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How do you Write the Rationale for Research?

• By DiscoverPhDs
• October 21, 2020

What is the Rationale of Research?

The term rationale of research means the reason for performing the research study in question. In writing your rational you should able to convey why there was a need for your study to be carried out. It’s an important part of your research paper that should explain how your research was novel and explain why it was significant; this helps the reader understand why your research question needed to be addressed in your research paper, term paper or other research report.

The rationale for research is also sometimes referred to as the justification for the study. When writing your rational, first begin by introducing and explaining what other researchers have published on within your research field.

Having explained the work of previous literature and prior research, include discussion about where the gaps in knowledge are in your field. Use these to define potential research questions that need answering and explain the importance of addressing these unanswered questions.

The rationale conveys to the reader of your publication exactly why your research topic was needed and why it was significant . Having defined your research rationale, you would then go on to define your hypothesis and your research objectives.

Final Comments

Defining the rationale research, is a key part of the research process and academic writing in any research project. You use this in your research paper to firstly explain the research problem within your dissertation topic. This gives you the research justification you need to define your research question and what the expected outcomes may be.

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Eleni is nearing the end of her PhD at the University of Sheffield on understanding Peroxidase immobilisation on Bioinspired Silicas and application of the biocatalyst for dye removal.

Prof Raghupathi gained his PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1991. He is now a professor in the Department of Neurobiology & Anatomy at Drexel University College of Medicine.

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How to Write the Rationale of the Study in Research (Examples)

What is the Rationale of the Study?

The rationale of the study is the justification for taking on a given study. It explains the reason the study was conducted or should be conducted. This means the study rationale should explain to the reader or examiner why the study is/was necessary. It is also sometimes called the “purpose” or “justification” of a study. While this is not difficult to grasp in itself, you might wonder how the rationale of the study is different from your research question or from the statement of the problem of your study, and how it fits into the rest of your thesis or research paper. 

The rationale of the study links the background of the study to your specific research question and justifies the need for the latter on the basis of the former. In brief, you first provide and discuss existing data on the topic, and then you tell the reader, based on the background evidence you just presented, where you identified gaps or issues and why you think it is important to address those. The problem statement, lastly, is the formulation of the specific research question you choose to investigate, following logically from your rationale, and the approach you are planning to use to do that.

Table of Contents:

How to write a rationale for a research paper , how do you justify the need for a research study.

• Study Rationale Example: Where Does It Go In Your Paper?

The basis for writing a research rationale is preliminary data or a clear description of an observation. If you are doing basic/theoretical research, then a literature review will help you identify gaps in current knowledge. In applied/practical research, you base your rationale on an existing issue with a certain process (e.g., vaccine proof registration) or practice (e.g., patient treatment) that is well documented and needs to be addressed. By presenting the reader with earlier evidence or observations, you can (and have to) convince them that you are not just repeating what other people have already done or said and that your ideas are not coming out of thin air. 

Once you have explained where you are coming from, you should justify the need for doing additional research–this is essentially the rationale of your study. Finally, when you have convinced the reader of the purpose of your work, you can end your introduction section with the statement of the problem of your research that contains clear aims and objectives and also briefly describes (and justifies) your methodological approach. 

When is the Rationale for Research Written?

The author can present the study rationale both before and after the research is conducted. 

• Before conducting research : The study rationale is a central component of the research proposal . It represents the plan of your work, constructed before the study is actually executed.
• Once research has been conducted : After the study is completed, the rationale is presented in a research article or  PhD dissertation  to explain why you focused on this specific research question. When writing the study rationale for this purpose, the author should link the rationale of the research to the aims and outcomes of the study.

What to Include in the Study Rationale

Although every study rationale is different and discusses different specific elements of a study’s method or approach, there are some elements that should be included to write a good rationale. Make sure to touch on the following:

• A summary of conclusions from your review of the relevant literature
• What is currently unknown (gaps in knowledge)
• Inconclusive or contested results  from previous studies on the same or similar topic
• The necessity to improve or build on previous research, such as to improve methodology or utilize newer techniques and/or technologies

There are different types of limitations that you can use to justify the need for your study. In applied/practical research, the justification for investigating something is always that an existing process/practice has a problem or is not satisfactory. Let’s say, for example, that people in a certain country/city/community commonly complain about hospital care on weekends (not enough staff, not enough attention, no decisions being made), but you looked into it and realized that nobody ever investigated whether these perceived problems are actually based on objective shortages/non-availabilities of care or whether the lower numbers of patients who are treated during weekends are commensurate with the provided services.

In this case, “lack of data” is your justification for digging deeper into the problem. Or, if it is obvious that there is a shortage of staff and provided services on weekends, you could decide to investigate which of the usual procedures are skipped during weekends as a result and what the negative consequences are. 

In basic/theoretical research, lack of knowledge is of course a common and accepted justification for additional research—but make sure that it is not your only motivation. “Nobody has ever done this” is only a convincing reason for a study if you explain to the reader why you think we should know more about this specific phenomenon. If there is earlier research but you think it has limitations, then those can usually be classified into “methodological”, “contextual”, and “conceptual” limitations. To identify such limitations, you can ask specific questions and let those questions guide you when you explain to the reader why your study was necessary:

Methodological limitations

• Did earlier studies try but failed to measure/identify a specific phenomenon?
• Was earlier research based on incorrect conceptualizations of variables?
• Were earlier studies based on questionable operationalizations of key concepts?
• Did earlier studies use questionable or inappropriate research designs?

Contextual limitations

• Have recent changes in the studied problem made previous studies irrelevant?
• Are you studying a new/particular context that previous findings do not apply to?

Conceptual limitations

• Do previous findings only make sense within a specific framework or ideology?

Study Rationale Examples

Let’s look at an example from one of our earlier articles on the statement of the problem to clarify how your rationale fits into your introduction section. This is a very short introduction for a practical research study on the challenges of online learning. Your introduction might be much longer (especially the context/background section), and this example does not contain any sources (which you will have to provide for all claims you make and all earlier studies you cite)—but please pay attention to how the background presentation , rationale, and problem statement blend into each other in a logical way so that the reader can follow and has no reason to question your motivation or the foundation of your research.

Background presentation

Since the beginning of the Covid pandemic, most educational institutions around the world have transitioned to a fully online study model, at least during peak times of infections and social distancing measures. This transition has not been easy and even two years into the pandemic, problems with online teaching and studying persist (reference needed) . 

While the increasing gap between those with access to technology and equipment and those without access has been determined to be one of the main challenges (reference needed) , others claim that online learning offers more opportunities for many students by breaking down barriers of location and distance (reference needed) .  

Rationale of the study

Since teachers and students cannot wait for circumstances to go back to normal, the measures that schools and universities have implemented during the last two years, their advantages and disadvantages, and the impact of those measures on students’ progress, satisfaction, and well-being need to be understood so that improvements can be made and demographics that have been left behind can receive the support they need as soon as possible.

Statement of the problem

To identify what changes in the learning environment were considered the most challenging and how those changes relate to a variety of student outcome measures, we conducted surveys and interviews among teachers and students at ten institutions of higher education in four different major cities, two in the US (New York and Chicago), one in South Korea (Seoul), and one in the UK (London). Responses were analyzed with a focus on different student demographics and how they might have been affected differently by the current situation.

How long is a study rationale?

In a research article bound for journal publication, your rationale should not be longer than a few sentences (no longer than one brief paragraph). A  dissertation or thesis  usually allows for a longer description; depending on the length and nature of your document, this could be up to a couple of paragraphs in length. A completely novel or unconventional approach might warrant a longer and more detailed justification than an approach that slightly deviates from well-established methods and approaches.

