• A research aim defines the main purpose of your research. As such, you can think of your research aim as answering the question “What are you doing?”
• Research objectives (as most studies will have more than one) are the steps you will take to fulfil your aims. As such, your objectives should answer the question “How are you conducting your research?”

For instance, an example research aim could be:

This study will investigate the link between dehydration and the incidence of urinary tract infections (UTIs) in intensive care patients in Australia.

To develop a set of research objectives, you would then break down the various steps involved in meeting said aim. For example:

This study will investigate the link between dehydration and the incidence of urinary tract infections (UTIs) in intensive care patients in Australia. To achieve this, the study objectives w ill include:

• Replicat ing a small Singaporean study into the role of dehydration in UTIs in hospital patients (Sepe, 2018) in a larger Australian cohort.
• Trialing the use of intravenous fluids for intensive care patients to prevent dehydration.
• Assessing the relationship between the age of patients and quantities of intravenous fluids needed to counter dehydration.

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Note that the objectives don’t go into any great detail here. The key is to briefly summarize each component of your study. You can save details for how you will conduct the research for the methodology section of your paper.

Make Your Research Objectives SMART

A great way to refine your research objectives is to use SMART criteria . Borrowed from the world of project management, there are many versions of this system. However, we’re going to focus on developing specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timebound objectives.

In other words, a good research objective should be all of the following:

• S pecific – Is the objective clear and well-defined?
• M easurable – How will you know when the objective has been achieved? Is there a way to measure the thing you’re seeking to do?
• A chievable – Do you have the support and resources necessary to undertake this action? Are you being overly ambitious with this objective?
• R elevant – Is this objective vital for fulfilling your research aim?
• T imebound – Can this action be realistically undertaken in the time you have?

If you follow this system, your research objectives will be much stronger.

Expert Research Proofreading

Whatever your research aims and objectives, make sure to have your academic writing proofread by the experts!

Our academic editors can help you with research papers and proposals , as well as any other scholarly document you need checking. And this will help to ensure that your academic writing is always clear, concise, and precise.

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• Aims and Objectives – A Guide for Academic Writing
• Doing a PhD

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 your reader clarity, with your aims indicating what is to be achieved, and your objectives indicating how it will be achieved.

Introduction

There is no getting away from the importance of the aims and objectives in determining the success of your research project. Unfortunately, however, it is an aspect that many students struggle with, and ultimately end up doing poorly. Given their importance, if you suspect that there is even the smallest possibility that you belong to this group of students, we strongly recommend you read this page in full.

This page describes what research aims and objectives are, how they differ from each other, how to write them correctly, and the common mistakes students make and how to avoid them. An example of a good aim and objectives from a past thesis has also been deconstructed to help your understanding.

What Are Aims and Objectives?

Research aims.

A research aim describes the main goal or the overarching purpose of your research project.

In doing so, it acts as a focal point for your research and provides your readers with clarity as to what your study is all about. Because of this, research aims are almost always located within its own subsection under the introduction section of a research document, regardless of whether it’s a thesis , a dissertation, or a research paper .

A research aim is usually formulated as a broad statement of the main goal of the research and can range in length from a single sentence to a short paragraph. Although the exact format may vary according to preference, they should all describe why your research is needed (i.e. the context), what it sets out to accomplish (the actual aim) and, briefly, how it intends to accomplish it (overview of your objectives).

To give an example, we have extracted the following research aim from a real PhD thesis:

Example of a Research Aim

The role of diametrical cup deformation as a factor to unsatisfactory implant performance has not been widely reported. The aim of this thesis was to gain an understanding of the diametrical deformation behaviour of acetabular cups and shells following impaction into the reamed acetabulum. The influence of a range of factors on deformation was investigated to ascertain if cup and shell deformation may be high enough to potentially contribute to early failure and high wear rates in metal-on-metal implants.

Note: Extracted with permission from thesis titled “T he Impact And Deformation Of Press-Fit Metal Acetabular Components ” produced by Dr H Hothi of previously Queen Mary University of London.

Research Objectives

Where a research aim specifies what your study will answer, research objectives specify how your study will answer it.

They divide your research aim into several smaller parts, each of which represents a key section of your research project. As a result, almost all research objectives take the form of a numbered list, with each item usually receiving its own chapter in a dissertation or thesis.

Following the example of the research aim shared above, here are it’s real research objectives as an example:

Example of a Research Objective

• 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.
• Investigate the number, velocity and position of impacts needed to insert a cup.
• Determine the relationship between the size of interference between the cup and cavity and deformation for different cup types.
• Investigate the influence of non-uniform cup support and varying the orientation of the component in the cavity on deformation.
• Examine the influence of errors during reaming of the acetabulum which introduce ovality to the cavity.
• Determine the relationship between changes in the geometry of the component and deformation for different cup designs.
• Develop three dimensional pelvis models with non-uniform bone material properties from a range of patients with varying bone quality.
• Use the key parameters that influence deformation, as identified in the foam models to determine the range of deformations that may occur clinically using the anatomic models and if these deformations are clinically significant.

It’s worth noting that researchers sometimes use research questions instead of research objectives, or in other cases both. From a high-level perspective, research questions and research objectives make the same statements, but just in different formats.

Taking the first three research objectives as an example, they can be restructured into research questions as follows:

Restructuring Research Objectives as Research Questions

• Can finite element models using simplified experimentally validated foam models to represent the acetabulum together with explicit dynamics be used to mimic mallet blows during cup/shell insertion?
• What is the number, velocity and position of impacts needed to insert a cup?
• What is the relationship between the size of interference between the cup and cavity and deformation for different cup types?

Difference Between Aims and Objectives

Hopefully the above explanations make clear the differences between aims and objectives, but to clarify:

• The research aim focus on what the research project is intended to achieve; research objectives focus on how the aim will be achieved.
• Research aims are relatively broad; research objectives are specific.
• Research aims focus on a project’s long-term outcomes; research objectives focus on its immediate, short-term outcomes.
• A research aim can be written in a single sentence or short paragraph; research objectives should be written as a numbered list.

How to Write Aims and Objectives

Before we discuss how to write a clear set of research aims and objectives, we should make it clear that there is no single way they must be written. Each researcher will approach their aims and objectives slightly differently, and often your supervisor will influence the formulation of yours on the basis of their own preferences.

Regardless, there are some basic principles that you should observe for good practice; these principles are described below.

Your aim should be made up of three parts that answer the below questions:

• Why is this research required?
• What is this research about?
• How are you going to do it?

The easiest way to achieve this would be to address each question in its own sentence, although it does not matter whether you combine them or write multiple sentences for each, the key is to address each one.

The first question, why , provides context to your research project, the second question, what , describes the aim of your research, and the last question, how , acts as an introduction to your objectives which will immediately follow.

Scroll through the image set below to see the ‘why, what and how’ associated with our research aim example.

Note: Your research aims need not be limited to one. Some individuals per to define one broad ‘overarching aim’ of a project and then adopt two or three specific research aims for their thesis or dissertation. Remember, however, that in order for your assessors to consider your research project complete, you will need to prove you have fulfilled all of the aims you set out to achieve. Therefore, while having more than one research aim is not necessarily disadvantageous, consider whether a single overarching one will do.

Research Objectives

Each of your research objectives should be SMART :

• Specific – is there any ambiguity in the action you are going to undertake, or is it focused and well-defined?
• Measurable – how will you measure progress and determine when you have achieved the action?
• Achievable – do you have the support, resources and facilities required to carry out the action?
• Relevant – is the action essential to the achievement of your research aim?
• Timebound – can you realistically complete the action in the available time alongside your other research tasks?

In addition to being SMART, your research objectives should start with a verb that helps communicate your intent. Common research verbs include:

Table of Research Verbs to Use in Aims and Objectives

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:

Checking Research Objective Example Against Recommended Approach

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.

Mistakes in Writing Research Aims and Objectives

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.

2. Making Your Research Objectives Too Ambitious

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.

3. Formulating Repetitive Research Objectives

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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Crafting Clear Pathways: Writing Objectives in Research Papers

Struggling to write research objectives? Follow our easy steps to learn how to craft effective and compelling objectives in research papers.

Are you struggling to define the goals and direction of your research? Are you losing yourself while doing research and tend to go astray from the intended research topic? Fear not, as many face the same problem and it is quite understandable to overcome this, a concept called research objective comes into play here.

In this article, we’ll delve into the world of the objectives in research papers and why they are essential for a successful study. We will be studying what they are and how they are used in research.

What is a Research Objective?

A research objective is a clear and specific goal that a researcher aims to achieve through a research study. It serves as a roadmap for the research, providing direction and focus. Research objectives are formulated based on the research questions or hypotheses, and they help in defining the scope of the study and guiding the research design and methodology. They also assist in evaluating the success and outcomes of the research.

Types of Research Objectives

There are typically three main types of objectives in a research paper:

• Exploratory Objectives: These objectives are focused on gaining a deeper understanding of a particular phenomenon, topic, or issue. Exploratory research objectives aim to explore and identify new ideas, insights, or patterns that were previously unknown or poorly understood. This type of objective is commonly used in preliminary or qualitative studies.
• Descriptive Objectives: Descriptive objectives seek to describe and document the characteristics, behaviors, or attributes of a specific population, event, or phenomenon. The purpose is to provide a comprehensive and accurate account of the subject of study. Descriptive research objectives often involve collecting and analyzing data through surveys, observations, or archival research.
• Explanatory or Causal Objectives: Explanatory objectives aim to establish a cause-and-effect relationship between variables or factors. These objectives focus on understanding why certain events or phenomena occur and how they are related to each other. 

