In dissertations, writers often include a specific section describing the significance of the study for select audiences. By including this section, the writer creates a rational for conducting the study and a statement why the results will be important. It expands on introduction (i.e., statement of the problem), in which the writer briefly mentions the importance of the problem for audiences. In contrast, a significance section elaborates on the importance and implications of a study for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers. In designing this section, one might include
• Three or four ways in which the study adds to the scholarly research and literature in the field
• Three or four ways in which the study helps improve practice
• Three or four reasons why the study will improve policy.
In the example to follow, the author stated the significance of the study in the opening paragraphs of the journal article. This study, by Mascarenhas (1989), examined ownership of industrial firms. The author
explicitly identified decision makers, organizational members, and researchers as the audience for the study.
Example 8.4 Significance of the Study Stated in an Introduction to Introduction to a Quantitative Study
A study of an organization’s ownership and its domain, defined here as markets served, product scope, customer orientation, and technology employed (Abell and Hammond, 1979; Abell, 1980; Perry and Rainey, 1988) is important for several reasons. First understanding relationship among ownership and domain dimensions can help to reveal the underlying logic of organizations’ activities and can help organization members evaluate strategies … second, a fundamental decision confronting all societies concerns the type of institutions to encourage or adopt for the conduct of activity … knowledge of the domain consequences of different ownership types can serve as input to that decision … third, researchers have often studied organizations reflecting one or two ownership types, but their findings may have been implicitly overgeneralized to all organizations. (Mascarenhas, 1989, p,582)
Summary
Researchers use definitions, delimitations and limitations, and statements about significance to place boundaries on their study plans.
Researches need to define terms to give precise and clear meaning to words use in the proposal. These definitions need to appear when the words are fist introduced; should be created using accepted definitions in the literature; should be presented in a detailed, operational way; and should be clearly specified, such as by setting them off in a separate section in the proposal. In qualitative research, the inquirer provides tentative definitions in order to permit definitions to emerge from participants in the study. Also, these terms are few and typically and defined throughout the proposed study. In quantitative research,
investigators define many terms in their studies so that the researcher and the readers share a common and consistent definition. In mixed methods research, terms may be specified in an approach consistent with either qualitative or quantitative research; however, mixed methods inquiry presents its own terms about strategies, and these need to be identified for readers not familiar with this form of research.
Turning to delimitations and limitations, delimitations address how the study will be narrowed in scope, whereas limitations identify potential weaknesses of a study. Their placement varies from separate sections (as in a proposal) to their incorporation into the methods and discussion sections (as in a journal article).
Finally, the significance of the study should describe the importance of the study for select audiences. Consider writing statements about the importance of the study for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers.
Writing Exercises
1. Write a definition section for your research plan. As much as possible, use definitions provided by authors in the literature.
2. identify how your study will be limited in scope. Write three or four of these reasons, including how you will delimit the scope of focus on a specific problem, to certain variables or central phenomena, and to a particular set of study participants.
3. Identify potential limitations for your study. Focus these limitations on methodological weaknesses inherent in all study designs.
4. write about the significance of your study. Identify how various audiences will profit from the study. Include comments about the
significance for other researchers, for practitioners, and for policy makers.
Additional Readings
Locke, L. F., Spirduso, W.W., & Silverman, S.J. (2000). Proposals that work: A guide for planning dissertations and grant proposals (4th ed.).
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Lawrence Locke, Wanneeen Spirduso, and Stephen silverman discuss the importance in a dissertation proposal of using clear and precise words that have invariant definitions and meanings. They comment about how words in research typically invoke a system language of the discipline or field rather than a common language of everyday vocabulary. Whether researchers use common or system language words, the words need to have a single meaning for the researcher and the reader. Words should have only one referent and need to be used consistently in a proposal. A problem for novice researchers arises when they extend langue into the new ter4ritory of their project. Locke, Spirduso, and Silverman recommend that a proposal contain a section devoted to the precise definitions used in a proposed study.
Punch, K. F. (2000). Developing effective research proposals. London:
Sage.
Keith punch discusses the limitations, delimitations, and significance of the study as part of the written research proposal. He describes the limitations as limiting conditions or restrictive weaknesses, which are unavoidably present in a study’s design. He notes that researchers should note them in a proposal without slighting the importance of the work. He describes the significance of a study as its justification, importance, or contribution. The arguments made for significance should address its contribution to knowledge, to policy considerations, and to practitioners.
Rossman, G. B., & Rallis, S. F. (1998). Learning in the field: An introduction to qualitative research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Gretchen Rossman and Sharon Rallis discuss the importance of identifying the significance of a study when planning research. They note that formal proposals typically include a section in which the qualitative researcher indicates the potential significance of the study. They recommend that several domains should be included in this section:
scholarly research and literature, recurring social policy issues, concerns of practice, and the interests of participants. Further, if the proposal goes to a funding agency, the writer should include statements about the project’s match with the needs and priorities of that agency.
Wikinson, A. M. (1991). The scientist’s handbook for writing papers and dissertations. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentic Hall.
Antoinette Wilkinson devotes an entire chapter to the use of scientific terminology. Social scientist, she suggests, must take a less-than-adequate word from general vocabulary and craft a definition that delimits the exact meaning intended by the researcher. She recommends that social scientists use standard language rather than substitute synonyms for terms. When gathering information through interview schedules, questionnaires, and analyses of texts, language becomes a direct instrument of measurement and terms must be applied uniformly and consistently.