Consider Using Professional Academic Editing Services

Now that you know how to write the rationale of the study for a research proposal or paper, you should make use of our free AI grammar checker , Wordvice AI, or receive professional academic proofreading services from Wordvice, including research paper editing services and manuscript editing services to polish your submitted research documents.

You can also find many more articles, for example on writing the other parts of your research paper , on choosing a title , or on making sure you understand and adhere to the author instructions before you submit to a journal, on the Wordvice academic resources pages.

How to Write the Rationale for a Research Paper

• Research Process
• Peer Review

A research rationale answers the big SO WHAT? that every adviser, peer reviewer, and editor has in mind when they critique your work. A compelling research rationale increases the chances of your paper being published or your grant proposal being funded. In this article, we look at the purpose of a research rationale, its components and key characteristics, and how to create an effective research rationale.

Updated on September 19, 2022

The rationale for your research is the reason why you decided to conduct the study in the first place. The motivation for asking the question. The knowledge gap. This is often the most significant part of your publication. It justifies the study's purpose, novelty, and significance for science or society. It's a critical part of standard research articles as well as funding proposals.

Essentially, the research rationale answers the big SO WHAT? that every (good) adviser, peer reviewer, and editor has in mind when they critique your work.

A compelling research rationale increases the chances of your paper being published or your grant proposal being funded. In this article, we look at:

• the purpose of a research rationale
• its components and key characteristics
• how to create an effective research rationale

What is a research rationale?

Think of a research rationale as a set of reasons that explain why a study is necessary and important based on its background. It's also known as the justification of the study, rationale, or thesis statement.

Essentially, you want to convince your reader that you're not reciting what other people have already said and that your opinion hasn't appeared out of thin air. You've done the background reading and identified a knowledge gap that this rationale now explains.

A research rationale is usually written toward the end of the introduction. You'll see this section clearly in high-impact-factor international journals like Nature and Science. At the end of the introduction there's always a phrase that begins with something like, "here we show..." or "in this paper we show..." This text is part of a logical sequence of information, typically (but not necessarily) provided in this order:

Here's an example from a study by Cataldo et al. (2021) on the impact of social media on teenagers' lives.

Note how the research background, gap, rationale, and objectives logically blend into each other.

The authors chose to put the research aims before the rationale. This is not a problem though. They still achieve a logical sequence. This helps the reader follow their thinking and convinces them about their research's foundation.

Elements of a research rationale

We saw that the research rationale follows logically from the research background and literature review/observation and leads into your study's aims and objectives.

This might sound somewhat abstract. A helpful way to formulate a research rationale is to answer the question, “Why is this study necessary and important?”

Generally, that something has never been done before should not be your only motivation. Use it only If you can give the reader valid evidence why we should learn more about this specific phenomenon.

A well-written introduction covers three key elements:

• What's the background to the research?
• What has been done before (information relevant to this particular study, but NOT a literature review)?
• Research rationale

Now, let's see how you might answer the question.

1. This study complements scientific knowledge and understanding

Discuss the shortcomings of previous studies and explain how'll correct them. Your short review can identify:

• Methodological limitations . The methodology (research design, research approach or sampling) employed in previous works is somewhat flawed.

Example : Here , the authors claim that previous studies have failed to explore the role of apathy “as a predictor of functional decline in healthy older adults” (Burhan et al., 2021). At the same time, we know a lot about other age-related neuropsychiatric disorders, like depression.

Their study is necessary, then, “to increase our understanding of the cognitive, clinical, and neural correlates of apathy and deconstruct its underlying mechanisms.” (Burhan et al., 2021).

• Contextual limitations . External factors have changed and this has minimized or removed the relevance of previous research.

Example : You want to do an empirical study to evaluate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the number of tourists visiting Sicily. Previous studies might have measured tourism determinants in Sicily, but they preceded COVID-19.

• Conceptual limitations . Previous studies are too bound to a specific ideology or a theoretical framework.

Example : The work of English novelist E. M. Forster has been extensively researched for its social, political, and aesthetic dimensions. After the 1990s, younger scholars wanted to read his novels as an example of gay fiction. They justified the need to do so based on previous studies' reliance on homophobic ideology.

This kind of rationale is most common in basic/theoretical research.

2. This study can help solve a specific problem

Here, you base your rationale on a process that has a problem or is not satisfactory.

For example, patients complain about low-quality hospital care on weekends (staff shortages, inadequate attention, etc.). No one has looked into this (there is a lack of data). So, you explore if the reported problems are true and what can be done to address them. This is a knowledge gap.

Or you set out to explore a specific practice. You might want to study the pros and cons of several entry strategies into the Japanese food market.

It's vital to explain the problem in detail and stress the practical benefits of its solution. In the first example, the practical implications are recommendations to improve healthcare provision.

In the second example, the impact of your research is to inform the decision-making of businesses wanting to enter the Japanese food market.

This kind of rationale is more common in applied/practical research.

3. You're the best person to conduct this study

It's a bonus if you can show that you're uniquely positioned to deliver this study, especially if you're writing a funding proposal .

For an anthropologist wanting to explore gender norms in Ethiopia, this could be that they speak Amharic (Ethiopia's official language) and have already lived in the country for a few years (ethnographic experience).

Or if you want to conduct an interdisciplinary research project, consider partnering up with collaborators whose expertise complements your own. Scientists from different fields might bring different skills and a fresh perspective or have access to the latest tech and equipment. Teaming up with reputable collaborators justifies the need for a study by increasing its credibility and likely impact.

When is the research rationale written?

You can write your research rationale before, or after, conducting the study.

In the first case, when you might have a new research idea, and you're applying for funding to implement it.

Or you're preparing a call for papers for a journal special issue or a conference. Here , for instance, the authors seek to collect studies on the impact of apathy on age-related neuropsychiatric disorders.

In the second case, you have completed the study and are writing a research paper for publication. Looking back, you explain why you did the study in question and how it worked out.

Although the research rationale is part of the introduction, it's best to write it at the end. Stand back from your study and look at it in the big picture. At this point, it's easier to convince your reader why your study was both necessary and important.

How long should a research rationale be?

The length of the research rationale is not fixed. Ideally, this will be determined by the guidelines (of your journal, sponsor etc.).

The prestigious journal Nature , for instance, calls for articles to be no more than 6 or 8 pages, depending on the content. The introduction should be around 200 words, and, as mentioned, two to three sentences serve as a brief account of the background and rationale of the study, and come at the end of the introduction.

If you're not provided guidelines, consider these factors:

• Research document : In a thesis or book-length study, the research rationale will be longer than in a journal article. For example, the background and rationale of this book exploring the collective memory of World War I cover more than ten pages.
• Research question : Research into a new sub-field may call for a longer or more detailed justification than a study that plugs a gap in literature.

Which verb tenses to use in the research rationale?

It's best to use the present tense. Though in a research proposal, the research rationale is likely written in the future tense, as you're describing the intended or expected outcomes of the research project (the gaps it will fill, the problems it will solve).

Example of a research rationale

Research question : What are the teachers' perceptions of how a sense of European identity is developed and what underlies such perceptions?

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology , 3(2), 77-101.

Burhan, A.M., Yang, J., & Inagawa, T. (2021). Impact of apathy on aging and age-related neuropsychiatric disorders. Research Topic. Frontiers in Psychiatry

Cataldo, I., Lepri, B., Neoh, M. J. Y., & Esposito, G. (2021). Social media usage and development of psychiatric disorders in childhood and adolescence: A review. Frontiers in Psychiatry , 11.

CiCe Jean Monnet Network (2017). Guidelines for citizenship education in school: Identities and European citizenship children's identity and citizenship in Europe.

Cohen, l, Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2018). Research methods in education . Eighth edition. London: Routledge.

de Prat, R. C. (2013). Euroscepticism, Europhobia and Eurocriticism: The radical parties of the right and left “vis-à-vis” the European Union P.I.E-Peter Lang S.A., Éditions Scientifiques Internationales.