Also Read: What are the types of research?

Steps for Writing Objectives in Research Paper

1. identify the research topic:.

Clearly define the subject or topic of your research. This will provide a broad context for developing specific research objectives.

2. Conduct a Literature Review

Review existing literature and research related to your topic. This will help you understand the current state of knowledge, identify any research gaps, and refine your research objectives accordingly.

3. Identify the Research Questions or Hypotheses

Formulate specific research questions or hypotheses that you want to address in your study. These questions should be directly related to your research topic and guide the development of your research objectives.

4. Focus on Specific Goals

Break down the broader research questions or hypothesis into specific goals or objectives. Each objective should focus on a particular aspect of your research topic and be achievable within the scope of your study.

5. Use Clear and Measurable Language

Write your research objectives using clear and precise language. Avoid vague terms and use specific and measurable terms that can be observed, analyzed, or measured.

6. Consider Feasibility

Ensure that your research objectives are feasible within the available resources, time constraints, and ethical considerations. They should be realistic and attainable given the limitations of your study.

7. Prioritize Objectives

If you have multiple research objectives, prioritize them based on their importance and relevance to your overall research goals. This will help you allocate resources and focus your efforts accordingly.

8. Review and Refine

Review your research objectives to ensure they align with your research questions or hypotheses, and revise them if necessary. Seek feedback from peers or advisors to ensure clarity and coherence.

Tips for Writing Objectives in Research Paper

1. be clear and specific.

Clearly state what you intend to achieve with your research. Use specific language that leaves no room for ambiguity or confusion. This ensures that your objectives are well-defined and focused.

2. Use Action Verbs

Begin each research objective with an action verb that describes a measurable action or outcome. This helps make your objectives more actionable and measurable.

3. Align with Research Questions or Hypotheses

Your research objectives should directly address the research questions or hypotheses you have formulated. Ensure there is a clear connection between them to maintain coherence in your study.

4. Be Realistic and Feasible

Set research objectives that are attainable within the constraints of your study, including available resources, time, and ethical considerations. Unrealistic objectives may undermine the validity and reliability of your research.

5. Consider Relevance and Significance

Your research objectives should be relevant to your research topic and contribute to the broader field of study. Consider the potential impact and significance of achieving the objectives.

SMART Goals for Writing Research Objectives

To ensure that your research objectives are well-defined and effectively guide your study, you can apply the SMART framework. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Here’s how you can make your research objectives SMART:

• Specific : Clearly state what you want to achieve in a precise and specific manner. Avoid vague or generalized language. Specify the population, variables, or phenomena of interest.
• Measurable : Ensure that your research objectives can be quantified or observed in a measurable way. This allows for objective evaluation and assessment of progress.
• Achievable : Set research objectives that are realistic and attainable within the available resources, time, and scope of your study. Consider the feasibility of conducting the research and collecting the necessary data.
• Relevant : Ensure that your research objectives are directly relevant to your research topic and contribute to the broader knowledge or understanding of the field. They should align with the purpose and significance of your study.
• Time-bound : Set a specific timeframe or deadline for achieving your research objectives. This helps create a sense of urgency and provides a clear timeline for your study.

Examples of Research Objectives

Here are some examples of research objectives from various fields of study:

• To examine the relationship between social media usage and self-esteem among young adults aged 18-25 in order to understand the potential impact on mental well-being.
• To assess the effectiveness of a mindfulness-based intervention in reducing stress levels and improving coping mechanisms among individuals diagnosed with anxiety disorders.
• To investigate the factors influencing consumer purchasing decisions in the e-commerce industry, with a focus on the role of online reviews and social media influencers.
• To analyze the effects of climate change on the biodiversity of coral reefs in a specific region, using remote sensing techniques and field surveys.

Importance of Research Objectives

Research objectives play a crucial role in the research process and hold significant importance for several reasons:

• Guiding the Research Process: Research objectives provide a clear roadmap for the entire research process. They help researchers stay focused and on track, ensuring that the study remains purposeful and relevant. 
• Defining the Scope of the Study: Research objectives help in determining the boundaries and scope of the study. They clarify what aspects of the research topic will be explored and what will be excluded. 
• Providing Direction for Data Collection and Analysis: Research objectives assist in identifying the type of data to be collected and the methods of data collection. They also guide the selection of appropriate data analysis techniques. 
• Evaluating the Success of the Study: Research objectives serve as benchmarks for evaluating the success and outcomes of the research. They provide measurable criteria against which the researcher can assess whether the objectives have been met or not. 
• Enhancing Communication and Collaboration: Clearly defined research objectives facilitate effective communication and collaboration among researchers, advisors, and stakeholders. 

Common Mistakes to Avoid While Writing Research Objectives

When writing research objectives, it’s important to be aware of common mistakes and pitfalls that can undermine the effectiveness and clarity of your objectives. Here are some common mistakes to avoid:

• Vague or Ambiguous Language: One of the key mistakes is using vague or ambiguous language that lacks specificity. Ensure that your research objectives are clearly and precisely stated, leaving no room for misinterpretation or confusion.
• Lack of Measurability: Research objectives should be measurable, meaning that they should allow for the collection of data or evidence that can be quantified or observed. Avoid setting objectives that cannot be measured or assessed objectively.
• Lack of Alignment with Research Questions or Hypotheses: Your research objectives should directly align with the research questions or hypotheses you have formulated. Make sure there is a clear connection between them to maintain coherence in your study.
• Overgeneralization : Avoid writing research objectives that are too broad or encompass too many variables or phenomena. Overgeneralized objectives may lead to a lack of focus or feasibility in conducting the research.
• Unrealistic or Unattainable Objectives: Ensure that your research objectives are realistic and attainable within the available resources, time, and scope of your study. Setting unrealistic objectives may compromise the validity and reliability of your research.

In conclusion, research objectives are integral to the success and effectiveness of any research study. They provide a clear direction, focus, and purpose, guiding the entire research process from start to finish. By formulating specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound objectives, researchers can define the scope of their study, guide data collection and analysis, and evaluate the outcomes of their research.

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About Sowjanya Pedada

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Research Aims and Objectives: The dynamic duo for successful research

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.

Understanding the Difference between Research Aims and Objectives

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:

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:

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.

Importance of Well-defined Aims and Objectives

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:

• Provides direction: Clear aims and well-defined objectives provide a specific direction for your research study, ensuring that the research stays focused on a specific topic or problem. This helps to prevent the research from becoming too broad or unfocused, and ensures that the study remains relevant and meaningful.
• Guides research design: The research aim and objectives help guide the research design and methodology, ensuring that your study is designed in a way that will answer the research questions and achieve the research objectives.
• Helps with resource allocation: Clear research aims and objectives helps you to allocate resources effectively , including time, financial resources, human resources, and other required materials. With a well-defined aim and objectives, you can identify the resources required to conduct the research, and allocate them in a way that maximizes efficiency and productivity.
• Assists in evaluation: Clearly specified research aims and objectives allow for effective evaluation of your research project’s success. You can assess whether the research has achieved its objectives, and whether the aim has been met. This evaluation process can help to identify areas of the research project that may require further attention or modification.
• Enhances communication: Well-defined research aims and objectives help to enhance communication among the research team, stakeholders, funding agencies, and other interested parties. Clear aims and objectives ensure that everyone involved in your research project understands the purpose and goals of the study. This can help to foster collaboration and ensure that everyone is working towards the same end goal.

How to Formulate Research Aims and Objectives

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:

• Identify the research question : Clearly identify the questions you want to answer through your research. This will help you define the scope of your research. Understanding the characteristics of a good research question will help you generate clearer aims and objectives.
• Conduct literature review : When defining your research aim and objectives, it’s important to conduct a literature review to identify key concepts, theories, and methods related to your research problem or question. Conducting a thorough literature review can help you understand what research has been done in the area and what gaps exist in the literature.
• Identify the research aim: Develop a research aim that summarizes the overarching goal of your research. 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).
• Use action verbs: Use action verbs such as “investigate,” “examine,” “analyze,” and “compare” to describe your research aims and objectives. This makes them more specific and measurable.
• Ensure alignment with research question: Ensure that the research aim and objectives are aligned with the research question. This helps to ensure that the research remains focused and that the objectives are specific enough to answer your research question.
• Refine and revise: Once the research aim and objectives have been developed, refine and revise them as needed. Seek feedback from your colleagues, mentors, or supervisors to ensure that they are clear, concise, and achievable within the given resources and timeframe.
• Communicate: After finalizing the research aim and objectives, they should be communicated to the research team, stakeholders, and other interested parties. This helps to ensure that everyone is working towards the same end goal and understands the purpose of the study.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid While Formulating Aims and Objectives

There are several common mistakes that researchers can make when writing research aims and objectives. These include:

• Being too broad or vague: Aims and objectives that are too general or unclear can lead to confusion and lack of focus. It is important to ensure that the aims and objectives are concise and clear.
• Being too narrow or specific: On the other hand, aims and objectives that are too narrow or specific may limit the scope of the research and make it difficult to draw meaningful conclusions or implications.
• Being too ambitious: While it is important to aim high, being too ambitious with the aims and objectives can lead to unrealistic expectations and can be difficult to achieve within the constraints of the research project.
• Lack of alignment: The aims and objectives should be directly linked to the research questions being investigated. Otherwise, this will lead to a lack of coherence in the research project.
• Lack of feasibility: The aims and objectives should be achievable within the constraints of the research project, including time, budget, and resources. Failing to consider feasibility may cause compromise of the research quality.
• Failing to consider ethical considerations: The aims and objectives should take into account any ethical considerations, such as ensuring the safety and well-being of study participants.
• Failing to involve all stakeholders: It’s important to involve all relevant stakeholders, such as participants, supervisors, and funding agencies, in the development of the aims and objectives to ensure they are appropriate and relevant.

