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2 years ago in Research Objectives By Kushi Gupta
Should research objectives be written using specific action verbs?
I've seen objectives written with weak verbs like "understand" or "explore." My supervisor says to use stronger words like "design," "evaluate," or "critique." Does the choice of verb really matter that much?
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By Tara Answered 1 year ago
The verb choice is critical—it signals the intellectual activity and rigor of your work. Vague verbs like "understand," "explore," or "investigate" are passive and hard to assess. Strong action verbs define what you will actually do and make objectives measurable. For theoretical work, use: analyze, compare, critique, synthesize, develop (a framework). For empirical work, use: design, construct, measure, test, evaluate, validate, simulate. For analytical work, use: identify, categorize, model, map, assess. An objective stating "To evaluate the performance of algorithm A under condition B" is clear and demonstrable. At your viva, you'll be asked if you met your objectives; strong verbs leave no ambiguity about what "meeting" them entails.
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