European Commission. (2017). Eurydice Brief: Citizenship education at school in Europe.

Polyakova, A., & Fligstein, N. (2016). Is European integration causing Europe to become more nationalist? Evidence from the 2007–9 financial crisis. Journal of European Public Policy , 23(1), 60-83.

Winter, J. (2014). Sites of Memory, Sites of Mourning: The Great War in European Cultural History . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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How to Write a Rationale: A Guide for Research and Beyond

Ever found yourself scratching your head, wondering how to justify your choice of a research topic or project? You’re not alone! Writing a rationale, which essentially means explaining the ‘why’ behind your decisions, is crucial to any research process. It’s like the secret sauce that adds flavour to your research recipe. So, the only thing you need to know is how to write a rationale.

What is a Rationale?

A rationale in research is essentially the foundation of your study. It serves as the justification for undertaking a particular research project. At its core, the rationale explains why the research was conducted or needs to be conducted, thus addressing a specific knowledge gap or research question.

Here’s a breakdown of the key elements involved in crafting a rationale:

Linking Background to Research Question: 

The rationale should connect the background of the study to your specific research question. It involves presenting and discussing existing data on your topic, identifying gaps or issues in the current understanding, and explaining why addressing them is important​.

Objectives and Significance: 

Your rationale should clearly outline your research objectives – what you hope to discover or achieve through the study. It should also emphasize the subject’s significance in your field and explain why more or better research is needed​.

Methodological Approach: 

The rationale should briefly describe your proposed research method , whether qualitative (descriptive) or quantitative (experimental), and justify this choice​.

Justifying the Need for Research: 

The rationale isn’t just about what you’re doing and why it’s necessary. It can involve highlighting methodological, contextual, or conceptual limitations in previous studies and explaining how your research aims to overcome these limitations. Essentially, you’re making a case for why your research fills a crucial gap in existing knowledge​​.

Presenting Before and After Research: 

Interestingly, the rationale can be presented before and after the research. Before the research, it forms a central part of the research proposal, setting out the plan for the work. After the research, it’s presented in a research article or dissertation to explain the focus on a specific research question and link it to the study’s aims and outcomes​.

Elements to Include: 

A good rationale should include a summary of conclusions from your literature review, identify what is currently unknown, discuss inconclusive or contested results from previous studies, and emphasize the necessity to improve or build on previous research​.

Creating a rationale is a vital part of the research process, as it not only sets the stage for your study but also convinces readers of the value and necessity of your work.

How to Write a Rationale:

Writing a rationale for your research is crucial in conducting and presenting your study. It involves explaining why your research is necessary and important. Here’s a guide to help you craft a compelling rationale:

Identify the Problem or Knowledge Gap: 

Begin by clearly stating the issue or gap in knowledge that your research aims to address. Explain why this problem is important and merits investigation. It is the foundation of your rationale and sets the stage for the need for your research.​

Review the Literature: 

Conduct a thorough review of existing literature on your topic. It helps you understand what research has already been done and what gaps or open questions exist. Your rationale should build on this background by highlighting these gaps and emphasizing the importance of addressing them​​​​.

Define Your Research Questions/Hypotheses: 

Based on your understanding of the problem and literature review, clearly state the research questions or hypotheses that your study aims to explore. These should logically stem from the identified gaps or issues.

Explain Your Research Approach: 

Describe the methods you will use for your research, including data collection and analysis techniques. Justify why these methods are appropriate for addressing your research questions or hypotheses​​.

Discuss the Potential Impact of Your Research:  Explain the significance of your study. Consider both theoretical contributions and practical implications. For instance, how does your research advance existing knowledge? Does it have real-world applications? Is it relevant to a specific field or community?​

Consider Ethical Considerations: 

If your research involves human or animal subjects, discuss the ethical aspects and how you plan to conduct your study responsibly​.

Contextualise Your Study: 

Justify the relevance of your research by explaining how it fits into the broader context. Connect your study to current trends, societal needs, or academic discussions​​.

Support with Evidence: 

Provide evidence or examples that underscore the need for your research. It could include citing relevant studies, statistics, or scenarios that illustrate the problem or gap your research addresses​.

Methodological, Contextual, and Conceptual Limitations: 

Address any limitations of previous research and how your study aims to overcome them. It can include methodological flaws in previous studies, changes in external factors that make past research less relevant, or the need to study a phenomenon within a new conceptual framework​.

Placement in Your Paper: 

Typically, the rationale is written toward the end of the introduction section of your paper, providing a logical lead-in to your research questions and methodology​​.

By following these steps and considering your audience’s perspective, you can write a strong and compelling rationale that clearly communicates the significance and necessity of your research project.

Frequently Asked Questions:

What makes a good research rationale.

A good rationale clearly identifies a gap in existing knowledge, builds on previous research, and outlines why your study is necessary and significant.

How detailed should my literature review be in the rationale?

Your literature review should be comprehensive enough to highlight the gaps your research aims to fill, but it should not overshadow the rationale itself.

Conclusion: 

A well-crafted rationale is your ticket to making your research stand out. It’s about bridging gaps, challenging norms, and paving the way for new discoveries. So go ahead, make your rationale the cornerstone of your research narrative!

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Setting Rationale in Research: Cracking the code for excelling at research

Knowledge and curiosity lays the foundation of scientific progress. The quest for knowledge has always been a timeless endeavor. Scholars seek reasons to explain the phenomena they observe, paving way for development of research. Every investigation should offer clarity and a well-defined rationale in research is a cornerstone upon which the entire study can be built.

Research rationale is the heartbeat of every academic pursuit as it guides the researchers to unlock the untouched areas of their field. Additionally, it illuminates the gaps in the existing knowledge, and identifies the potential contributions that the study aims to make.

Table of Contents

What Is Research Rationale and When Is It Written

Research rationale is the “why” behind every academic research. It not only frames the study but also outlines its objectives , questions, and expected outcomes. Additionally, it helps to identify the potential limitations of the study . It serves as a lighthouse for researchers that guides through data collection and analysis, ensuring their efforts remain focused and purposeful. Typically, a rationale is written at the beginning of the research proposal or research paper . It is an essential component of the introduction section and provides the foundation for the entire study. Furthermore, it provides a clear understanding of the purpose and significance of the research to the readers before delving into the specific details of the study. In some cases, the rationale is written before the methodology, data analysis, and other sections. Also, it serves as the justification for the research, and how it contributes to the field. Defining a research rationale can help a researcher in following ways:

1. Justification of a Research Problem

• Research rationale helps to understand the essence of a research problem.
• It designs the right approach to solve a problem. This aspect is particularly important for applied research, where the outcomes can have real-world relevance and impact.
• Also, it explains why the study is worth conducting and why resources should be allocated to pursue it.
• Additionally, it guides a researcher to highlight the benefits and implications of a strategy.

2. Elimination of Literature Gap

• Research rationale helps to ideate new topics which are less addressed.
• Additionally, it offers fresh perspectives on existing research and discusses the shortcomings in previous studies.
• It shows that your study aims to contribute to filling these gaps and advancing the field’s understanding.

3. Originality and Novelty

• The rationale highlights the unique aspects of your research and how it differs from previous studies.
• Furthermore, it explains why your research adds something new to the field and how it expands upon existing knowledge.
• It highlights how your findings might contribute to a better understanding of a particular issue or problem and potentially lead to positive changes.
• Besides these benefits, it provides a personal motivation to the researchers. In some cases, researchers might have personal experiences or interests that drive their desire to investigate a particular topic.

4. An Increase in Chances of Funding

• It is essential to convince funding agencies , supervisors, or reviewers, that a research is worth pursuing.
• Therefore, a good rationale can get your research approved for funding and increases your chances of getting published in journals; as it addresses the potential knowledge gap in existing research.