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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Formulating Research Aims and Objectives

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:

• Analyzing the nature of organizational culture at Virgin Atlantic by September 1, 2022
• Identifying factors impacting Virgin Atlantic organizational culture by September 16, 2022
• Analyzing impacts of Virgin Atlantic organizational culture on employee performances by September 30, 2022
• Providing recommendations to Virgin Atlantic strategic level management in terms of increasing the level of effectiveness of organizational culture by October 5, 2022

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.

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

How to Write a Marketing Research Objective

We all know the old adage: is marketing is an art or a science?

At Seer, we think it’s both. But not necessarily both at the same time. We believe the better question is: which comes first in marketing, art or science?

And if you ask us that question, we’d tell you it’s a science first.

"The science of marketing is all about using data and insights to drive your strategy. The art of marketing is how you express that strategy."

Now that we know we are starting with science, what does that mean exactly?

Well, remember when you were in school and you had to come up with your own science research experiment? Remember what came first? The objective. Why? Because without an objective, you don’t have a testable proposition. And without a testable proposition, you don’t have direction. And we all know that when research doesn’t have a direction, it typically doesn’t garner any groundbreaking takeaways.

So, what does your high school science experiment have to do with marketing research?

Similar to the traditional objective, a great marketing research plan starts with a strong objective. One that is focused, measurable, and effective. Without a clear objective, your marketing research will not be as successful. 

What is a Marketing Research Objective?

[TIP] By definition, a "Research Objective" is a statement of purpose that outlines a specific result to achieve within a dedicated time frame and available resources.

Applying this logic to marketing, a marketing research objective is a statement that outlines what you want to know about your customer. Clearly defining your objective at the beginning stages will help you avoid conflicting expectations or wasted collecting irrelevant data. 

How Do You Create a Marketing Research Objective?

Start at the end. I know it sounds counterintuitive, but if you start with the desired outcome, you will be able to create a more focused objective. What’s the one thing you want to be able to take away from this research? What do you plan to do with the information? What does success look like? Use this objective as your compass while you navigate your research and analysis. 

Typically, it’s easiest to do this in the form of a question. Here are a few examples.

• Example 1: Which features in Product X are most important to our Enterprise customers? 

This question will give you a list of features, in order of importance, for your Enterprise customer. 

• Example 2: What are the different search triggers amongst our four customer segments? 

This question will result in a list of common factors that result in users searching for Service Y. 

When you start seeing all the data points, behaviors, and survey responses - curiosity can set in.

An abundance of data can pull you in multiple directions because each finding is interesting in its own right. That’s when your objective comes in. Know the end result you are working toward and stay on that path.

Creating a Research Objective

Once you’ve got your desired outcome, you’ll want to create your objective. A few things to consider as you create your statement: 

• Where does this fit into your marketing strategy? Where does this objective fit into your larger marketing strategy? Not only is this helpful when dispersing information internally or getting buy-in, it keeps the research team focused on the higher business objectives attached to this research. Is this part of your company’s focus on brand awareness? A new product launch? An analysis of competitors? These are all very different things. 
• Include your target audience. Typically, it’s difficult to understand everything with every user segment so pick which segment you plan to analyze. Is it your Enterprise customers? Customers living in a specific region? A certain demographic segment? Including this in your objective will be a helpful gut check when choosing participants. 
• What will you measure? You don’t need to list out all of the data points you plan to measure, but there should be some measurable element in your objective. Is it sentiment? Are you looking for frequencies? What about behavioral trends? Including this in your objective will ensure you pick the most appropriate research methodology to acquire that measurable element. 
• A behavior. What is the behavior or action that we are going to be researching? Is navigating your website? Is it purchasing a product? Is it clicking on an ad? 

Let’s look at some examples: 

Common Marketing Research Objective Pitfalls

While creating an objective may seem relatively straightforward, it can be easy to get wrong. Let’s go over some of the common pitfalls.

Objective is Too Broad

Now, if you follow the outline above, this shouldn’t be an issue because it forces you to get granular with your objective. 

• Specific: As part of our rebranding, we are conducting a sentiment analysis with our recurring customers 
• Broad: As part of our rebranding, we will ask customers how they feel about it

We want to avoid broad objectives because they can allow curiosity to get the best of us and a once seemingly clear research project can get muddied. 

More Than One Objective

Every research project should have one objective and one objective only. Again, while this may seem easy enough to manage, you’d be surprised just how easy it is to sneak those secondary and tertiary objectives into your statement. 

• One objective: We aim to understand what questions our customers have when considering purchasing a car 
• Two objectives: We aim to understand what questions our customers have when searching for and considering a car 

You see, the questions customers may have when searching for a car could be completely different than the questions they have when considering purchasing a car. 

Making Assumptions

Avoid making your objective into a hypothesis with absolute statements and assumptions. Your objective should be more of a question than a prediction. That comes later. 

• Objective: Uncover the purchase journey of our target demographic
• Assumption: Uncover what part search plays in the purchase journey of our target demographic

This looks unsuspecting, but in reality, we're already assuming that search plays a role in our audience's journey. That could sway the focus of the research.  

Once you’ve created your objective, let it (and only it) drive the beginning stages of your marketing research.

Write it on a post-it and stick it on your desk, write it on the whiteboard at every meeting you have, keep it top of mind as you continue your research. It will serve as a compass and help you avoid being led astray by interesting data, curious colleagues, and conflicting agendas. 

More Tips for Understanding Your Audience

Check back on the Seer blog for the next installment from our Audience team. Sign up for our newsletter to read the latest blogs on audience, SEO, PPC, and more. 

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Establishing a research partnership to investigate functional loss and rehabilitation towards the end of life

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Matthew Maddocks , Lisa Jane Brighton , Louise Connell , Alison Cowley , Barry Laird , Guy Peryer , Carmine Petrasso , Lucy Ziegler , and Rowan Harwood .

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Background:

Functional loss, the inability to perform necessary or desired tasks, is a common consequence of life-limiting illnesses and associated symptoms (pain, fatigue, breathlessness, etc.) and causes suffering for patients and families. Rehabilitation, a set of interventions designed to address functional loss, is recognised as essential within palliative care, as it can improve quality of life and reduce care costs. However, not everyone has equal access to rehabilitation. Despite limited life expectancy or uncertain ability to benefit from interventions, palliative rehabilitation services are often absent. This is partly due to a lack of high-quality research around optimal models of rehabilitation. Research in this area is methodologically challenging and requires multidisciplinary and cross-speciality collaboration.

Aim and objectives:

We aimed to establish and grow a United Kingdom research partnership across diverse areas, commencing with partners from Edinburgh, East Anglia, Lancashire, Leeds, London and Nottingham, around the topic area of functional loss and rehabilitation in palliative and end-of-life care. The objectives were to (1) develop a multidisciplinary, cross-speciality research partnership, (2) generate high-priority unanswered research questions with stakeholders, (3) co-design and submit high-quality competitive research proposals, including (4) sharing topic and methodological expertise, and (5) to build capacity and capability to deliver nationally generalisable studies.

Activities:

The partnership was established with professionals from across England and Scotland with complementary areas of expertise including complex palliative and geriatric research, physiotherapy, nursing, palliative medicine and psychology. Research questions were generated through a modified version of the Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative, which allowed for the collation and refinement of research questions relating to functional loss and rehabilitation towards the end of life. Partnership members were supported through a series of workshops to transform research ideas into proposals for submission to stage one calls by the National Institute for Health and Care Research. The partnership not only supported students, clinicians and public members with training opportunities but also supported clinicians in securing protected time from clinical duties to allow them to focus on developing local research initiatives.

Reflections:

Through our partnership we established a network that offered researchers, clinicians, students and public members the chance to develop novel skills and explore opportunities for personal and professional development around the topic area of functional loss and rehabilitation in palliative and end-of-life care. The partnership was crucial to foster collaboration and facilitate exchange of ideas, knowledge and experiences to build joint research study proposals.

This article presents independent research funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) programme as award number NIHR135171.

A plain language summary of this article is available on the NIHR Journals Library website https://doi.org/10.3310/PTHC7598 .

Plain language summary

‘Functional loss’ describes a person becoming unable to do the everyday activities they would like or need to do. Life-limiting illnesses and their symptoms can often lead to functional loss: a common source of suffering for patients and their families.

Rehabilitation aims to support a person to carry out everyday activities that have been affected by illness. This should be an important part of providing good palliative care. However, in practice, not everyone has equal access to rehabilitation and there is a lack of high-quality research in this area.

• Establishing the partnership – Brought together experts from different fields, like palliative care, care for older people and research, to improve rehabilitation for people with life-limiting illnesses.
• Generating research questions – Collected and ranked research questions about functional loss and rehabilitation from various stakeholders, including patients, to identify key research areas.
• Developing research proposals – Helped, through workshops, turn these research questions into detailed proposals for funding. This involved refining ideas, discussing how best to conduct the studies and getting feedback.
• Building capacity and capability – Provided training opportunities for its members, including clinicians, researchers and patients, to improve their research and rehabilitation skills. It also offered mentorship to people with dual roles as clinicians and researchers.
• Service mapping – Improved our understanding of services for functional loss and rehabilitation across different healthcare settings.

The Palliative Care Rehabilitation Partnership has made gains in addressing the complex issues of functional loss and rehabilitation in people with life-limiting illnesses. The partnership has supported the development of at least three new research proposals that will be used to apply for future funding.

