Discussion 2

Discuss the following:

According to you what are the criteria you need to consider to formulate the objectives of a
study? Also, provide one specific objective you aim at working on in your thesis.
Specifications:
Remember that every week starts on Wednesday.
Initial discussion responses are due on Day 3 (Friday), and peer responses are due on Day 5 (Sunday)
of the week. You should have a minimum of two peer replies. 
Word count for initial discussion response - 200 words maximum; per response - 100 words
maximum.
According to you what are the criteria you need to consider to formulate the objectives of a
study? Also, provide one specific objective you aim at working on in your thesis.
Formulating the Objectives
What knowledge should the study yield? What questions should it answer? Serendipity apart, one is
likely to learn only (at best) what one sets out to learn. Below are some of the many criteria or
benchmarks to consider when formulating the objectives of a study.
a. Objectives of Descriptive Surveys
Before putting it on paper one must get the knowledge of whether the objectives created are of
descriptive survey or not. The objectives of a descriptive survey of a specific group or population – a
survey carried out with a diagnostic purpose – are usually easy to formulate. The investigator needs
only to state the characteristics he or she wants to measure. These may be diseases, deaths, or other
‘disagreeable Ds’ (Abramson, J & Abramson, Z. H., 2011).
b. Objectives of Analytic Studies
Furthermore, the knowledge of whether the objectives of the analytic study should be taken into
account as it impacts the formulation of objectives as well as research questions. Experiments and
analytic surveys seek information about associations between variables, i.e., about whether and how
different characteristics ‘hang together (Abramson, J & Abramson, Z. H., 2011).
c. Spelling Out the Objectives
It is usually helpful to formulate the study objectives explicitly in writing, as a guide to the planning
of appropriate study methods (Abramson, J & Abramson, Z. H., 2011).
d. Specific or general objective
In summary, study objectives must satisfy the following criterions

i. They must meet the purposes of the study

ii. They should be formulated clearly
iii. They should be expressed in measurable terms according to Abramson, J and Abramson, Z. H
(2011).
o Research objectives

General Objective
To assess the operation of Christian Health Association of Malawi (CHAM) facilities in regards to
government health sector reforms, in particular decentralisation of power towards the local
government in supporting public-private partnership in the health sector specifically in Kasungu.
Specific Objectives

1. To determine prevailing challenges and opportunities of decentralisation policy in improving

health care delivery in Christian Health Association of Malawi (CHAM) facilities within
Kasungu district
Reference
Abramson, J., & Abramson, Z. H. (2011). Research methods in community medicine: surveys,
epidemiological research, programme evaluation, clinical trials. John Wiley & Sons.