Objectives in Research: A Guide to Achieve Research Aims

Introduction

The term objective can be defined as the means through which the aims of the study will be achieved or accomplished (Dawson, 2016; Suresh, 2014). The objectives are detailed and specific statements describing how the researcher is going to address the research question. The objectives build on the main issue that was introduced in the aim of the study. It is recommended that a study should be comprised of between five and ten objectives (Dawson, 2016). All the objectives should show how the researcher intends to accomplish the aim of the study. My topic is: "The prevalence of childhood obesity in the State of Alabama."

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Consequently, this project aims at determining the prevalence of childhood obesity in the State of Alabama. The following objectives will be used in addressing the aim of the project:

• To determine the overall prevalence of childhood obesity in the State of Alabama.
• To determine if gender differences in the prevalence of childhood obesity in the State of Alabama.
• To determine whether the prevalence of childhood obesity in the State of Alabama differ across low-socioeconomic status and high-socio-economic status households.
• To determine whether a child's ethnicity determines the prevalence of childhood obesity in the State of Alabama.
• To explore the factors linked to childhood obesity in the State of Alabama.
• To explore the community support resources that can help in reducing the prevalence of childhood obesity in the State of Alabama.

Description of The Population That Will Be Sampled and Reasons for Choosing

The overall purpose of the project is to determine the prevalence of childhood obesity in the State of Alabama. From the overall purpose of the study, six objectives were identified. The six objectives are important because it enables us to identify the population that will address the topic, "The prevalence of childhood obesity in the State of Alabama." Because the first objective is to determine the overall prevalence of childhood obesity in the State of Alabama, the population of he study will be comprised of all children in the State of Alabama. According to the CDC (2019), the term childhood obesity refers to obesity in children and teenagers between the age of 6-19 years old.

Consequently, the population of interest to this study comprises of children and adolescents between the age of six and nineteen. In support of the CDC's (2019) definition of childhood obesity, the World Health Organization (2018) describes childhood obesity as obesity found in children and adolescents. Consequently, to address the first objective, only children aged six to nineteen years found within the State of Alabama will be sampled into the study. This is because the definition of childhood obesity captures individuals aged six to nineteen only.

The second objective is to determine whether gender differences exist in the prevalence of childhood obesity in the State of Alabama. Consequently, from the population of children aged six to nineteen years, both male and female children will be recruited into the study. It is useful to understand whether gender differences exist in childhood obesity to develop gender-specific strategies needed to address the problem. Because obesity is found in all children and adolescents regardless of their gender, both male and female children aged six to nineteen will be sample into the study.

The third objective is to determine whether the prevalence of childhood obesity in the State of Alabama differ across low-socioeconomic status and high-socio-economic status households. Consequently, the target population will also consist of children from both the low-socioeconomic status and high-socio-economic status family background. Moreover, children from all the ethnic backgrounds will be sampled into the study. This will help in determining whether a child's ethnicity determines the prevalence of childhood obesity in the State of Alabama.

Data Collection Method and Reasons for Choosing Them

To address the objectives stated above, survey questionnaires and focus group interviews comprising of open-ended questions will be used to collect the data. First, survey questionnaires will be used to collect quantitative data needed to determine the overall prevalence of childhood obesity, whether gender differences exist in the prevalence of childhood obesity in the State of Alabama, whether the prevalence of childhood obesity in the State of Alabama differ across low-socioeconomic status and high-socio-economic status households, and whether a child's ethnicity determines the prevalence of childhood obesity.

First, to determine the overall prevalence of obesity in the State of Alabama, each of the participants in the sample will be asked to indicate his or her height and weight. Specifically, the participants will be asked to indicate their height in meters and their weight in kilogram. The height and weight data will be used to calculate the body mass index (BMI). The formula used to calculate the BMI is kg/m2- an individual's weight in kilograms and height in meters squared (Bradley & Floras, 2016; Erbay, 2017; Kong, 2016; Lewis, 2015; Summerfield, 2015). For a child and adolescent aged six to nineteen years old to be considered obese, he or she should have a BMI of more than 30 kg/m2 (Berdanier, Dwyer, & Heber, 2016; Engin & Engin, 2017; Goran & Sothern, 2016; Insel, Ross, Langley-Evans, 2015; McMahon, & Bernstein, 2016). On the other hand, to determine the prevalence of obesity across different sociodemographic variables (gender, socio-economic status, and ethnicity), each of the participants will be required to provide their gender (Male or Female), socio-economic status (Low socioeconomic status household or high socio-economic status household), and ethnicity (African American, Latino/Hispanic, White, or Others).