Functional loss (also called activity limitation or disability) is defined as an inability to perform necessary or desired tasks. 1 This is typically operationalised as occurring in terms of the inability to perform activities of daily living: from more basic self-care tasks, such as bathing and dressing, to instrumental activities requiring more complex planning and thinking, such as safety awareness, taking medications, social participation and managing money and bills. 1 – 3 Life-limiting illness(es) and accompanying symptoms (e.g. pain, fatigue, breathlessness, anxiety, depression or cognitive dysfunction) commonly contribute to functional loss and a consequent need for help, support or supervision. 4 – 6 While functional loss often occurs late in the course of disease for people with cancer, those with non-cancer conditions (e.g. chronic respiratory diseases or heart failure) and multiple long-term conditions experience functional loss earlier in the disease trajectory, 7 , 8 with periods of acute worsening that fluctuate over time. 9 – 11 Both sudden and progressive loss of ability can cause crises that precipitate hospital or care home admission 12 and result in distress and suffering related to loss of usual roles and routines, independence, choice and sense of dignity. 13 – 15

Rehabilitation is a set of interventions designed to address functional loss, promote activity and preserve functional reserve and social participation. 16 , 17 It is characterised by cycles of nested treatment, which are reviewed and refined over time and typically delivered by a multidisciplinary team. 18 As people age and increasingly live with multiple long-term conditions, trajectories of functional loss become more variable and unpredictable giving rise to additional complexities for rehabilitation delivery. 19 Challenges in rehabilitation include weighing up potential treatment benefits and burden, aligning care to individuals’ priorities and being responsive to fluctuating needs across multiple domains of health. 20 – 22 Palliative rehabilitation focuses on relief and reduced impact from distressing/disruptive symptoms (e.g. breathlessness or fatigue) 23 and managing or minimising the impact of geriatric syndromes (e.g. frailty or sarcopenia). 24

Within the fields of palliative medicine and geriatric medicine, a spectrum tends to exist where palliative medicine focuses on symptoms and geriatric medicine focuses on function. 25 Both share commitment to person-centeredness, communication, education and multiprofessional working. Rehabilitation is recognised as essential within both palliative and geriatric care: it can reverse and slow functional loss, which may not only improve quality of life but may also cut ongoing costs relating to care, admissions and complications. 26 – 28 Examples of specific interventions include techniques to manage persistent symptoms and adjustment work around loss (in palliative care), 29 – 31 comprehensive assessment and management of geriatric syndromes (in geriatric care) 32 – 34 and environmental adaption and assistive technologies. 35 – 37 Yet, access to these services is often inequitable, and individual teams’ capacity to deliver evidence-based rehabilitation interventions is highly variable. 27 , 38

Despite limited life expectancy, or uncertain ability to benefit from interventions, palliative rehabilitation services have often been not provided or dis-investment has occurred due to limited resources and competing priorities. 39 – 41 Such decisions are rarely supported by rigorous needs assessment or evaluation of effectiveness and cost effectiveness partly because these are methodologically difficult in this context. As a result, optimal ways to integrate the best of palliative and geriatric rehabilitation towards the end of life are currently unknown. Clinical trials and conventional health economic approaches may not be sufficient, at least on their own, and new methodologies have been suggested to answer these questions more meaningfully and in a way that supports service development and commissioning. To address these challenges, it is imperative that diverse expertise is brought together. 42 We therefore aimed to establish and grow a research partnership around the topic area of functional loss and rehabilitation in palliative and end-of-life care.

• Establish and develop a multidisciplinary, cross-peciality collaborative research partnership that includes geographic populations historically underserved by research activity.
• Generate key research questions in relation to functional loss and rehabilitation in palliative care by collaborating with professional and public stakeholders.
• Co-design and submit high-quality competitive research proposals to future National Institute for Health and Care Research ( NIHR ) calls on palliative and end-of-life care.
• Share topic and methodological expertise to jointly address the complexities of rehabilitation interventions within palliative and end-of-life care, including their rigorous evaluation, and pathways to implementation.
• Build capacity and capability to deliver nationally generalisable studies of rehabilitation interventions in palliative and end-of-life care, across health and social care, and voluntary and community organisations in partnership with patients and their families.

Objective 1 – Establishing the partnership

The Palliative Care Rehabilitation Partnership was established by professionals from across England and Scotland with a focus around the topic area of functional loss and rehabilitation in palliative and end-of-life care. The partnership contained multidisciplinary professionals with complementary areas of expertise and experience in complex palliative and geriatric research, physiotherapy, nursing, palliative medicine and psychology. The project adopted the term ‘partnership’ to describe the expectation of collaboration among researchers, clinical academics, clinicians, students and patient and public involvement (PPI) members. The partnership leads, who were the main representatives from the collaborator sites ( Figure 1 ), steered activities such as workshops and training and were responsible for promoting the partnership to local people and infrastructure. Individuals who participated in any of the partnership activities were considered partners.

Partnership leads, expertise and linked infrastructure.

The partnership was successfully established through an initial launch meeting, development of an online presence and creating platforms for joint working. We recruited a diverse group of multidisciplinary, cross-speciality professionals spanning England and Scotland, with insight into the local geographical populations and areas under-represented in research. The partnership was promoted via the Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) National Leads for Palliative and End of Life Care, local ARCs and the Council for Allied Health Professions Research to encourage clinicians, students and PPI members to engage. The partnership created a shared online workspace via Microsoft SharePoint, which provided the partnership leads with the means to collectively work on projects and share information. Additionally, the partnership leads collectively met monthly via Microsoft Teams to discuss partnership activities and to share updates on key deliverables. Partnership activities were shared with and open to any professional or public member with an interest in research and care relating to functional loss in palliative care and towards the end of life. An overview of the partnership’s key activities is summarised in Figure 2 .

Summary of partnership activities.

Objective 2: Research question generation

The partnership commenced its activities by conducting a research question generation activity, utilising a modified version of the Child Health and Nutrition Initiative methodology 43 to gather and score questions related to functional loss and rehabilitation towards the end of life. This was completed as a stakeholder activity (rather than a research study), and therefore research ethics approval was not required.

A management group, comprising all the partnership leads, and a stakeholder’s group consisting of researchers, clinical academics, clinicians, experts by experience, patients and family members were created. The stakeholder’s group were recruited through the partnership leads’ affiliations and networks, established public involvement groups and key research publications as well as snowballing through additional recommendations from those invited to participate.

The research question generation and prioritisation process comprised five key stages: defining, sourcing, synthesising, scoring and analysis/dissemination. The management group specified the scope and prioritisation criteria for the research question generation exercise. The questions were devised by using the following scope aligned with the topic and NIHR principles:

• Adults with advanced disease experiencing, or at risk of, functional loss.
• Research ideas should be relevant to a UK context.
• Research projects should deliver findings that could be implemented into practice within 3–5 years.

Once the scope had been established, the stakeholder’s group were e-mailed to inform about the objectives and context of the research question generation exercise and were invited to participate. Members who expressed an interest in participating were subsequently invited to generate and submit research questions via e-mail or an online form. PPI members were offered support in sharing their research ideas and developing those into a research question format if they preferred.

The proposed research questions were collated by the management group and were made available to the stakeholder’s group for 4 weeks, who were invited to score the proposed research questions in relation to the prioritisation criteria via a digital or paper form. The stakeholder’s group were asked to score research questions against five criteria:

• Answerability – Is the proposed research question answerable?
• Effectiveness – Will the research question lead to intervention that effectively addresses functional loss in advanced disease?
• Feasibility – Is the research question feasible based on current knowledge, capacity and resources?
• Burden reduction – Will the proposed research lead to a significant burden reduction for patients, carers and families?
• Equity – Will the research bring about changes that favour patients equitably?

Research question scoring

The stakeholders scored each domain of the research question by using the following scoring system: 0 (unlikely to meet criterion), 0.5 (not sure if it can meet the criterion) and 1 (likely to meet the criterion). PPI members were offered additional support to complete the scoring and were offered the option of alternative completion formats (larger print paper copies) and a simplified scoring system, if they preferred, using just one of the five criteria (burden reduction). Participants were asked to leave a blank score if they were unable to judge the criterion due to a lack of knowledge on the subject. Additionally, members were provided with the opportunity to input free text comments via the online form to relay any constructive feedback and to express their interest in a proposed question. This information was consequently shared with the individual(s) who proposed the question, with the aim of introducing members with a shared interest in a given topic area. For each research question submitted, mean scores from individual responses across the five prioritisation criteria were calculated, giving an overall ‘Research Priority Score’. The scores were gathered using Microsoft Excel and transformed into a percentage to make them more interpretable.

The activity generated a variety of research ideas, with some ideas being more refined and developed than others. A total of 82 research ideas were submitted by 35 people; out of which, 37 research ideas considered a variety of interventions for people with a specific life-limiting condition, with the top 5 being cancer, dementia, stroke, motor neurone disease and frailty. The remaining 45 research ideas considered the impact of interventions in patients with any advanced disease. Among the proposed research questions, 23 questions suggested possible interventions and outcomes to be measured. These included assessing the efficacy of modalities such as exercise, nutrition, electrotherapy, psychosocial strategies and the use of robotics in reducing functional decline, minimising the impact of fatigue and improving quality of life for patients and their families. Figure 3 captures key themes from the research questions submitted to depict the suggested populations, interventions, comparisons and outcomes.

Word cloud depicting the population, intervention, comparison and outcomes from the submitted research questions.

