Research Goal, Assumptions, & Research Questions

 

Research Goal

Write out a sentence that clearly defines what you were hoping to achieve by conducting this research, and even what you were hoping for the end goal of this project with your team.

Assumptions

  • You may not have actively written out assumptions prior to conducting research, but many hiring managers I’ve spoken with require this as part of a portfolio review - do yourself a favor and revisit the project. What assumptions did you and your team have?

  • Example: you are conducting research on how new dog owners prepared their homes for a new pet. Assumptions might look like:

    • New dog owners researched the breed before adopting a new dog

    • New dog owners asked their friends and family who have pets what items they should buy in preparation

  • As you conduct your research, these are usually validated or invalidated

 

Research Questions

These are the high-level research questions that you want answered. They aim to uncover insights for your research goal. You may have 2, or you may have 10.

  • Examples, following the dog example from earlier:

    • What resources did new dog owners turn to when preparing their home for a new pet?

    • How much confidence did they have in being able to raise a new pet well?

    • Is there a difference between how experienced dog owners felt compared to new dog owners? What did that look like? How did their behaviors change according to the situation?