Stating the aim or purpose

Once you have identified the broad context of your project, and the problem you intend solving, then you can state your Aim or Purpose.

This project aims to study the impact of alien invasive species on insects .
- Says what will be done, but not why it will we done

We aim to establish a comprehensive database of the South African plant species that are used in traditional medicine to promote their sustainable use.

This project aims to assess the biodiversity of the Pondoland region (<<<what will be done) in order to contribute to the management and sustainable use (<<<Purpose of doing it) of biodiversity of the region.

Objectives = specific research issues that the project plans to investigate.

Objectives must all contribute to addressing the problem that your project will solve. If they don’t, then that aspect of the project may need to be dropped, or you might need to re-think what you said the purpose of the project is and what you are planning to do.

Aim: This project aims to study the impact of alien invasive

The objectives are: to sample the insects; to identify them; and to analyse the data.

What are the issues here? (take a minute or two to think about this…)

This project aims to assess the biodiversity of the Pondoland region in order to contribute to its conservation and sustainable use

The objectives are:

To compile inventories of selected invertebrates, vertebrates and plants for Pondoland, including all terrestrial, freshwater, estuarine and shoreline habitats.
To assess the conservation value of each species occurring in the reserves.
To identify which species are used by local communities and to estimate the revenue generated or saved through their use.
To identify key areas in the reserves for biodiversity conservation, for ecotourism development and for sustainable harvesting.

Check that each objective contributes to the aim!

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