On average each question was scored by 15 people ( Table 1 ) and received 5 free-text responses. A mean of 4 people expressed an interest for each question submitted, with one question generating an interest from 13 individuals. Notably, research questions scored highest on the ‘answerability’ domain while most concerns were raised around ‘effectiveness’ and ‘equity’. Research questions and scores were shared with all participants and disseminated in a report via e-mail. The generated scores and free text comments allowed members to strengthen their research proposals by identifying areas requiring development prior to attending the partnership’s first workshop.

Scores provided by the stakeholder group on the submitted research questions

Objectives 3 and 4: Research proposal development

Through a series of three workshops, the partnership supported the transformation of research ideas, generated through the research question activity, towards full proposals. Workshops were conducted via Zoom with academic, clinical and PPI representation at each. We welcomed presentations from anyone who had submitted a research question. Additionally, the workshops welcomed participants who were actively working on research proposals related to the partnership’s objectives. This approach aimed to encourage broader engagement and collaboration within the community interested in functional loss and rehabilitation in palliative care.

Workshop 1: shaping the proposal

Workshop 1 provided presenters with the opportunity to share their initial research ideas with the group. Each presenter was allocated 20 minutes and asked to prepare for the session by considering the aims and objectives of their research idea and by building upon the feedback that had been given from the research question generation exercise. Presenters were requested to refrain from using jargon during their presentations so that all members in the workshop would be able to actively participate and contribute. The workshop comprised facilitated discussions, where attendees considered the potential issues around delivery of the project, identified expertise needed to answer the proposed research question and identified key stakeholders that would need to be consulted. Each presenter received verbal and written feedback, which was offered to further develop research ideas.

The partnership’s first workshop was held virtually on 24 May 2022 and was attended by 30 people: 11 researchers, 4 clinical academics, 9 clinicians and 6 PPI members. A total of six research ideas were presented. Research topics included rehabilitation decisions in the frail older population, management of fatigue, sharing prognostic information with patients and families, supporting mobility in patients at end of life, palliative care for patients with cerebral palsy and engaging informal carers in a patient’s rehabilitation. The workshop generated varied discussion between attendees, with a wide range of suggestions put forward to presenters to consider while further developing their proposals. Feedback from attendees was collated and sent to each presenter, with several recurring themes. Attendee feedback emphasised the significance of considering the perspectives and expectations of both the patient and their family during palliative rehabilitation. It also stressed the need to ensure that research questions were pertinent to the current issues facing patients and that research projects were supported by multidisciplinary, multiprofessional and PPI representation.

The first workshop received positive feedback from attendees, with feedback highlighting the importance of collaborative partnerships and the benefit of meaningful engagement with relevant stakeholders, such as PPI members. Attendees suggested that subsequent workshops could be improved by ensuring that any materials used during the session be made available beforehand to allow for sufficient time to consider questions and feedback.

Workshop 2: strengthening the study methodology

With support from methodologists, the second workshop aimed to develop the early research ideas that had been presented during the first workshop by considering the following components of proposals: study design, methodologies to be employed, outcomes to be measured, intervention theory and analysis plans. Each presenter was allocated 30 minutes to discuss their proposal designs. Through facilitated discussions, attendees were asked to comment on the feasibility of the study, recruitment, ethical and other practical considerations of the methodology to be employed. Presenters were provided with verbal and written feedback from the group, received individual support from methodologists and were encouraged to continue developing their research proposals.

The partnership’s second online workshop was held on 13 September 2022 and was attended by 24 people: 13 researchers, 4 clinical academics, 2 clinicians and 5 PPI members. Three presenters shared the progress and development of their respective research idea since the first workshop. Topics that were revisited were rehabilitation decisions in the frail older population, supporting mobility in patients at end of life and palliative care for patients with cerebral palsy. The workshop provided a forum for sharing of ideas and identified methodological considerations that needed to be addressed by presenters. Examples of feedback given to presenters included the need to carefully consider the inclusion and exclusion criteria of research ideas, to consider the individual components of any complex intervention, to identify the primary outcome tool to be used to measure change and to understand the rationale for palliative care services in the defined population.

Workshop 3: refining the proposals

The final workshop intended for members of the partnership to present their draft research proposals and receive final verbal and written feedback from the group prior to NIHR submission. However, in response to feedback from interested attendees, the format was kept flexible to incorporate people at different stages of proposal development. Presenters were allocated 30 minutes to present their proposal, followed by an open question and answer session. Facilitated discussions helped attendees evaluate various aspects of the proposal, which was built upon discussions and themes from the second workshop.

The partnership’s final workshop was held online on 9 February 2023 and was attended by 14 people: 6 researchers, 3 clinical academics and 5 PPI members. Two members presented their research proposals. One project aimed to evaluate the impact of exercise and nutrition in people with cancer, while the other wished to explore palliative rehabilitation in the context of older adults with frailty. Both projects generated interest from attending PPI members in participating in the research. Feedback on the proposals included recommendations for recruiting participants while ensuring diversity in the study populations and addressing implementation failures of research in clinical practice and provided suggestions to reduce such failures.

Objective 5: Building capacity and capability

Service mapping.

Health and social care services for functional loss vary widely across locations in both goals and delivery (restorative, adaptive or prosthetic) and organisational structures. This is the case across community health care, intermediate care, acute and mental health hospitals as well as hospices and care home settings. Numerous specialties are involved, including primary care, rehabilitation and therapies, and also different medical disciplines, including geriatric medicine and palliative care.

The partnership aimed to map services catering to functional loss for individuals approaching end of life, including evaluating their capability and capacity as well as identifying barriers and facilitators to accessing these services. The partnership sought to investigate the extent to which these services were aware of rehabilitation requirements towards end-of-life care as well as their management of access, prognostication, prioritisation, effectiveness, adverse effects, treatment burden, communication, shared decision-making and advance care planning. However, during the partnership’s activities, several challenges arose in current service mapping due to a lack of shared understanding of ‘palliative rehabilitation’. In response to this, the partnership took a more conceptual approach to this exercise.

To contribute towards a better shared conceptualisation of palliative rehabilitation, the team channelled their insights from discussions throughout the partnership into an academic commentary piece. The commentary summarises the particular challenges in how rehabilitation is perceived in the context of palliative and end-of-life care, including the need to challenge assumptions focused on restoration and recovery of abilities and ideas around ‘no rehabilitation potential’. It calls for approaches that include adaptation and assistance in the context of functional decline as well as flexibility to take individualised, goal-based approaches that focus on what is important to the person and their family.

Training opportunities

The partnership lends itself to the ‘virtual community of practice’ model, 44 as it was established by a range of individuals with complementary skills and expertise that aimed to advance knowledge around functional loss and rehabilitation in palliative care. This approach shares similarities with other approaches such as the ‘virtual learning community’ model, 44 but has more of an emphasis on sharing knowledge between participants with a shared research area.

The partnership aimed to understand and strengthen capacity and capability by providing structured training, opportunities for knowledge exchange via workshops and ensuring clinicians partaking within the partnership were provided with protected time and mentorship. The partnership offered funded structured training and development opportunities for members, with focused learning that builds on NIHR open online courses on ‘improving health care through clinical research’ and ‘what is health research?’. The partnership extended the invitation to attend training to students, clinicians and PPI members. In summary:

• Two PhD students were supported to attend the Palliative Care Research Methods course jointly delivered by the Association of Palliative Medicine and Palliative Care Research Society. The course ran over 3 weeks and supported them in developing skills in palliative research.
• Four clinicians were supported to attend ‘Developing Complex Interventions to Improve Health’, a 1-day course run by the University of Sheffield. The course explored the different approaches that can be used to answer complex questions within health care and provided examples of how clinicians may apply these methods to a clinical context. One clinician stated that ‘the course covered important ground and detailed the latest developments. I enjoyed the interactive components, and the pre-reading helped set the scene.’
• Six PPI members partook in a two-part online qualitative analysis training session, delivered over the course of two 3-hour sessions by one of the partnership leads. The course covered the theory behind qualitative methods, considered the strengths and limitations of qualitative research and provided an overview of thematic analysis. The PPI training was well received with one participant stating that ‘although I had little knowledge of qualitative analysis, I found the training informative and useful.’
• Clinical academic mentorship

The partnership offered mentorship to two clinical academics and provided them with protected time to develop research projects and proposals. The partnership recognised the importance of protected time for front-line clinical academics, as studies indicate that these individuals often lack the necessary time to apply their clinical and academic expertise to promote clinically driven research. 45 – 47 One clinical academic commented that:

The partnership provided me with access to and support from world leading academics in the field of palliative care. They helped me understand different methodologies, gave me the time and space to reflect on methodological and theoretical challenges in developing robust programmes of research. As an early career researcher this has been immensely valuable.

• Patient and public involvement

Alongside the outlined activities, the partnership also took up several other capacity building exercises. The involvement of PPI members was embedded within all partnership activities, including the research generation activity and proposal development. Two PPI members and an academic from the partnership collaboratively wrote a blog piece for the NIHR , which reflected on their experiences from partaking within the first partnership workshop. 48 Outside of these activities, PPI members were encouraged to join the various existing networks and ongoing activities, such as the National ARC Palliative and End of Life Care PPI workshops. Partnership leads also shared their expertise and good practice in involvement with other members of the partnership and helped link up partners with additional PPI expertise where helpful.

• Equality, diversity and inclusion

The partnership was committed to equality, diversity and inclusion during all activities. To achieve this, the partnership actively sought participation from a diverse range of stakeholders, including clinicians, researchers and PPI members, ensuring that voices from different backgrounds and experiences were heard and valued. Additionally, the partnership’s training opportunities and mentorship programmes were designed to be inclusive and accessible to individuals from various backgrounds and levels of expertise.