Overall, research rationale is essential for providing a clear and convincing argument for the value and importance of your research study, setting the stage for the rest of the research proposal or manuscript. Furthermore, it helps establish the context for your work and enables others to understand the purpose and potential impact of your research.

5 Key Elements of a Research Rationale

Research rationale must include certain components which make it more impactful. Here are the key elements of a research rationale:

By incorporating these elements, you provide a strong and convincing case for the legitimacy of your research, which is essential for gaining support and approval from academic institutions, funding agencies, or other stakeholders.

How to Write a Rationale in Research

Writing a rationale requires careful consideration of the reasons for conducting the study. It is usually written in the present tense.

Here are some steps to guide you through the process of writing a research rationale:

After writing the initial draft, it is essential to review and revise the research rationale to ensure that it effectively communicates the purpose of your research. The research rationale should be persuasive and compelling, convincing readers that your study is worthwhile and deserves their attention.

How Long Should a Research Rationale be?

Although there is no pre-defined length for a rationale in research, its length may vary depending on the specific requirements of the research project. It also depends on the academic institution or organization, and the guidelines set by the research advisor or funding agency. In general, a research rationale is usually a concise and focused document.

Typically, it ranges from a few paragraphs to a few pages, but it is usually recommended to keep it as crisp as possible while ensuring all the essential elements are adequately covered. The length of a research rationale can be roughly as follows:

1. For Research Proposal:

A. Around 1 to 3 pages

B. Ensure clear and comprehensive explanation of the research question, its significance, literature review , and methodological approach.

2. Thesis or Dissertation:

A. Around 3 to 5 pages

B. Ensure an extensive coverage of the literature review, theoretical framework, and research objectives to provide a robust justification for the study.

3. Journal Article:

A. Usually concise. Ranges from few paragraphs to one page

B. The research rationale is typically included as part of the introduction section

However, remember that the quality and content of the research rationale are more important than its length. The reasons for conducting the research should be well-structured, clear, and persuasive when presented. Always adhere to the specific institution or publication guidelines.

Example of a Research Rationale

In conclusion, the research rationale serves as the cornerstone of a well-designed and successful research project. It ensures that research efforts are focused, meaningful, and ethically sound. Additionally, it provides a comprehensive and logical justification for embarking on a specific investigation. Therefore, by identifying research gaps, defining clear objectives, emphasizing significance, explaining the chosen methodology, addressing ethical considerations, and recognizing potential limitations, researchers can lay the groundwork for impactful and valuable contributions to the scientific community.

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Frequently Asked Questions

A rationale of the study can be written by including the following points: 1. Background of the Research/ Study 2. Identifying the Knowledge Gap 3. An Overview of the Goals and Objectives of the Study 4. Methodology and its Significance 5. Relevance of the Research

Start writing a research rationale by defining the research problem and discussing the literature gap associated with it.

A research rationale can be ended by discussing the expected results and summarizing the need of the study.

A rationale for thesis can be made by covering the following points: 1. Extensive coverage of the existing literature 2. Explaining the knowledge gap 3. Provide the framework and objectives of the study 4. Provide a robust justification for the study/ research 5. Highlight the potential of the research and the expected outcomes

A rationale for dissertation can be made by covering the following points: 1. Highlight the existing reference 2. Bridge the gap and establish the context of your research 3. Describe the problem and the objectives 4. Give an overview of the methodology

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Writing a rationale

How to write a rationale.

What is a rationale?

A rationale is when you are asked to give the reasoning or justification for an action or a choice you make.

There is a focus on the ‘ why ’ in a rationale: why you chose to do something, study or focus on something. It is a set of statements of purpose and significance and often addresses a gap or a need.

A rationale in Australian academic writing is rarely a whole task by itself.  It is often a part of a bigger task. For example, a part of a lesson plan might be to provide a rationale for why you chose to teach particular content or use a certain resource or activity, or you may be asked to provide a rationale as to why you chose a particular theory to apply or a concept to support.

You may be called upon to provide a rationale:

prior to an action or decision; why you plan to do something and how, or

• after you have acted or decided something; reflecting, looking back, why you did something and how it worked or not.

You can use language to signal you are clearly providing a rationale in your writing. You can link your rationale to learning outcomes or aims for a lesson, activity or assessment task.

A model: problem-solution-rationale

A rationale can be provided by offering longer essay-based support for why it is important to do something in a certain way – in that sense, a whole paper can be a rationale.

However, a more specific or focused way of thinking about a rationale is how we can overtly show we are justifying our choices with the language we use.

One way of doing this is to consider the problem or issue requiring attention, the solution and then the rationale or justification for the solution (the ‘why’). This sets the rationale (the reason) within a context.

A diagnostic assessment determined that the students required more attention to addition and subtraction of mixed fractions. This activity intends to address this problem by having the children engage with the task with blocks before it is done with figures. The reason I chose to do this is because students have higher comprehension levels when presented with visual or tangible representations of abstract problems (Benson, 2016). I also did this as I wanted to allow the children to ‘play’ with maths, to see that it can be a fun activity and in doing so, to breakdown some of the ‘anti-mathematics prejudices’ that Gaines (2017, p. 4) talks about.

The important thing here is the language used to signal the rationale , in this case:

The reason I chose to do this is because … and I also did this as …

Another problem / solution / rationale example:

Scaffolding is the support provided by the teacher or a significant other, such as a classmate, which helps students in learning (Gibbons, 2015). Some students were having difficulty with the language at entry while others, particularly those who had completed the pre-tasks, had few problems. Therefore, in order to address this disparity in level and understanding, mixed-ability pairs were created where the more competent student helped the other. On reflection, this was an effective way to run the activity for two reasons : it allowed peer-to-peer teaching which solidified both students’ understanding; and it scaffolded the support in a way that allowed me to roam the room lending advice to pairs as needed.

The language used to signal our rationale in this example:

in order to and for two reasons …

Language to signal rationale

in order to

the reason this was done/chosen …

for the following reason(s) …

for two/three reasons …

Language for further justification - showing importance

This was important / significant because …

This meant that I could…

This enabled me to …

… which enabled / allowed me to…

… which pointed to / highlighted that / showed me that …

The key thing to remember about rationale writing is to stand back from the writing, look at it in a big picture sense and ask yourself, ‘ Have I explained why? ’ If that is clearly articulated, you have provided a rationale.

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Rationale for the Study

It is important for you to be able to explain the importance of the research you are conducting by providing valid arguments. Rationale for the study, also referred to as justification for the study, is reason why you have conducted your study in the first place. This part in your paper needs to explain uniqueness and importance of your research. Rationale for the study needs to be specific and ideally, it should relate to the following points:

1. The research needs to contribute to the elimination of a gap in the literature. Elimination of gap in the present literature is one of the compulsory requirements for your study. In other words, you don’t need to ‘re-invent the wheel’ and your research aims and objectives need to focus on new topics. For example, you can choose to conduct an empirical study to assess the implications of COVID-19 pandemic on the numbers of tourists visitors in your city. This might be previously undressed topic, taking into account that COVID-19 pandemic is a relatively recent phenomenon.

Alternatively, if you cannot find a new topic to research, you can attempt to offer fresh perspectives on existing management, business or economic issues. For example, while thousands of studies have been previously conducted to study various aspects of leadership, this topic as far from being exhausted as a research area. Specifically, new studies can be conducted in the area of leadership to analyze the impacts of new communication mediums such as TikTok, and other social networking sites on leadership practices.

