Defining the scope of the research project

Jan 19
13:08

2015

Rohit Kaushik

Rohit Kaushik

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When students are working on their research project, they have to consider certain factors, and these factors can best be judged if they think from the point of view of the professors

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who are going to be evaluating their papers. They have to ask themselves what the professors would look for in a good investigation,Defining the scope of the research project Articles and accordingly add those points when they are making the material.

One of the first things that the students have to do is to make sure that they have formulated the problem properly. They need to explain the nature of the investigation that they are working on and how it aims to answer certain questions in their discipline. There are many students who never get past this first stage. The words they use to write the question are poor in nature, and are just not able to get their point of view across to the professors. When the professors read the questions, they are left confused as to what is it that the students were working on, and how exactly the project is supposed to answer those questions. They subsequently end up cutting marks, and sometimes failing the student altogether.

In order to avoid such adverse circumstances the students should think long and hard about the question that they are proposing in the project. They might even take the question to their guide, and ask them if they have framed it correctly. The guide might have his or her own suggestions in this regard, and they will give their inputs on how the question is to be handled. The students can take these suggestions back with them and pose the right queries to start their investigation off on a good note.

There are times when the students have the right intention in mind. They might even have conducted the investigation properly. However, they are unable to use the right words to frame the question phase. This often proves to be a drawback for them. Taking the help of a good editor can iron out the chinks in what would otherwise be well conducted research. The editor helps in the task of polishing the sentences and making sure that all the right questions are asked by the student.

One of the vital considerations that the student has to take into account is whether the scope of the project has been correctly defined. There are times when the scope of the project is so wide that the student struggles to cover it in his report. There are also other times when the scope covered by the question is so narrow that it looks like the answers exceed the limits of the project. In both cases the professors would not be impressed. They would look at the report and wonder what the student is trying to prove and what the project is all about.

The student has to only accomplish as much as he promised in the opening chapters of his report. The scope of his project has to be clearly defined and he has to make sure that he has marked the boundaries of his report very clearly. In case he has issues defining the boundaries then he has to make sure that he tells the guide his problem so that he can take his help in formulating the question in a suitable way. He can also take the help of an editor so that incorrect words are not used which may lead the professor to assume factors which are not present.

It is useful to remember that the professor is not going to be sitting with the student when he is reviewing the project. The student will not be around to explain his content and clear his doubts. The words need to explain for themselves as to what the student intended to say. In case there is any ambiguity in this matter, the professors would cut marks rather than call up the student for an explanation. That is why the student should run the report through an editor before submission. Defining the nature and scope of the research is the crucial first step without which the project cannot take off, and hence it should be handled with great care.

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