• Reflections on partnership working

The partnership leads collectively met to discuss the key learning points after establishing the partnership. There was a mutual consensus that the partnership provided opportunities to gain new perspectives by bringing together individuals from across the country, each with their own unique skills, expertise and experiences. It provided junior researchers with the opportunity to be part of the iterative process of proposal development as well as provided opportunities to network with a more diverse group of experts. The workshops in particular were considered to be successful and of benefit, and would be recommended for future partnerships. The workshops provided the opportunity for presenters to be supported with their proposal development, brought together various professionals from a range of disciplines and specialisations and allowed PPI members to share their personal experiences and insights. The partnership leaders identified some administrative challenges during the set-up phase of the partnership, including those related to contracting with use of generic research governance templates by partners and sites. These difficulties were likely due to the novel nature of the partnership and being among the first to receive this NIHR funding. Moreover, the clinical academics without backfilled time found it challenging to create and develop proposals alongside their usual responsibilities. Future initiatives looking to encourage new collaborations with clinical academics may need to prioritise additional resources to support the time required. Through the workshops, the partnership has supported the development of at least three research proposals in preparation for submission to NIHR and other public funding calls. These include streams taking part in the NIHR themed call for Palliative and End of Life Care and fellowships.

During a 15-month period, the Palliative Care Rehabilitation Partnership was established and facilitated a series of workshops to aid members developing, refining and transforming their research ideas into research proposals for submission to NIHR funding calls. Furthermore, the partnership engaged in a range of activities such as conceptually mapping palliative rehabilitation services, promoting training opportunities for students, clinicians and PPI members as well as granting clinical academics protected time to undertake research activities. As a result of the opportunities made possible by the partnership, a network has been formed that will continue to collaborate on, and support research related to, functional loss and rehabilitation in palliative and end-of-life care.

• Additional information

CRediT contribution statement

Matthew Maddocks ( https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0189-0952 ): Conceptualisation (equal), Funding acquisition (lead), Methodology (lead), Supervision (lead), Visualisation (supporting), Writing – original draft (supporting), Writing – editing and reviewing (supporting). Lisa Jane Brighton ( https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0516-0102 ): Conceptualisation (equal), Data curation (lead), Funding acquisition (supporting), Methodology (supporting), Project administration (lead), Visualisation (supporting), Writing – original draft (supporting), Writing – editing and reviewing (supporting). Louise Connell ( https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0629-2919 ): Conceptualisation (equal), Funding acquisition (supporting), Methodology (supporting), Writing – editing and reviewing (supporting). Alison Cowley ( https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6858-475X ): Conceptualisation (equal), Funding acquisition (supporting), Methodology (supporting), Writing – editing and reviewing (supporting). Barry Laird ( https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2807-6192 ): Conceptualisation (equal), Funding acquisition (supporting), Methodology (supporting), Writing – editing and reviewing (supporting). Guy Peryer ( https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0425-6911 ): Conceptualisation (equal), Funding acquisition (supporting), Methodology (supporting), Writing – editing and reviewing (supporting). Carmine Petrasso ( https://orcid.org/0009-0002-1462-5960 ): Conceptualisation (equal), Data curation (supporting), Project administration (supporting), Visualisation (lead), Writing – original draft (lead), Writing – editing and reviewing (supporting). Lucy Ziegler ( https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9563-5014 ): Conceptualisation (equal), Funding acquisition (supporting), Methodology (supporting), Writing – editing and reviewing (supporting). Rowan Harwood ( https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4920-6718 ): Conceptualisation (equal), Funding acquisition (lead), Methodology (supporting), Supervision (supporting), Writing – editing and reviewing (supporting).

Disclosure of interests

Full disclosure of interests: Completed ICMJE forms for all authors, including all related interests, are available in the toolkit on the NIHR Journals Library report publication page at https://doi.org/10.3310/PTHC7598 .

Primary conflicts of interest: Matthew Maddocks is supported by a NIHR Career Development Fellowship (CDF-2017-10-009). Matthew Maddocks and Lisa Jane Brighton are supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration South London ( NIHR ARC South London) at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Rowan Harwood is the chief editor for Age and Ageing journal and has been previously supported by the following NIHR grants: NIHR134221, RP-DG-0611-10013, RP-PG-0614-20007, 13/114/93, PB-PG-0110-21229, 97/17/16, NIHR135262, 13/75/01, 08/1809/227, PB-PG-0613-31012, RP-PG-0407-10147, NIHR202338 and 15/11/16.

Data-sharing statement

For inquiries or requests related to data sharing, please contact the corresponding author.

Ethics statement

None of the activities were classified as research therefore no ethical approval was required.

Information governance statement

King’s College London is committed to handling all personal information in line with the UK Data Protection Act (2018) and the General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR) 2016/679. Under the Data Protection legislation, King’s College London is the Data Controller, and you can find out more about how we handle personal data, including how to exercise your individual rights and the contact details for our Data Protection Officer here ( https://www.kcl.ac.uk/professional-services/business-assurance/data-protection-introduction-data-losses-and-reporting ).

This article presents independent research funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment programme as award number NIHR135171. The views and opinions expressed by authors in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the NHS, the NIHR , the Health Technology Assessment programme or the Department of Health and Social Care. If there are verbatim quotations included in this publication the views and opinions expressed by the interviewees are those of the interviewees and do not necessarily reflect those of the authors, those of the NHS, the NIHR , the HTA programme or the Department of Health and Social Care.

This article reports on one component of the research award Establishing a research partnership to investigate functional loss and rehabilitation towards the end of life. For more information about this research please view the award page ( https://www.fundingawards.nihr.ac.uk/award/NIHR135171 )

About this article

The contractual start date for this research was in January 2022. This article began editorial review in April 2023 and was accepted for publication in November 2023. The authors have been wholly responsible for all data collection, analysis and interpretation, and for writing up their work. The Health Technology Assessment editors and publisher have tried to ensure the accuracy of the authors’ article and would like to thank the reviewers for their constructive comments on the draft document. However, they do not accept liability for damages or losses arising from material published in this article.

This article was published based on current knowledge at the time and date of publication. NIHR is committed to being inclusive and will continually monitor best practice and guidance in relation to terminology and language to ensure that we remain relevant to our stakeholders.

Copyright © 2024 Maddocks et al . This work was produced by Maddocks et al . under the terms of a commissioning contract issued by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. This is an Open Access publication distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution CC BY 4.0 licence, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, reproduction and adaption in any medium and for any purpose provided that it is properly attributed. See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . For attribution the title, original author(s), the publication source – NIHR Journals Library, and the DOI of the publication must be cited.

• List of abbreviations

Applied Research Collaboration

National Institute for Health and Care Research

patient and public involvement

About the Series

Article history.

Last reviewed: April 2023; Accepted: November 2023.

This work was produced by Maddocks et al. under the terms of a commissioning contract issued by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. This is an Open Access publication distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution CC BY 4.0 licence, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, reproduction and adaptation in any medium and for any purpose provided that it is properly attributed. See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . For attribution the title, original author(s), the publication source – NIHR Journals Library, and the DOI of the publication must be cited.

• Cite this Page Maddocks M, Brighton LJ, Connell L, et al. Establishing a research partnership to investigate functional loss and rehabilitation towards the end of life [Internet]. Southampton (UK): National Institute for Health and Care Research; 2024 Apr. doi: 10.3310/PTHC7598
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• Published: 29 April 2024

Palliative care patients in the emergency medical service: a retrospective cohort study from Finland

• Eemil Pesonen 1 , 2 ,
• Pauli Vuorinen 1 , 2 ,
• Leena Surakka 3 , 4 ,
• Juho T. Lehto 1 , 5 &
• Sanna Hoppu 2  

BMC Health Services Research volume  24 , Article number:  543 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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Metrics details

Paramedics are often involved in treating palliative care patients with difficulties regarding symptom control. They report minimal training in palliative care and find decision-making difficult. This often leads to overtreatment and unnecessary transportation to the emergency department. The study’s objective is to determine how much palliative patients use emergency services, how well are they recognized by paramedics and how paramedics choose care in terms of treatment and transportation.

This study is a retrospective cohort study based in the Finnish Tampere University Hospital area. We included patients with a palliative care decision setting the goal of therapy as palliative intent between 1 August 2021 and 31 December 2021 and who died before 1 April 2022. From these patients, records of nurse paramedic visits were retrieved. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the data.

Paramedics visited 69 patients in 97 callouts. These callouts comprised 0.26% of the total dispatches in the study area. The most common reasons for callouts were general weakness, breathing difficulty and pain. The paramedics provided treatment in 40% of the missions. 55% of the patients were transported to the emergency department. A palliative care plan was recognized by the paramedics in 42 of the 97 callouts. A total of 38 patients were recognized as palliative care patients by the paramedics while in the cases of 31 patients, palliative care was not recognized in any dispatch.

Patients in palliative care cause only a minimal load on the emergency medical services, but the paramedics do not necessarily recognize them as such. This leads to the risk of overtreatment and a high transportation rate to the emergency department, which is not an ethical choice. Recognition and treatment provided to palliative care patients by the paramedics could be improved with additional training and greater availability of patient records.

Peer Review reports

The population in Europe is aging. It is estimated that consequently the demand for palliative care services will increase rapidly in the following decades [ 1 ]. The World Health Organization states that patients who are in the end-of-life stage should be able to choose their preferred place to spend their final days and eventually to succumb [ 2 ]. Most prefer to be treated and to die at home [ 3 ]. Nevertheless, patients are often transferred to a hospital when their condition declines [ 3 , 4 ].

