BOLD Educational Software
Writing the Purpose Statement

The purpose statement is derived from the problem statement.
If you do not have a clear vision of your problem statement, you cannot write a purpose statement.
While the problem is something to be solved, the purpose addresses the problem.

The purpose statement details the reason why the study is being conducted.

Condense the purpose statement to one or two declarative sentences. These become the guideline for your entire study. Purpose statements can be supplemented with additional information for clarification, but a single, succinct sentence that captures the essence of the study should identify the (a) research method, (b) dependent and (c) independent variables, (d) the audience to which the problem is significant, and (e) the setting.

PROBLEM STATEMENT: A lack of motivation among medical personnel contributes to negative productivity and lack of efficiency (Finzel, 2004). Poor or inappropriate leadership may result in (a) inferior quality of patient care, (b) a decrease in employee motivation, (c) a decrease in collaboration between managers and employees, and (d) an increase in employee turnover rates (Lephoko, Bezuidenhout, & Roos, 2006).

PURPOSE STATEMENT: The purpose of the proposed quantitative quasiexperimental study is to determine if a change in leadership style from transactional leadership to transformational leadership over 3 months will (a) improve intrisic motivation and (b) increase productivity.

PROBLEM STATEMENT: Information technology projects fail at a higher rate than projects in other industries (Standish Group, 2007). The high rate of failed or incomplete information technology projects negatively impacts organizational performance, costing organizations more than $55 billion in losses (Kappelman et al., 2006; Standish Group, 2007; Stanleigh, 2006).

PURPOSE STATEMENT: The purpose of the proposed exploratory quantitative correlational study is to determine what factors are most influential in determining project success or failure.

In order to ensure your purpose is achievable, you must ensure that you have a way to accurately measure every variable in your purpose statement.

For purpose statement 1,
The purpose of the proposed quantitative quasiexperimental study is to determine if a change in leadership style from transactional leadership to transformational leadership over 3 months will (a) improve intrisic motivation and (b) increase productivity.

1. The researcher must be able to demonstrate that at the beginning of the study the leaders demonstrated transactional leadership, and at the end of the study the leaders demonstrated transformational leadership. So the first variable in this study is leadership style.
2. The researcher must be able to demonstrate that at the beginning of the study the followers demonstrated lower intrinsic motivation, and at the end of the study the followers demonstrated higher intrinsic motivation. So the second variable in this study is intrinsic motivation.
3. The researcher must be able to demonstrate that at the beginning of the study the followers demonstrated lower productivity, and at the end of the study the followers demonstrated higher productivity. So the third variable in this study is productivity.
   

For purpose statement 2,
PURPOSE STATEMENT: The purpose of the proposed exploratory quantitative correlational study is to determine what factors are significantly related to project success or failure.

There are several possible approaches to this study.

1. First approach: the researcher identified the study as "exploratory", "quantitative", and "correlational". This indicates that the dependent variable in the study is "project success/failure". So the researcher must clearly identify what the definition of 'success' and 'failure' are. Any project that cannot be clearly put in one category or another should be eliminated from the sample. The researcher can then identify a number of variables other researchers have listed in the research and include these as independent variables. The researcher would then measure all variables and determine which IVs are most highly correlated with the DV.
2. Second approach: If, after a thorough review of the literature, the researcher does not have any idea what factors are significantly related, then a qualitative study might be more appropriate, looking to identify potential factors. The purpose statement would then become: The purpose of the proposed qualitative study is to determine what factors project leaders believe are related project success or failure. (Note the word "significant" has been removed from the purpose statement. Now the purpose of the study is to identify potential factors that would then be tested quantiatively later).
3. Third approach: A more likely scenario would be identifying the factors mentioned most often in the research literature (provide citations!) and measure each of these factors. If the research literature includes lists of factors, then there is no need for the exploratory study in the second approach).
   The more factors included, the larger the sample size should be. Because the researcher wants to know which factors are MORE influential than others, simple correlation is not sufficient. Path analysis might be appropriate.
4. Fourth approach: the researcher might consider reviewing the literature, identifying which factors are mentioned most often by other researchers, then rewriting the purpose statement, incorporating those specific factors into the new purpose (Example: The purpose of the proposed quantitative correlational study is to determine if the effect of project leadership on project success is mediated by (a) level of cooperation among team members, (b) technical competence of the team, and (c) availability of necessary resources.)

It is not uncommon for a dissertation chair to read the introduction to the study that states, "Researchers have found significant relationships between [variable X, Y, and Z] and variable A."

Then the the purpose statement is written, "The purpose of the proposed study is determine if there is are significant relationships between variables X, Y, Z and variable A."

Because you have already stated that you know the answer, this study would not contribute to knowledge in this area, so there is no need for this study!

1. Identify whether the study is qualitative, quantitative, or mixed method.
2. Make sure you have identified an appropriate research method to address the problem and purpose statements.
3. Identify all research variables. Make sure you have valid and reliable instruments for each variable before moving forward. If you do not know how you are going to measure your variables, you don't have a study!
4. Identify whether you are looking for significant relationships (e.g., correlations) or significant differences between groups.