Writing a purpose statement for research

CHAPTER SIX (toc1.html#c06a)

The Purpose Statement (toc1.html#c06a)

he last section of an introduction, as mentioned in Chapter 5 (c05.html) , is to present a purpose statement (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Creswell.7641.17.1/sections/gls#s58) that establishes the intent of the entire research study. It is the most important statement in the entire study, and it needs to be clear, specific,

and informative. From it, all other aspects of the research follow, and readers will be lost unless it is carefully drafted. In journal articles, researchers write the purpose statement into introductions as the final statement; in theses and dissertations, it often stands as a separate section.

In this chapter devoted exclusively to the purpose statement, I address the reasons for developing it, key principles to use in its design, and examples of good models in crafting one for your proposal.

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6.1 SIGNIFICANCE AND MEANING OF A PURPOSE STATEMENT (toc2.html#s86a)

According to Locke, Spirduso, and Silverman (2013), the purpose statement indicates why you want to do the study and what you intend to accomplish. Unfortunately, proposal-writing texts give little attention to the purpose statement, and writers on method often incorporate it into discussions about other topics, such as specifying research questions or hypotheses. Wilkinson (1991), for example, refers to it within the context of the research question and objective. Other authors frame it as an aspect of the research problem (Castetter & Heisler, 1977). Closely examining their discussions, however, indicates that they both refer to the purpose statement as the central, controlling idea in a study.

This passage is called the purpose statement because it conveys the overall intent of a proposed study in a sentence or several sentences. In proposals, researchers need to distinguish clearly between the purpose statement, the research problem, and the research questions. The purpose statement sets forth the intent of the study, not the problem or issue leading to a need for the study (see Chapter 5 (c05.html) ). The purpose is also not the research questions—those questions that the data collection will attempt to answer (discussed in Chapter 7 (c07.html) ). Instead and again, the purpose statement sets the objectives, the intent, or the major idea of a proposal or a study. This idea builds on a need (the problem) and is refined into specific questions (the research questions).

Given the importance of the purpose statement, it is helpful to set it apart from other aspects of the proposal or study and to frame it as a single sentence or paragraph that readers can identify easily. Although qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods purpose statements share similar topics, each is identified in the following paragraphs and illustrated with fill-in scripts for constructing a thorough but manageable purpose statement.

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A Qualitative Purpose Statement (toc2.html#s87a)

Good qualitative purpose statements (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Creswell.7641.17.1/sections/gls#s66) contain information about the central phenomenon (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Creswell.7641.17.1/sections/gls#s5) explored in the study, the participants in the study, and the research site. It also conveys an emerging design and uses research words drawn from the language of qualitative inquiry (Schwandt, 2007). Thus, one might consider several basic design features for writing this statement:

• Use words such as purpose, intent, or objective to signal attention to this statement as the central controlling idea. Set the statement off as a separate sentence or paragraph, and use the language of research, such as “The purpose (or intent or objective) of this study is (was) (will be) …” Researchers often use the present or past verb tense in journal articles and dissertations and the future tense in proposals because researchers are presenting a proposal for a study not yet undertaken.

• Focus on a single phenomenon (or concept or idea). Narrow the study to one idea to be explored or understood. This focus means that a purpose does not convey relating two or more variables or comparing two or more groups, as is typically found in quantitative research. Instead, advance a single phenomenon, recognizing that the study may evolve into an exploration of relationships or comparisons among ideas. None of these related explorations could be anticipated at the beginning. For example, a project might begin by exploring teacher identity and the marginalization of this identity in a particular school (Huber & Whelan, 1999), the meaning of baseball culture in a study of the work and talk of stadium employees (Trujillo, 1992), or how individuals cognitively represent AIDS (Anderson & Spencer, 2002). These examples illustrate a focus on a single idea.

• Use action verbs to convey how learning will take place. Action verbs and phrases, such as, understand, develop, explore, examine the meaning of, or discover, keep the inquiry open and convey an emerging design.

• Use neutral words and phrases—nondirectional language—such as, exploring the “self-expression experiences of individuals” rather than the “successful self-expression of individuals.” Other words and phrases that may be problematic include useful, positive, and informing—all words that suggest an outcome that may or may not occur. McCracken (1988) referred to the need in qualitative interviews to let the respondent describe his or her experience. Interviewers (or purpose statement writers) can easily violate the “law of nondirection” (McCracken, 1988, p. 21) in qualitative research by using words that suggest a directional orientation.

• Provide a general working definition of the central phenomenon or idea, especially if the phenomenon is a term that is not typically understood by a broad audience. Consistent with the rhetoric of qualitative research, this definition is not rigid and set but tentative and evolving throughout a study based on information from participants. Hence, a writer might say, “A tentative definition at this time for _________ (central phenomenon) is …” It should also be noted that this definition is not to be confused with the detailed definition of terms section as discussed in Chapter 2 (c02.html) on the review of the literature. The intent here is to convey to readers at an early stage in a proposal or research study a general sense of the central phenomenon so that they can better understand the types of questions and responses asked of participants and data sources.

• Include words denoting the strategy of inquiry to be used in data collection, analysis, and the process of research, such as whether the study will use an ethnographic, grounded theory, case study, phenomenological, narrative approach, or some other strategy.

• Mention the participants in the study, such as one or more individuals, a group of people, or an entire organization.