There are various advantages attributed to the use of survey questionnaires. One of the key benefits associated with the use of survey questionnaires is that the researcher can reach many people quickly and economically (Gilbert & Stoneman, 2015; Newburn, 2017). Another advantage that makes the survey questionnaire useful for the proposed project is that it provides quantifiable answers for a research topic (Guffey & Loewy, 2017). The quantitative data generated through these questionnaires will aid the calculation of the prevalence of childhood obesity across the various socio-demographic variables.

The second data collection method that will be utilized in addressing the objectives is focus group interviews comprising of open-ended questions. A focus group interview comprises of a small group of participants who are guided through a discussion by a moderator (Maxfield & Babbie, 2017; Pacho, 2019). In a focus group, the respondents are asked to give their opinion or perceptions regarding a particular topic. The focus group interview helps collect non-numerical data needed to explore the factors linked to childhood obesity and the community support resources that can help in reducing the prevalence of childhood obesity.

Data Analysis

Both quantitative data analysis and qualitative data analysis will be used to address the objectives stated earlier. First, quantitative data will be used to address the objectives that address the overall prevalence of childhood obesity and the prevalence of childhood obesity across socio-demographic variables such as gender, socio-economic status, and ethnicity. The prevalence of childhood obesity will be determined using descriptive statistics analysis. Specifically, the proportion or percentage of children with childhood obesity in the sample will is a manifestation of the overall prevalence. Similarly, by determining the percentage of children with obesity in each of the sociodemographic groups, the prevalence of obesity across gender, socio-economic status, and ethnicity can be determined.

Questions for the Survey

The following questions will be used to address the objectives listed above:

1. What is your gender? Male ( ) Female ( )
2. What is the socio-economic status of your family? Low socioeconomic status ( ) High socio-economic status ( )
3. What is your ethnicity? African American ( ) White ( ) Latino/Hispanic ( ) Others ( )
4. What is your height in meters? ( )
5. What is your weight in Kilograms? ( )
6. What are some of the factors that may be linked to your current weight status?
7. Based on your response to the factors associated with your current weight status, what are the factors under your control, and which ones are outside of your control? Please provide relevant examples.
8. What are some of your thoughts on how the problem of childhood obesity can be solved at the family level?
9. Are there other recommendations that can be used to address the problem at the community level? If yes, can you describe the recommendations?
10. What are some of the organizations or individuals currently involved in trying to solve the problem of childhood obesity?
11. Are there other community organizations or people that may be enjoined in addressing the problem?

References

Berdanier, C. D., Dwyer, J. T., & Heber, D. (2016). Handbook of nutrition and food. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.

Bradley, T. D., & Floras, J. S. (2016). Sleep apnea: Implications in cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.

Dawson, C. (2016). 100 activities for teaching research methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

Engin, A. B., & Engin, A. (2017). Obesity and lipotoxicity. New York, NY: Springer.

Erbay, R. H. (2017). Current topics in anesthesiology. Norderstedt, Deutschland: BoD - Books on Demand.

Gilbert, N., & Stoneman, P. (2015). Researching social life. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

Goran, M. I., & Sothern, M. S. (2016). Handbook of pediatric obesity: Etiology, pathophysiology, and prevention. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.

Guffey, M. E., & Loewy, D. (2017). Business communication: Process & product. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

Insel, P. M., Ross, D., McMahon, K., & Bernstein, M. (2016). Nutrition. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.

Kong, A.-N. T. (2016). Inflammation, oxidative stress, and cancer: Dietary approaches for cancer prevention. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.

Langley-Evans, S. (2015). Nutrition, health and disease: A lifespan approach. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Lewis, L. (2015). Fundamentals of midwifery: A textbook for students. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Maxfield, M. G., & Babbie, E. R. (2017). Research methods for criminal justice and criminology. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

Newburn, T. (2017). Criminology. Abingdon, UK: Taylor & Francis.

Pacho, T. O. (2019). Service-learning in higher education in Africa. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

Summerfield, L. M. (2015). Nutrition, exercise, and behavior: An integrated approach to weight management. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

Suresh, S. (2014). Nursing research and statistics. New York, NY: Elsevier Health Sciences.