General objective and specific objectives are fundamental elements for carrying out academic work, such as the TCC.
The general objective should summarize and present the central idea of a work, also describing its purpose. The specific objectives will give a greater delimitation to the theme, in addition to detailing the processes necessary to carry out the work.
| General objectives | Specific objectives | |
|---|---|---|
| Function | Summarize and present the central idea of an academic paper. | It presents in more detail the results that are intended to be achieved through the research. |
| Sense | Wider. | More detailed. |
| Elements | It must contain the hypothesis or the problem that will be investigated in the work, as well as the delimitation of the theme. | It should describe the research steps in the execution sequence. It should also relate the object of the work with its particularities, helping the delimitation. |
Main goal
The general objective should present the central idea of an academic work. Thus, you should succinctly and objectively describe the purpose for which you are conducting the study and what goal you seek to achieve.
It must contain the hypothesis or the problem that will be investigated in the work, as well as the delimitation of the theme.
In it, the subject can explain what he seeks to obtain from the study. In addition to making a proposal that solves a problem you want to solve, exploring an opportunity, proposing the analysis of a solution, among others.
General objective example
"Verify whether there is a relationship between the increase in internet access and the decrease in television use in the southeastern region of Brazil."
In this case, the purpose of the work would be "to verify if there is a relationship between the increase in internet access and the decrease in television use". The delimitation would be “in the southeast region of Brazil”.
Specific objective
The specific objectives are directly related to the general objectives. This is because they detail the processes necessary for its realization. In this way, the specific objectives serve as a guide to the content that will be addressed in the work.
Specific objectives should present the project ideas in more detail. Thus, relating the object studied with its particularities and identifying more precisely what the desired results are.
Specific objective example
Continuing the previous example, the specific objectives could be:
- Analyze the increase in internet access in the last year;
- Analyze the number of televisions in homes in the southeastern region of Brazil;
- Check the use of television in homes in the Southeast region;
- Compare the pattern of increasing Internet access with decreasing use of televisions.
See too:
- Descriptive, exploratory and explanatory research
- Simple summary and expanded summary
- annex and appendix
- Page and page