You can also discuss the shortcomings of previous works devoted to your research area. Shortcomings in previous studies can be divided into three groups:

a) Methodological limitations . Methodology employed in previous study may be flawed in terms of research design, research approach or sampling.

b) Contextual limitations . Relevance of previous works may be non-existent for the present because external factors have changed.

c) Conceptual limitations . Previous studies may be unjustifiably bound up to a particular model or an ideology.

While discussing the shortcomings of previous studies you should explain how you are going to correct them. This principle is true to almost all areas in business studies i.e. gaps or shortcomings in the literature can be found in relation to almost all areas of business and economics.

2. The research can be conducted to solve a specific problem. It helps if you can explain why you are the right person and in the right position to solve the problem. You have to explain the essence of the problem in a detailed manner and highlight practical benefits associated with the solution of the problem. Suppose, your dissertation topic is “a study into advantages and disadvantages of various entry strategies into Chinese market”. In this case, you can say that practical implications of your research relates to assisting businesses aiming to enter Chinese market to do more informed decision making.

Alternatively, if your research is devoted to the analysis of impacts of CSR programs and initiatives on brand image, practical contributions of your study would relate to contributing to the level of effectiveness of CSR programs of businesses.

Additional examples of studies that can assist to address specific practical problems may include the following:

• A study into the reasons of high employee turnover at Hanson Brick
• A critical analysis of employee motivation problems at Esporta, Finchley Road, London
• A research into effective succession planning at Microsoft
• A study into major differences between private and public primary education in the USA and implications of these differences on the quality of education

However, it is important to note that it is not an obligatory for a dissertation   to be associated with the solution of a specific problem. Dissertations can be purely theory-based as well. Examples of such studies include the following:

• Born or bred: revising The Great Man theory of leadership in the 21 st century
• A critical analysis of the relevance of McClelland’s Achievement theory to the US information technology industry
• Neoliberalism as a major reason behind the emergence of the global financial and economic crisis of 2007-2009
• Analysis of Lewin’s Model of Change and its relevance to pharmaceutical sector of France

3. Your study has to contribute to the level of professional development of the researcher . That is you. You have to explain in a detailed manner in what ways your research contributes to the achievement of your long-term career aspirations.

For example, you have selected a research topic of “ A critical analysis of the relevance of McClelland’s Achievement theory in the US information technology industry ”.  You may state that you associate your career aspirations with becoming an IT executive in the US, and accordingly, in-depth knowledge of employee motivation in this industry is going to contribute your chances of success in your chosen career path.

Therefore, you are in a better position if you have already identified your career objectives, so that during the research process you can get detailed knowledge about various aspects of your chosen industry.

My e-book, The Ultimate Guide to Writing a Dissertation in Business Studies: a step by step assistance offers practical assistance to complete a dissertation with minimum or no stress. The e-book covers all stages of writing a dissertation starting from the selection to the research area to submitting the completed version of the work within the deadline.

John Dudovskiy

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The rationale for one’s research is the justification for undertaking a given study. It states the reason(s) why a researcher chooses to focus on the topic in question, including what the significance is and what gaps the research intends to fill. In short, it is an explanation that rationalises the need for the study. The rationale is typically followed by a hypothesis/ research question (s) and the study objectives.

When is the rationale for research written?

The rationale of a study can be presented both before and after the research is conducted. 

• Before : The rationale is a crucial part of your research proposal , representing the plan of your work as formulated before you execute your study.
• After : Once the study is completed, the rationale is presented in a research paper or dissertation to explain why you focused on the particular question. In this instance, you would link the rationale of your research project to the study aims and outcomes.

Basis for writing the research rationale

The study rationale is predominantly based on preliminary data . A literature review will help you identify gaps in the current knowledge base and also ensure that you avoid duplicating what has already been done. You can then formulate the justification for your study from the existing literature on the subject and the perceived outcomes of the proposed study.

Length of the research rationale

In a research proposal or research article, the rationale would not take up more than a few sentences . A thesis or dissertation would allow for a longer description, which could even run into a couple of paragraphs . The length might even depend on the field of study or nature of the experiment. For instance, a completely novel or unconventional approach might warrant a longer and more detailed justification.

Basic elements of the research rationale

Every research rationale should include some mention or discussion of the following: 

• An overview of your conclusions from your literature review
• Gaps in current knowledge
• Inconclusive or controversial findings from previous studies
• The need to build on previous research (e.g. unanswered questions, the need to update concepts in light of new findings and/or new technical advancements). 

Example of a research rationale

Note: This uses a fictional study.

Abc xyz is a newly identified microalgal species isolated from fish tanks. While Abc xyz algal blooms have been seen as a threat to pisciculture, some studies have hinted at their unusually high carotenoid content and unique carotenoid profile. Carotenoid profiling has been carried out only in a handful of microalgal species from this genus, and the search for microalgae rich in bioactive carotenoids has not yielded promising candidates so far. This in-depth examination of the carotenoid profile of Abc xyz will help identify and quantify novel and potentially useful carotenoids from an untapped aquaculture resource .

In conclusion

It is important to describe the rationale of your research in order to put the significance and novelty of your specific research project into perspective. Once you have successfully articulated the reason(s) for your research, you will have convinced readers of the importance of your work!

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Independent Study – Skills Guide

• Formulating the Research Question

Introduction and Rationale of the Study

• Literature Review
• Research Methodology
• Research Design
• Ethical Considerations
• Data Findings
• Data Analysis
• Conclusions

Introduction and rationale of the study

This should briefly outline your area of interest and what has led you to research your chosen area. The rationale section of the dissertation describes why a particular concept, concern or problem is important within the field you are researching. 

A well-constructed rationale demonstrates that you understand your chosen field of research, the competing perspectives that exist, and what you hope to gain by carrying out the research. 

At undergraduate level you will be illuminating your understanding and should be aware that whilst the research you undertake can make a positive contribution to the field (on a small scale) you will not be making a new contribution to knowledge which will improve an entire profession. 

A message from a former student:

"Your Independent Study research is a tremendous opportunity to pursue and discover new knowledge in the field of education. For me, producing a research project was so intellectually liberating, I was encouraged to be critical, critical , critical - and once you become an employee in any educational institution it all changes - you will never get that level of academic freedom again!"

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How To Make Rationale in Research: A Thorough Overview

Struggling to make the right rationale for your research? Learn how to make rationale in research to create the perfect plan for success.

Any academic or scientific discipline relies heavily on research. However, in order to do research properly, it is necessary to comprehend the rationale behind it. A research rationale is a succinct explanation of why a certain research project is required, describing the justifications for the study as well as the advantages it is expected to provide. 

Writing a persuasive rationale is critical for obtaining approval for your research project and communicating the importance of your research. However, developing a convincing one can be difficult, especially for people new to research or unfamiliar with academic expectations. 

After reading this thorough overview on “how to make rationale in research”, you will be better equipped to justify your research and communicate its significance to your academic community. Whether you are a student or a seasoned researcher, this article will provide valuable insights and strategies for creating a powerful research rationale.

What is a Rationale in Research?

A research rationale provides an organized strategy for the whole research and acts as the cornerstone of the research project. It contributes to the research’s rationale by stating why the study is significant, what its aims are, and what the expected findings are. In essence, it is a compelling argument for why the study should be carried out.

A well-written research rationale should be concise, precise, and persuasive. It should clarify the problem or issue that the study attempts to solve, the knowledge or understanding gap that the study seeks to fill, and the possible advantages that it may provide. Furthermore, the reasoning should demonstrate that the research is possible, ethical, and pertinent to the subject of study.

A research project that lacks a strong rationale may lack direction and may fail to address the stated problem or issue. It can also make obtaining financing or permission from institutional review boards (IRBs) or other governing bodies difficult. As a result, devoting effort to developing a compelling research rationale is critical to the success of any research.

Why is a Research Rationale Important? 

For many reasons, a research rationale is crucial. For starters, it helps to explain the necessity for the research project by demonstrating why the study is required and what gaps in knowledge or understanding it attempts to fill. 

