How to Determine the Scope of Research | Examples & Tips

Introduction

The scope of a research project is one of the more important yet sometimes understated aspects of a study. The scope of the study explains what the researchers are examining and what environment they are studying.

This article explains the general purpose of the research scope, how it informs the broader study at hand, and how it can be incorporated in a research paper to establish the necessary transparency and rigor for your research audience.

What is the scope of a study?

Scientific knowledge very rarely, if ever, produces universal axioms. The boiling point of water changes depending on the amount of pressure in the air and, by extension, the altitude you are at relative to sea level when you boil water. What looks like polite behavior in a given culture may look rude in another. The definition of beauty is bound to change as people get older.

Similarly, research findings that aren’t contextualized are less persuasive. If you are reading a study that looks at interactional patterns between parents and their children, it’s important to have a clear sense of the theoretical lens, data collection, and analysis in order to determine the extent to which the findings are applicable across contexts.

In a nutshell, the scope tells you what the researchers are looking at and are not looking at. It provides the context necessary to understand the research, how it was conducted, and what findings it generated.

Conversely, establishing the bounds of the scope also clarify what research inquiries are not addressed in the study, ensuring that the study’s argumentation is clearly grounded in the theory, data, and analysis.