No! Research Tasks aren't Research Objectives.

Research tasks and research objectives are both critical components of a research project, but they serve different purposes and have distinct characteristics.

However, a common mistake I noticed throughout my supervision and coaching years, is that postgraduate students often set the research process tasks as research objectives.

For example, they set objectives like: "To conduct literature review", OR "To conduct data analysis"... etc. These aren't objectives, but the tasks you use to carry out the research!

Here are the definitions of both research objectives and research tasks:

1. Research Objectives:

Research objectives outline the specific goals and aims of the research project. They are broader in scope and provide a high-level overview of what the researcher intends to achieve through the study. Research objectives help in defining the purpose and direction of the research. They are typically formulated at the outset of the research planning phase and guide the entire research process.

For example:

- To investigate the factors influencing consumer buying behavior in the automobile industry.

- To analyze the impact of climate change on agricultural productivity in a specific region.

2. Research Tasks:

Research tasks are the specific, detailed activities or steps that need to be completed to achieve the research objectives. These tasks are concrete, actionable, and often more granular compared to research objectives. Research tasks break down the broader objectives into manageable, actionable units, making it easier for researchers to plan and execute the study effectively.

For example:

- Conduct a literature review on consumer behavior theories relevant to the automobile industry.

- Collect data through surveys or interviews from a representative sample of consumers in various demographic groups.

- Analyze the collected data using statistical software to identify patterns and trends in consumer buying behavior.

Other means to distinguish between tasks and objectives:

1- Research objectives must provide a solution for your research problem.

For instance, if your research problem states that existing research does not provide a theoretical framework, one of your research objectives should be to develop a framework.

Another example, if one of the research gaps is that the literature does not assess the influence of HR practices on employee turnover. Then, your research objective may be to assess that relationship. And, so on...

2- Research objectives must be connected to research hypotheses, or research findings.

If a research objective states "to assess the influence of HR practices on employee turnover". It's usually supported with a hypotheses that states "HR practices have a negative influence on employee turnover". OR it will lead to a finding that "HR practices had a negative influence on employee turnover, r=0.54 α=0.01".

In summary, research objectives provide a high-level view of what the research aims to achieve, while research tasks delineate the specific actions and steps needed to accomplish those objectives. Research tasks are the actionable components that collectively contribute to achieving the broader research objectives.