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Importance of Study
"Conjecture as to things useful, is good; but conjecture as to what it would be useless to know, is idle." - Samuel Johnson
Importance of Study is the reasoning for undertaking the research project. This section of the research proposal may prove to be very relevant. Some studies may seem to get out of contact with reality and beyond any relationship with the practical world. Think about what the purpose of the research is and the value of the outcome practically.
Importance of Study defines a project's relevance to 3 basic aspects of the practical world:
- 1. social: affect on people and society as a whole
2. political: affect on politics and elections
3. economic: affect of money, wages, economy
The Importance of Study does not necessarily have to cover all of these 3 areas, but a researcher should take into careful consideration all 3 areas before deciding to omit one.
Some examples of things to that make a topic relevant and should be mentioned in the Importance of Study:
- significance to society (does your Problem Statement impact economy, goverment, culture?) and the quantity of people affected
- reveals new knowledge about the world
- affects survival, sucess, material/social well-being
- impacts tradition/heritage or personal identification
- creates controversy (deals with morals, beliefs, values, etc.)
Steps in Writing Importance of Study
1. Think about the research project you are proposing and consider the Problem Statement. List ways that your problem is relevant to society.
2. Write the Importance of Study. Keep in mind these guidlines when writing:
- - 1 to 2 paragraphs, about one page double-spaced, in total length
- try to address all 3 areas of society
- write in the formal 3rd person perspective; refer to yourself as "the researcher"
3. Submit the Importance of Study to be edited by your peers and your teacher.
4. Rewrite your Importance of Study accordingly.
5. Now you have your Importance of Study. This will help you in developing and defending your research project and your proposal. Now, you can start writing your Assumptions.
Example
An entire Importance of Study is rather long and tedious to upload to a webpage, so an example is omitted. However, my problem statement and some basic examples of its relevance are included.
This is my problem statement:
"How has the popularity of Japanese animation in the U.S. from 1999-2000 affected the content of pre-teen cartoons (aimed at children aged 10-14) produced in 2000-01 in the U.S.?"
Here are some ways it is relevant:
- - social:outcome will help to cross culture gaps between Japan and US by helping the two nations gain better understanding of each other
- economic: possible impact on international trade and economy, in addition to impacting the entertainment industry of both nations involved
This page is created and maintained by Jennifer Tam. Copyright 2001.