Second, it includes a clear and succinct problem statement that outlines the precise research questions or objectives that the study intends to answer. 

Finally, it aids in demonstrating the research’s potential influence by demonstrating how it may lead to the creation of new knowledge, practices, or policies.

To achieve this, you should focus on communicating the potential benefits of your project, while also acknowledging its limitations. This requires a thorough understanding of the research problem and a critical evaluation of the proposed methods and approaches.

It is also important to include sufficient detail about the methods you plan to use, any ethical considerations to consider, and how you will evaluate your results. This helps to demonstrate that you have a well-developed and thoughtful research plan, which is essential for securing funding or gaining approval from academic institutions.

Consider an example of a research project to demonstrate this. Assume you want to investigate the effectiveness of a new teaching style in enhancing student learning results. A compelling rationale for this study might include:

• Demonstrating the need for the study: You may explain that there is a rising concern in the educational environment about low student performance and that standard teaching approaches may not be helpful for all students. 
• Providing a clear problem statement: For example, you might say that the study will look into whether the new teaching approach is effective at enhancing student learning outcomes and what factors may impact its effectiveness.
• Highlighting the research’s potential impact: You might argue that if the study shows that if the new teaching approach is effective, it will be adopted in other schools, increasing student learning results.

The research rationale in this example gives a clear and compelling explanation for the necessity to perform the study, emphasizing its relevance, problem statement, and possible impact.

A Model: Problem-Solution-Rationale

The Problem-Solution-Rationale model is a helpful framework for developing a strong research rationale, it can assist you in organizing your rationale and ensuring that it clearly conveys all information required for an effective research rationale. This model consists of three major components: identifying the problem, proposing a solution, and explaining the rationale for why the proposed solution is necessary.

Identifying the Problem

The first stage in this model is to identify the problem that the study will attempt to solve. This could entail assessing existing research on the topic, finding gaps in knowledge or understanding, or emphasizing new difficulties or issues that have occurred. A clear problem statement serves as the research’s foundation, outlining the specific research questions or objectives that the study seeks to address.

Proposing a Solution

The model’s second stage is to suggest a solution to the identified problem. This might include creating a new theoretical framework, putting a new hypothesis to the test, or suggesting a new intervention or practice. The proposed solution should be based on a thorough review of the literature and a clear understanding of the research problem.

Providing a Rationale

The model’s final stage is to present a rationale for why the suggested solution is required. This might include emphasizing the possible advantages of the suggested solution, explaining how it builds on past research, or demonstrating how it fills a knowledge or understanding gap.

Language to Signal Rationale

Effective communication is crucial when it comes to justifying the significance of your research. One of the ways you can achieve this is by using specific language that signals the rationale to your intended audience. By doing so, you can clearly convey the reasons for your study and its potential benefits to your audience. Here are a couple of such examples:

• “The goal of this research is to fill a knowledge gap on…”
• “We selected this methodology because it allows us to address the research question more effectively.”
• “Our approach is informed by the need to address the practical challenges of…”
• “This research is significant because it contributes to our understanding of…”

Using statements like these can assist to convey the rationale to your audience and stress the significance of your research.

Language for Further Justification – Showing Importance

Once you’ve indicated the rationale for your research, it’s critical to give further justification that emphasizes the relevance of your study. Here are some sentences that might be used to emphasize the significance of your research:

• “By addressing this gap in knowledge, we can gain a better understanding of…”
• “This study is significant because it contributes to the development of…”
• “The implications of this research are far-reaching, and it can inform…”
• “By examining this issue, we can shed light on the broader implications of…”

How to Make Rationale In Research

Writing a compelling rationale for a research proposal is critical to obtaining funds and support for the research you are conducting. In this section, you will learn how to make rationale in research by implementing the four crucial aspects of a rationale: background on all previous research on the issue, the study’s open questions, identification of gaps in the literature, and the importance of filling these gaps.

Background on All Previous Research:

You must clarify the existing level of knowledge of the topic to offer a clear grasp of your research proposal. This entails analyzing all past research on the subject and determining what has been done previously. It is critical to present a thorough summary of existing research, including major results, hypotheses, and methodology. This can assist in demonstrating that you have a deep awareness of the field’s present state of knowledge and how your planned study might contribute to it.

The Study’s Open Questions

The next stage is to identify the study’s open questions. This entails investigating areas where existing knowledge falls short and comprehension gaps exist. You may highlight the need for more research and explain how your research will address these gaps by identifying unanswered questions.

Literature Gaps

Once you’ve discovered the open questions, describe how your research will solve them. This requires recognizing gaps in the current literature and describing how your research will address these gaps. Make it a point to explain how the proposed research differs from prior studies and how it will add to existing knowledge in the subject.

The Importance of Filling These Gaps:

Finally, it is critical to demonstrate the importance of filling these gaps in the current literature. This includes showing the possible advantages of the research and outlining how it will help the field if it can result in new ideas or new approaches, or the impact it will have on real society implications. 

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How to Write a Study Rationale

Last Updated: May 19, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Jake Adams and by wikiHow staff writer, Jennifer Mueller, JD . Jake Adams is an academic tutor and the owner of Simplifi EDU, a Santa Monica, California based online tutoring business offering learning resources and online tutors for academic subjects K-College, SAT & ACT prep, and college admissions applications. With over 14 years of professional tutoring experience, Jake is dedicated to providing his clients the very best online tutoring experience and access to a network of excellent undergraduate and graduate-level tutors from top colleges all over the nation. Jake holds a BS in International Business and Marketing from Pepperdine University. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 55,939 times.

A study rationale explains the reason for a study and the importance of its findings for a particular field. Commonly, you'll need to write a study rationale as part of a university course of study, although you may also need to write one as a professional researcher to apply for funding or other support. As a student, your study rationale also justifies how it fulfills the requirements for your degree program or course of study. Do research before you write your study rationale so that you can discuss the previous work your study builds on and explain its significance to your field. Thorough research is also important in the professional context because your rationale will likely become part of the contract if funding or support is approved. [1] X Research source

Describing What You Hope to Accomplish

• For example, suppose you want to study how working the night shift affects the academic performance of college students who are taking classes during the day. A narrow question would measure a specific impact based on a specific amount of hours worked.

• Justify the methodology you're using. If there's another methodology that might accomplish the same result, describe it and explain why your methodology is superior — perhaps because it's more efficient, takes less time, or uses fewer resources. For example, you might get more information out of personal interviews, but creating an online questionnaire is more cost-effective.
• Particularly if you're seeking funding or support, this section of your rationale will also include details about the cost of your study and the facilities or resources you'll need. [3] X Research source

Tip: A methodology that is more complex, difficult, or expensive requires more justification than one that is straightforward and simple.

• For example, if you're studying the effect of working the night shift on academic performance, you might hypothesize that working 4 or more nights a week lowers students' grade point averages by more than 1 point.

• Use action words, such as "quantify" or "establish," when writing your goals. For example, you might write that one goal of your study is to "quantify the degree to which working at night inhibits the academic performance of college students."
• If you are a professional researcher, your objectives may need to be more specific and concrete. The organization you submit your rationale to will have details about the requirements to apply for funding and other support. [5] X Research source

Explaining Your Study's Significance

• Going into extensive detail usually isn't necessary. Instead, highlight the findings of the most significant work in the field that addressed a similar question.
• Provide references so that your readers can examine the previous studies for themselves and compare them to your proposed study.

• Methodological limitations: Previous studies failed to measure the variables appropriately or used a research design that had problems or biases
• Contextual limitations: Previous studies aren't relevant because circumstances have changed regarding the variables measured
• Conceptual limitations: Previous studies are too tied up in a specific ideology or framework

• For example, if a previous study had been conducted to support a university's policy that full-time students were not permitted to work, you might argue that it was too tied up in that specific ideology and that this biased the results. You could then point out that your study is not intended to advance any particular policy.

