The Relationship Between the Research Question, Hypotheses, Specific Aims, and Long-Term Goals of the Project

Before you begin writing a research request, take some time to map out your research strategy. A good first step is to formulate a research question.

A Research Question is a statement that identifies the phenomenon to be studied. For example, “What resources are helpful for new students?”

To develop a strong research question from your ideas, you should ask yourself these things:

• Do I know the field and its literature well?
• What are the important research questions in my field?
• What areas need further exploration?
• Has a great deal of research already been conducted in this topic area?
• Is the timing right for this question to be answered? Is it a hot topic, or is it becoming obsolete?
• Most importantly, will my study have a significant impact on the college?

A strong research idea should pass the “so what” test. Think about the potential impact of the research you are proposing. What is the benefit of answering your research question? Who will it help (and how)? If you cannot make a definitive statement about the purpose of your research, you may want to spend time determining the purpose of the research.

A research focus should be narrow, not broad-based. For example, “What can be done to prevent poverty?” is too large a question to answer. It would be better to begin with a more focused question such as “What is the relationship between specific interventions and subsequent student behaviors?”

A well-thought-out and focused research question leads directly into your hypotheses. What predictions would you make about the phenomenon you are examining? 

Hypotheses are more specific predictions about the nature and direction of the relationship between two variables. For example, “Those students who utilize a particular service on campus will have higher course success rates than those who do not.”

Strong hypotheses:

• Give insight into a research question;
• Are testable and measurable 

If you have good hypotheses, they will lead into your Specific aims. Specific aims are the steps you are going to take to test your hypotheses and what you want to accomplish in the course of the grant period. Make sure:

• Your objectives are measurable and highly focused;
• Each hypothesis is matched with a specific aim.
• The aims are feasible, given the time and resources.

An example of a specific aim would be “Conduct a rigorous empirical evaluation of student intervention 'X', comparing outcomes from two groups—those with exposure to the intervention and those without.”

Long-Term Goals:

• Why are you doing this research?
• What are the long-term implications?
• What will happen after the research is performed?
• What other avenues are open to explore?
• What is the ultimate application or use of the research?

These questions all relate to the long-term goal of your research, which should be an important undercurrent of the your request. Again, they should be a logical extension of the research question, hypotheses, and specific aims.