Specific Aim of a Research Plan/ Background and Significance of Research Plan

The specific aim of a research plan should cover:

1.  Broad, long term goals; 
2. The hypothesis or hypotheses to be tested; 
3. Specific time-phased research objectives. 

Generally, the specific Aims Section of a research plan should begin a brief narrative describing the long term goals of the project and the hypothesis guiding the research. State the hypothesis clearly. Makes sure it is understandable testable and adequately supported by citations in the background and by data in the preliminary results sections. Be sure to explain how the results to be obtained will be used to test the hypothesis. Hence, show that the objectives are attainable within the stated time frame.

Be as brief and specifics as possible. For clarity each aim should consist of only one sentence.

Background and Significance of Research Plan

The purpose of the background and significance section of a research is to state the problem to be investigated the rationale for the proposed research, the current state of knowledge relevant to the proposal and the potential contribution of the research to the problems addressed. Use citations not only as support for specific  statements but also to establish familiarity with all of the relevant publications and points of view.

For instance, sales research measures the effectiveness of salesmen, the need and basis for revision of sales territories, evaluation of sales methods and incentive and retails audits.

Thus, the possible causes of falling of sales can be traced to charges in the marketing environment, actions of competitors and weaknesses in the firms marketing strategy (Cravens and Lamb, 1986).

Preliminary Results/Progress Report

The purpose of the preliminary result section is to describe prior work by the investigators relevant to the proposed project. In a new application, the preliminary results are important to establish the experience and capabilities of the applicant investigators in the area of proposed research and to provide experimental support for the hypothesis and the research design. Results of previous studies by the applicant not directly relevant to the proposed project if they are needed to establish the applicants competence and experience with the experimental techniques to be used in the proposed project.