Tip: If you have to defend or present your rationale to an advisor or team, try to anticipate the questions they might ask you and include the answers to as many of those questions as possible.

Including Academic Proposal Information

• As a student, you might emphasize your major and specific classes you've taken that give you particular knowledge about the subject of your study. If you've served as a research assistant on a study with a similar methodology or covering a similar research question, you might mention that as well.
• If you're a professional researcher, focus on the experience you have in a particular field as well as the studies you've done in the past. If you have done studies with a similar methodology that were important in your field, you might mention those as well.

Tip: If you don't have any particular credentials or experience that are relevant to your study, tell the readers of your rationale what drew you to this particular topic and how you became interested in it.

• For example, if you are planning to conduct the study as fulfillment of the research requirement for your degree program, you might discuss any specific guidelines for that research requirement and list how your study meets those criteria.

• In most programs, there will be specific wording for you to include in your rationale if you're submitting it for a certain number of credits. Your instructor or advisor can help make sure you've worded this appropriately.

Study Rationale Outline and Example

Expert Q&A

• This article presents an overview of how to write a study rationale. Check with your instructor or advisor for any specific requirements that apply to your particular project. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

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• ↑ https://research.com/research/how-to-write-research-methodology
• ↑ https://ris.leeds.ac.uk/applying-for-funding/developing-your-proposal/resources-and-tips/key-questions-for-researchers/
• ↑ https://www.cwauthors.com/article/how-to-write-the-rationale-for-your-research
• ↑ http://www.writingcentre.uct.ac.za/sites/default/files/image_tool/images/167/Rationale.pdf
• ↑ https://www.niaid.nih.gov/grants-contracts/write-research-plan
• ↑ https://www.esc.edu/degree-planning-academic-review/degree-program/student-degree-planning-guide/rationale-essay-writing/writing-tips/

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• Before you start

Rationale and potential impact of your research

Before you start - Rationale and potential impact of your research

Perhaps the most important consideration prior to embarking on a piece of research is of what the overall rationale for – and purpose of – it will be. Given the time, resources and practical considerations involved in planning and carrying out research, the justification for these efforts needs to be made explicit from the outset: as does the anticipated impact or benefits that the research will ultimately bring.  

Key things to think about

Issues that should be addressed in outlining the overall aims and rationale for your research include:

• the problem, need or issue that has given rise to the research idea
• how the existing literature (or lack thereof) has highlighted the need for it
• who wants the research - and why
• what the general purposes and priorities of the research are
• who are the potential beneficiaries of and audiences for the research
• the intended outcomes of the research, its deliverables and what it will 'do'

Further reading

Cohen, L., Manion, L. & Morrison, K. (2018), Chapter 9 – “Choosing a research project” in Cohen, L., Manion, L. & Morrison, K. (eds), Research Methods in Education (Abingdon, Routledge, 8th edn, pp. 153-164

How to Write a Rationale for Your Dissertation

Samuel hamilton.

Before acquiring a Doctor of Philosophy or Ph.D. degree, graduate students must complete a book-length research study called a dissertation. The first chapter in this document lays out the rationale for your research, according to Linda Bloomberg and Marie Volpe, authors of “Completing Your Qualitative Dissertation.” Your dissertation's rationale introduces your readers to the problem you hope to solve, the current research focusing on that problem, the reason this problem should be discussed, and the method you will use in discussing and solving this problem.

Explore this article

• Establishing the Context
• Staging the Problem
• Describing the Purpose
• Outlining the Method

1 Establishing the Context

The context for your dissertation’s rationale refers to the research, both past and present, that focuses on the problem you hope to address. Often, establishing the context in your rationale amounts to writing a condensed literature review of this research. In this review, show that you are aware both of other researchers and their positions, and be sure to indicate how you see your own research fitting in with their work.

2 Staging the Problem

The context or literature review of your rationale can often lead directly into your explanation of the problem on which your dissertation focuses. Upon completing your literature review, you can articulate how other researchers have failed to focus on a key issue related to the problem, and it is this issue your own research will directly address. In staging the problem your dissertation will address, you should also argue exactly why that problem needs to be solved. That is, part of staging the problem is arguing for its significance.

3 Describing the Purpose

Upon establishing the context and staging the problem of your research, you must describe the purpose of your dissertation. More specifically, articulate your angle of approach for attempting to solve the problem driving your research. Your angle of approach is related directly to your specific discipline’s approach. For example, historians approach a problem through historical analysis, while psychologists may approach the same problem through psychological analysis. The purpose of your dissertation should be framed around three to five central research questions, which the later chapters of your dissertation will attempt to answer.

4 Outlining the Method

The final step in articulating your dissertation’s rationale is describing your specific research method. The method of your research indicates how you will solve each of your central research questions. That is, your method follows your purpose or angle of approach. For example, a historian’s method may be to closely read and interpret primary archival materials, while a psychologist’s method may be to administer and score a series of psychological surveys. The method you describe in your dissertation’s rationale will guide your approach to solving your research’s central problem.

• 1 Writing Your Dissertation: Some Guidelines for University Students

About the Author

Samuel Hamilton has been writing since 2002. His work has appeared in “The Penn,” “The Antithesis,” “New Growth Arts Review" and “Deek” magazine. Hamilton holds a Master of Arts in English education from the University of Pittsburgh, and a Master of Arts in composition from the University of Florida.

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Engineering Graduate Studies

Formulating Project Rationale: Designing Arguments

Jump to: Activity Examples

Compelling thesis projects are based on strong arguments: a series of claims that make a convincing case for the significance and impact of your thesis project as well as the effectiveness of your approach. Although this rationale may seem evident to you as researcher, you may need to work to convince your audience, which is why strong persuasive arguments are so important.   

The activities below will guide you to…  

• Identify examples of strong arguments within sample papers.  
• Practice using a logical approach to argument design.  
• Map out the central claims of your research project, and consider how you can best support each with appropriate rationale.  

Important Concepts  

There are various approaches to constructing argument, but for the purposes of generating your thesis claims, we will use  Toulmin’s model.   This model, named for British rhetorician Stephen Toulmin, begins with the three components summarized below: 

Claim:  Assertion that an idea is true/applicable or relevant; takes the form of a recommendation, a point of analysis, an interpretation of data, or a hypothesis that you as an author wish to prove to an audience

Warrant/Justification:  An explanation that connects the evidence to the claim; may be signalled by a causal connector (because, since, consequently, given)   

Grounds/Evidence:  The facts that support this assertion; takes the form of data, testing, modelling, prior research or other scientific principles  

Let’s take a look at how these components are connected in the following example:   

The structure of the model often follows the structure above, but each component is a moving piece. The order of justification and evidence may be switched with minimal wordsmithing and without losing the meaning of the argument.

Toulmin’s model includes three additional components that move beyond these basic building blocks, these are:   

Backing:  Provides further evidence for the claim  

Qualifier:  Acknowledges that the argument is not always true or  limits the argument: may be signalled by words like however, but….  

Rebuttal:  Anticipates a counterargument by acknowledging another perspective   

These last two components are particularly important when drafting your thesis rationale: your gap will often take the form of a qualifier, as you acknowledge the limits of the research to date; your literature review reveals counterarguments, which may also be acknowledged and dealt with in your rationale.   

Let’s take a look at a qualifier and rebuttal for the above argument about EMS response time:   

Suggested Activity – Identifying Arguments in a Research Paper  

Estimated time: 30 min

Using the sample research proposals provided or a published research paper that is of interest to you, notice how the authors utilize Toulmin’s logic to create clear and convincing arguments that support their research objectives. Use the samples to practice identifying the main components of the Toulmin model (claim, justification, and evidence), as well as when a qualifier or rebuttal is used. Was the proposal/article persuasive to you as a reader?  

