Chapter 6: The Purpose Statement

The purpose statement represents the foundational declaration of intent in any research study, serving as the organizing principle from which all subsequent research decisions and activities emerge. In social science disciplines the term "purpose statement" is standard nomenclature, while health sciences fields typically refer to this element as a study aim, though both serve identical functions in clarifying why research is being conducted and what outcomes it seeks to achieve. The purpose statement occupies a critical position within the research hierarchy, sitting between the broader research problem that motivates investigation and the more granular research questions that guide data collection. Research design follows a systematic narrowing of focus, beginning with identification of a research problem that signals the need for investigation, progressing to articulation of purpose that specifies how the study will address that problem, then advancing to formulation of particular research questions that operationalize the purpose, and finally culminating in actual data gathering activities. Qualitative purpose statements differ fundamentally from quantitative ones in their orientation and construction. Qualitative statements concentrate on exploration of a single central phenomenon using action verbs such as understand, explore, or discover that maintain an open and inquisitive stance, employ nondirectional language that avoids presupposing outcomes, and provide working definitions of the phenomenon being investigated. Quantitative purpose statements, by contrast, emphasize relationships among variables and employ language that signals prediction, comparison, or correlation, typically organizing variables in sequence from independent to dependent. These statements often reference theoretical frameworks that provide the deductive foundation for hypothesis testing. Mixed methods studies require purpose statements that articulate how qualitative and quantitative components will integrate, whether through convergent designs that merge data types, explanatory sequential approaches that use qualitative findings to elaborate quantitative results, or exploratory sequential designs that develop quantitative instruments from initial qualitative exploration. The chapter provides practical templates or scripts that researchers can adapt to ensure their purpose statements incorporate all essential structural elements including participants, research sites, variables, and central phenomena in formats appropriate to their chosen methodology.