Anticipation is the key element in palliative care although decline of the condition and lack of symptom control may still emerge unexpectedly [ 5 ]. Paramedics are often involved in these situations as immediate response after an emergency call, especially out of hours [ 6 ]. Paramedics are typically more familiar with life-sustaining treatments than with symptom control and report minimal training on palliative care [ 4 ]. It is recognized that they experience difficulties making decisions about the treatment and possible transportation of a palliative patient. Lack of adequate information and time pressure often lead to a situation in which paramedics see transportation to the emergency department as their only option [ 7 , 8 ]. This, however, is not in line with palliative care principles. Unnecessary transitions may deteriorate quality of life and expose palliative care patients to futile medical interventions and tests [ 9 , 10 ].

Recent research details the most common causes of paramedic visits to palliative care patients [ 4 ]. It remains unclear whether the paramedics recognize the palliative patients in the field. Difficulties in obtaining information about the palliative care plan could explain the high numbers of transported patients.

Our aim is to recognize the extent to which the patients in palliative care use emergency medical services, whether nurse paramedics identify palliative care patients during the callout, and how they choose care in terms of treatment and transportation according to palliative care principles.

Study design

This is a retrospective cohort study based in the Tampere University Hospital area, Finland, between 1 August 2021 and 1 April 2022.

In the Tampere University Hospital area, emergency medical services (EMS) are produced by several service providers. They operate under the same administration inside the region that covers 15 600 km 2 and has a population of 530 000 people. The annual number of EMS dispatches is 78 000.

The structure of Finnish EMS has previously been described in detail [ 11 , 12 ]. The system is three-tiered, consisting of first responder units, nurse paramedic-staffed advanced level ambulances, and physician-staffed ambulance and helicopter emergency services. Common emergency dispatch is an ambulance. First responder units are used in a supporting role and sent to the scene automatically in some dispatches. A pre-hospital physician can be deployed in the field or consulted by ambulance.

Emergency services are routed through an emergency medical dispatcher (EMD). Dispatch urgency is classified by the EMD from A to D – A and B being immediately life threatening or more stable but urgent missions responded to with lights and sirens. Missions in the C-category are semi-urgent and D, non-urgent. The nurse paramedics are trained to assess the patient on scene and decide whether the patient needs immediate medical treatment or transportation. In addition, nurse paramedics reassess the urgency based on their evaluation. They can decide not to transport by ambulance if the patient’s condition does not warrant it, or the patient can be treated on scene. There is no standard protocol guiding nurse paramedics in the care of palliative patients in the study area.

The Finnish national guidelines and recommendations instruct physicians to recognize patients who need the goal of the treatment shifted to symptom-centered palliative care by making a palliative care decision. This decision is documented by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-10 code Z51.5 (Palliative care) in the patient records. Annually, over 1500 patients receive a palliative care decision (ICD-10 code Z51.5) in Tampere University Hospital.

The palliative care unit of Tampere University Hospital leads the regional palliative care pathway in collaboration with the communities in the region. The pathway includes home care teams and community hospital wards as well as the Pirkanmaa Hospice, where patients with a palliative care decision may be admitted without a visit in the emergency room (ER) in case of unexpected deterioration of symptoms or other palliative care needs.

The study population was gathered based on the palliative care decisions in the patient records. We included patients who were set a goal of therapy as palliative intent by a diagnosis code Z51.5 in the ICD-10 between 1 August 2021 and 31 December 2021 and who died before 1 April 2022. We included only patients living in municipalities where the EMS used an electronic patient record system. These municipalities were Akaa, Lempäälä, Nokia, Ruovesi, Tampere, Urjala, Valkeakoski, Vesilahti, Virrat, and Ylöjärvi. Altogether, 70% of the people in the EMS catchment area live in these municipalities. From these patients, the electronic patient care records were retrieved from the period of four weeks before the setting of the diagnosis code Z51.5 to the day when the patient passed away. If at least one paramedic visit to the patient was reported between the diagnosis and time of death, the patient was included. With these criteria it was ensured that the included patient truly was recognized to be in the end-of-life stage of their illness. The number of patient contacts to the palliative care unit was also retrieved.

Data and statistical analyses

From the study population, basic patient data were collected from the patient records. These included age, gender, current diagnoses, and information about the conditions in which the palliative care decision was set. Precise information about the EMS visits and treatment given was also recorded from the patient records. Paramedics have been instructed to record information about the palliative care decision in the patient records. It was considered that the paramedic had recognized the situation and was aware of the patient’s advanced care plan if the palliative care decision was mentioned in the recording. The recorded data were analyzed using IBM SPSS statistics version 29. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the data.

There were 36 672 EMS dispatches in the study region during the study period. A palliative care diagnosis was established for 646 patients and 548 of them died before 1 April 1, 2022. Of these patients, 340 lived in the study area. Among them, the EMS visited 69 patients 97 times between the palliative diagnosis and death. Figure  1 describes the patient selection in detail. EMS dispatches towards palliative care patients formed 0.26% of the total dispatches in the study area during the study period. The most common location of the EMS dispatch was the patient’s home. Typically, the patient was visited once, but there were some patients who had several visits before death. Table  1 describes the patient characteristics. The most common dispatch codes were general weakness (25%), breathing difficulty (22%), pain (11%) and fall (9%). Urgent dispatches with lights and sirens (A and B) comprised 33% of all dispatches. Overall, 13% of the EMS dispatches led to transportation with lights and sirens. The most common dispatch and transportation codes are described in Table  2 . After assessment by the EMS, 55% of the patients were transported to the emergency department. In 21% of the EMS missions, the patients were transported to a community hospital ward. The patient was transported in 76% of the dispatches. Paramedics provided treatment in 40% of the cases. The most common interventions were opening an intravenous line (30%), administering pain medication (21%), and providing supplemental oxygen (19%). Table  3 presents the need of patient transport, transport destination and treatment on scene. In one case the paramedics attempted resuscitation. A palliative care plan was recognized by paramedics in 42 of the 97 callouts. In 31 patients palliative care was not recognized during any visit, and in 38 patients it was recognized at least once. A total of 84% of the patients had established contact with the palliative care unit of Tampere University Hospital.

Patient selection process

EMS missions to palliative patients comprised less than 0.26% of all missions in the area and thus do not seem to contribute a significant load to the EMS. Nurse paramedics did not seem to recognize that the patients were in palliative care as efficiently as they should. This leads to unnecessary patient transportation, typically to the emergency department, which is commonly not beneficial and can be futile for the patients in palliative care. EMS interventions were not limited to symptom control.

Paramedic practice concerning palliative patients has been researched in larger cohort studies with similar findings concerning the mission characteristics, treatment provided and patient transportation [ 4 , 6 ]. This study provides context by representing lack of patient recognition as a possible cause of inappropriate decisions made when the patient is in the palliative stage. In normal circumstances, paramedics are trained to provide lifesaving interventions to patients with life-threatening conditions. Symptoms in end-of-life patients often resemble serious medical conditions. Without knowledge about palliative care, the paramedics cannot make the right decisions about medical interventions and patient transportation. The lack of proper training among paramedics has been identified as a challenge [ 13 ]. In addition, time pressure and decision-making with insufficient information about the patient often lead to a situation in which paramedics see transportation to the emergency department as the only option [ 7 , 8 , 14 ].

Salminen et al. collected data on all EMS dispatches in the Tampere University Hospital area in August 2021, overlapping with our study period. This offers the possibility to directly compare missions towards palliative care patients to all the EMS callouts in the same population. Compared to a study by Salminen et al., the proportion of urgent dispatches (A or B) was similar in overall EMS callouts and palliative patients (33% vs. 36%) [ 15 ]. The number of urgent dispatches can be considered high because difficult symptoms are common in the palliative stage and, typically, a response with lights and sirens does not provide any actual benefit to the patient. In many cases, the paramedics assessed that the transportation of the palliative patient also needed to be urgent with lights and sirens (13%). This percentage was higher in palliative patients compared to all transported patients in the study region (13% vs. 8%) [ 16 ]. Urgent transportations always represent a risk to the ambulance personnel, patient and other people in traffic. This risk is not justified while transporting palliative patients because all treatment is limited to palliative symptom control.

In palliative patients, breathing difficulty is more often the reason for dispatch; it is the second-most common in palliative patients but only fourth in the whole population [ 16 ]. In the palliative stage, dyspnea is a common symptom in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, congestive heart failure and cancer [ 17 ]. The high prevalence of breathing difficulties among palliative patients has also been reported in a larger Australian cohort [ 4 ]. In palliative symptom control, the treatment of dyspnea is similar regardless of the cause. This includes airflow to the face, medication with opioids and a semi-upright position. In the palliative stage, all more invasive treatment options are excluded. Nurse paramedics have the ability and training to treat these patients on scene, but to do so they would need to recognize palliative care patients because breathing difficulty is often an indication for urgent transportation in other patients.

In the Finnish setting, palliative care patients should have their advanced care plan available in their home in case of unexpected deterioration of symptoms. In case of an emergency, it is up to the patient or close relative to present this information to the paramedics. Considering that half of the palliative care patients were missed by the paramedics, it seems that existing information does not come up during the visit. A protocol for preplanned participation of paramedics in palliative care has been developed in the Finnish Northern-Karelia healthcare district. With this in place, patients were transported only in 56% of the EMS missions, and only 16% of the transferred patients are transported to a secondary hospital [ 6 ]. This shows that availability of the patient’s advanced care plan and proper training of the nurse paramedics can provide improvement.