Suggested Activity – Identifying Arguments in Your Research  

Estimated time: 30 min  

• Refer to the mindmap of your thesis project that you created in the previous module .  
• List the primary arguments that you are or will be making in your thesis project.  
• For each argument, map out and fill in details for the three major components of the Toulmin’s model: claim, justification, evidence.   
• Are there any gaps in the claims that you made that you can fill in? Are there any central claims that you will make during your research that might be missing?  
• Keep the argument outline that you have generated in this activity to use in the next activity.  

Suggested Activity – Mapping Claims on an Argument Continuum  

Estimated time: 45 min  

• Refer to the arguments that you outlined in terms of claim, justification, and evidence in activity 1.  Using the ‘ mapping claims worksheet ’ provided, classify your claims along the continuum from big picture to focused/project specific. Map your claims along the continuum in a logical order of clusters.  

Take a look at the Activity 2 Examples in this module to see samples of mapped claims.  

Big Picture:  Which of your claims are related more to the overall focus and challenges in your field as a whole?

Project Specific: Which of your claims are more specific to your unique thesis project and individual research outcomes?  

• Once your claims are in order on the worksheet, explore ways that you can connect claims together. What are possible ‘linking’ statements that you would use to connect these ideas together to logically move from the bigger picture to the specifics? How do claims relate to one another to build an argument? Do any claims need to be moved in the logic or deleted? Are there repetitions here? Write down and map out some of the links that help you logically move from the big picture to the project specific claims on your worksheet. Move, delete, or adjust claims to improve the flow of logic from general to specific claims to build a more convincing and coherent story for your thesis project.    
• Share your mapped and linked claims with a peer or someone outside of your research group if possible. Were they able to understand the flow of your logic in the order in which you presented your arguments? Are there any claims that are missing, unsupported, or undeveloped?   
• From your own reflections and/or peer feedback, revise the structure or shuffle the order of claims on your continuum to produce a more coherent and logical flow.  

Things to think about…  

• The map that you generate in this module will form the basis of a motivation outline for your research project.   

Activity Examples

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Skewering Leftist Excess With Mockery and Sneers

In “Morning After the Revolution,” an attack on progressive activism, the journalist Nellie Bowles relies more on sarcasm than argument or ideas.

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By Laura Kipnis

Laura Kipnis is the author, most recently, of “Love in the Time of Contagion: A Diagnosis.”

MORNING AFTER THE REVOLUTION: Dispatches From the Wrong Side of History, by Nellie Bowles

Activists! Attention-grabbing grifters, making everything worse by thinking the world could be better. What’s to be done but slay them with mockery? This is the general project of Nellie Bowles’s “Morning After the Revolution ,” a slim collection of polemical reportage that I suspect is meant to be courageous stuff, also funny. Why, Bowles demands, does politics have to be so “deathly serious”?

Formerly a reporter for The New York Times, Bowles quit in 2021 as the paper’s newsroom, she writes, was devolving into a monoculture of utopian progressivism, “so sure everyone was good, except of course, conservatives, who were very very bad and whose politics only come from hate.”

I sense that Bowles is trying to channel Tom Wolfe, who skewered liberal pretension in high style, often by slipping stealthily into his subjects’ points of view. But where Wolfe was a precision-guided stiletto, Bowles is more of a dull blade, ridiculing her former colleagues by saddling them with laughably vacuous thoughts and dreams — their “beautiful vision of the role of journalism for such a beautiful time,” for instance. What twits!

“Morning After the Revolution” transports us to the heady days of 2020 and 2021 when protesters massed coast to coast demanding social change: Black Lives Matter, Seattle’s “autonomous zone,” police abolition marches. But it’s activists for the homeless who really gall Bowles, especially after she buys a house in a gentrifying Los Angeles neighborhood of multimillion-dollar properties. A 200-person homeless encampment had recently sprung up in a nearby park; private security costs her nearly $4,000 a year.

Cue the organizers, opportunists and socialists who think “homelessness is a tool of the revolution” — a chance to show the world what a community operating outside the capitalist system might look like, not a problem to be fixed with something simple, such as housing. One activist is from a well-off family and drives a BMW! When the park was finally cleared by the city, 180 pounds of excrement had to be shoveled out, she reports, nose wrinkled. Bowles, who says that she has “always voted yes on every homeless housing supplement I come across,” wishes the unhoused could just have better manners — be less rowdy, perhaps more constipated. More like middle-class homeowners.

Worse than the L.A. activists are their San Francisco counterparts, whom Bowles blames for abetting fentanyl deaths with their empathy-driven progressivism, and driving up homelessness. The issue Bowles seems reluctant to take up is income inequality, even though a major story in the period she’s covering was the $26 trillion in new wealth funneled to the world’s richest 1 percent. When inequality rises, so does homelessness, which seems unfair to pin on progressives. Nor were they the ones who decided that deinstitutionalizing the mentally ill was a great idea. That would be Ronald Reagan .

I was intrigued to learn that Bowles was once an activist herself: a high school crusader for gay rights who has since married a woman. She acknowledges being the beneficiary of a previous generation’s progressivism, and her vestigial liberal heart still occasionally bleeds; she reports tearing up during an antiracism workshop. It’s the crazy activism she’s against — you know, the “fringe” stuff.

By fringe, she means trans. She’s peeved that some trans women are trying to redefine feminism in ways that seem to her to be anti-woman, resents that lesbians risk being erased by trendy all-purpose queerness and fears that as a married lesbian mother she will have her own rights swept away by anti-trans backlash. Given the Dobbs decision, all precedents are possibly imperiled, but the culprit isn’t transgender-rights activists. It’s the religious right and the Supreme Court, both of which get a pass from Bowles, as do Donald Trump and every elected Republican.

I was, of course, eager to read good gossip about The Times. The best nugget: After Bowles started dating a “known liberal dissident” at the paper (the former opinion writer Bari Weiss, whom she wed and now works with at The Free Press , the media company Weiss founded), she says an editor Bowles was friendly with asked how she could be doing this. “She’s a Nazi,” the editor exclaimed about Weiss, which I take to mean he disagreed with Weiss’s politics. Despite Bowles’s own penchant for political gibes — frequently hyperbolic and in questionable taste — she felt hurt.

Her most serious charge is that the editor thought her story ideas weren’t as good after that. The obvious question is whether her heterodox turn has conferred much benefit when it comes to ideas. The ones on display here seem pretty shopworn. I recall admiring a sharp-elbowed profile of the psychologist and anti-identity politics commentator Jordan Peterson that Bowles wrote early in her Times tenure. Nothing in this book hits that level.

Bowles’s rationale for returning us to the early 2020s, she explains in her conclusion, is that the ideas embraced by activists at the time have since become the operating principles of big business and mainstream institutions. To the extent that this is true, what accounts for it? The term “ woke capitalism ” might be a place to start: Who benefits from social-justice window dressing? Who are the useful stooges? Where does the actual power lie?

What’s frustrating about Bowles’s book is that there are usually better arguments in support of her case than the ones she bothers to make. She seems to be trying to say that the left needs to adopt elements of liberalism — a more robust defense of free speech — and to ditch the moral authoritarians. (Many leftists would agree.)

But the book’s central fallacy is that idiocy on the left requires moving to the right. It doesn’t. It’s eminently possible for people with brains to make distinctions and stick to their principles, if they have any. And, by the way, you’re not going to find any fewer authoritarians and idiots by switching sides.

MORNING AFTER THE REVOLUTION : Dispatches From the Wrong Side of History | By Nellie Bowles | Thesis | 242 pp. | $30

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