In 2019 the Finnish Ministry of Social Affairs and Health gave a recommendation concerning palliative care [ 18 ]. It states that everyone has an equal right to adequate palliative care. The main concerns in achieving this goal were the lack of training among healthcare professionals and the high use of EMS among the aged population before the time of death. These challenges are also seen in our study in the form of high transportation to the emergency department and low percentage of palliative patients recognized. The number of palliative patients is expected to increase in the developed countries, including Finland, due to the aging population. This creates a practical and ethical need for improving EMS capability to treat palliative patients. Possible targets for development based on previous research and findings of this study could be improving the availability of patient records and training paramedics to actively seek and apply this information.

Strengths and limitations

This study provides information from real-life EMS dispatches to palliative patients in a setting that has no protocol for EMS involvement in palliative care. The study design also enables recognition of possible challenges in the treatment of palliative patients by EMS. This study has limitations caused by the patient selection process. The patients’ palliative care diagnoses were retrieved from the records of Tampere University Hospital. This rules out palliative patients who have been treated only in primary healthcare. The number of these patients is unknown. It can be speculated that there are few of these patients because difficult symptoms often lead to referral to specialized healthcare. The number of patients in the palliative stage but not diagnosed with Z51.5 is also unknown. These cases, however, are probably quickly progressing situations that lead to patients’ death without the involvement of the EMS. The number of patients in the cohort is large enough to say that palliative patients form only a small minority of all EMS patients. Other findings must be interpreted with caution. It is unlikely that increasing the cohort size would significantly change the results.

Conclusions

Patients in palliative care do not place a significant load on the EMS, but improvement is required in the way patients are treated. The high number of patients transported to the emergency department is against palliative care principles. The low number of palliative patients recognized provides a possible explanation for high patient transportation.

Availability of data and materials

The datasets used are available from the corresponding author on a reasonable request.

Abbreviations

• Emergency medical services

Emergency medical dispatcher

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Eemil Pesonen, Pauli Vuorinen & Juho T. Lehto

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The authors confirm contribution to the paper as follows: study conception and design: E.P., P.V.; data collection: E.P., P.V.; analysis; E.P.; interpretation of results: E.P., P.V., S.H., L.S., J.L.; E.P. drafted the article and prepared Tables  1 , 2 and 3 . and Fig.  1 . The article was revised critically by all authors. All authors have approved the final version to be published.

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Pesonen, E., Vuorinen, P., Surakka, L. et al. Palliative care patients in the emergency medical service: a retrospective cohort study from Finland. BMC Health Serv Res 24 , 543 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-024-10905-4

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China launches Chang'e 6 lunar probe, revving up space race with U.S.

WENCHANG SPACE LAUNCH SITE, China — China launched an uncrewed lunar spacecraft Friday in a first-of-its-kind mission to bring back samples from the far side of the moon, the latest step in a rapidly advancing Chinese space program that is spurring competition with the United States and others. 

The Chang’e 6 lifted off on time at 5:27 p.m. local time (5:27 a.m. ET) from the Wenchang Space Launch Site in China’s southern island province of Hainan.

The launch of the lunar probe, which NBC News was one of a handful of news organizations to attend, and the national excitement around it had transformed the normally sleepy fishing village of Longlou into a major tourist attraction, with crowds spilling from tour buses and heading to beaches and rooftops with the best views of the spaceport. One rooftop owner said he had sold out 200 seats at 200 yuan (about $28) each.

Ahead of the launch there was a festival-like atmosphere on the beach, where vendors offered space paraphernalia and groups of children sold Chinese flags for 3 yuan (about 40 cents) each. Families sprawled on picnic blankets playing cards, while others strung up hammocks between palm trees so they could wait in the limited shade.

Yiuwah Ng, a 28-year-old real estate office worker from the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai, traveled six hours by car and another three hours by ferry to stake out the best spot along the shore, where he had been camping for three days with friends and his dog. 

“I want to witness this historic moment,” he said of the launch, his fourth. “It’s an important first step for China’s lunar exploration.”

Max Zhang, a self-described “rocket chaser” from the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, has been photographing launches at Wenchang from the beach since 2011. 

“I’m addicted to the shock of seeing the launches, especially the sound of the rocket flame,” he said. “It shakes my heart.”

‘ A force to be reckoned with’

If successful, the Chang’e mission will be a crucial step in realizing the country’s goals of landing Chinese astronauts on the moon by 2030 and eventually building a base on the lunar surface.

The outcome of the mission will also have implications far beyond China’s borders. A slew of spacefaring nations — including Russia, India, Japan and the U.S. — also have their sights set on the moon, creating what some experts have likened to a new kind of space race.

“China is trying to prove that it’s a force to be reckoned with, and so it’s always that China is competing against everyone in space,” said Clayton Swope, deputy director of the Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

A successful Chang’e 6 mission would demonstrate how sophisticated China’s lunar exploration program has become in a relatively short time.

“Twenty-five years ago, they had very rudimentary space capabilities,” said Todd Harrison, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a public policy think tank based in Washington. “Going from that to where they are today — I think they’ve clearly exceeded Russia, and their space capabilities are really only second to the United States.”

China achieved its first moon landing in 2013 with the Chang’e 3 mission, which set a lander and rover on the lunar surface to study the moon’s terrain. Before that, only the U.S. and the former Soviet Union had successfully landed spacecraft on the moon.

In 2019, China notched another historic milestone with its Chang’e 4 flight, becoming the first country to land a probe on the far side of the moon , the part that permanently faces away from Earth.

The following year, in 2020, China returned to the moon’s near side, which always faces Earth, landing the Chang’e 5 spacecraft on a volcanic plain known as Oceanus Procellarum. The probe retrieved samples there and brought them back to Earth, representing a big technological leap forward. 

The China National Space Administration (CNSA) has invited scientists from the U.S., Europe and Asia to apply to borrow the lunar samples for their own research, holding a pitch meeting last week in the Chinese city of Wuhan. Researchers funded by NASA received rare approval from Congress to submit proposals, raising the possibility of high-level U.S.-China space cooperation that is otherwise prohibited by U.S. law.

This time, the Chang’e 6 spacecraft is aiming to land and retrieve samples from the South Pole-Aitken basin, an ancient and sprawling impact crater on the far side of the moon.

Conducting a sample return mission from the side of the moon that always faces away from Earth is challenging because mission controllers on the ground have no way of directly contacting a spacecraft in that region. Instead, signals need to be relayed through a satellite now orbiting the moon that China launched from the same site in Hainan last month.

While difficult, the effort could have enormous payoffs. Studies suggest that the moon’s near side was more volcanically active than the far side, which means all of the lunar samples obtained thus far may be telling only part of the story of the moon’s origin and evolution.

Collecting lunar samples from different geological eras and regions “is of great value and significant for all mankind to have a more comprehensive understanding of the moon and even the origin of the solar system,” Ge Ping, a mission leader from CNSA’s Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Center, told reporters in Hainan on Thursday.

Beyond its scientific objectives, the Chang’e 6 mission carries with it geopolitical considerations. The flight is a precursor to a pair of Chinese robotic missions to the moon’s south pole to scout locations to build a moon base. Last year, the Chinese and Russian space agencies agreed to jointly build a research station on the lunar surface.

NASA and its commercial partners also aim to establish a permanent presence at the lunar south pole, though the agency’s Artemis moon missions have faced numerous delays and budget overruns . The current timeline has American astronauts returning to the lunar surface in 2026 at the earliest.

With China and Russia forming a rival coalition, there is some pressure for the U.S. to keep its foot on the accelerator, Harrison said.

“It does matter who gets there first, and it matters how you get there and what kind of coalition you’re bringing with you,” he said.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson has on multiple occasions warned that the U.S. runs the risk of falling behind China’s lunar ambitions. In an interview this week with Yahoo Finance , Nelson outlined what’s at stake in the new space race.

“I think it’s not beyond the pale that China would suddenly say, ‘We are here. You stay out,’” he said.

Asked Thursday about international competition in space, Ge said, “All countries in the world should explore, develop and use outer space peacefully.” 

“There is no need to worry too much,” he added. “Space programs are for all humans.”

As more countries around the world build up space capabilities, NASA has pushed for more global cooperation, establishing the Artemis Accords in 2020 to promote peaceful, responsible and sustainable practices. U.S. law prevents China from joining the 39 other nations that have signed the accords, which both China and Russia have criticized as a tool to promote U.S. dominance in space.

Many Western space policy experts have in turn raised concerns about China’s and Russia’s intentions. The full scope of China’s ambitions in space is not known, for instance, because its space agency does not operate with the same level of transparency as NASA. The country’s space program is also more closely tied to the military than in the U.S.

“We cannot ever say that China’s investment in civilian space technologies are only civilian and not to be used for military purposes,” said Namrata Goswami, a professor in the Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University and co-author of the 2020 book “Scramble for the Skies: The Great Power Competition to Control the Resources of Outer Space.”

While it may feel as if China’s spaceflight objectives have accelerated in recent years, they are part of a decadeslong strategy, Goswami said.

“Many of the leaders of China’s space program announced these goals and timelines 20 years ago,” she said. “What is astounding to me is that they are achieving almost all their milestones on time, and for them, that has a strategic advantage in the global narrative of who’s doing it better.”

As much as the moon and its resources can provoke competition among nations, space exploration can also be unifying, Swope said.

“We are literally a speck in the universe, and when we go to the moon or explore space, we as humankind have that shared human trait where we want to understand the unknown and we want to discover,” he said. “That does transcend politics.”

Janis Mackey Frayer reported from the Wenchang Space Launch Site in China, and Denise Chow reported from New York.

Janis Mackey Frayer is a Beijing-based correspondent for NBC News.

Denise Chow is a reporter for NBC News Science focused on general science and climate change.