What are the specific objectives?

We explain what specific objectives are, their characteristics and function in a monograph and in a company.

1. What are the specific objectives?

The specific objectives, whether of a project , an investigation or an organization , are the short-term goals that must be realized in order to achieve the central or main objective , known in turn as a general objective . Thus, the specific objectives are usually several and diverse, while the general one alone and, as the name implies, global.

In addition, the specific objectives are derived from the general objective , since they constitute the different previous steps that need to be taken to achieve it, that is, that any general objective is made up of specific objectives.

2. Characteristics of the specific objectives

In principle, the specific objectives are short or medium term , since they imply partial stages for the fulfillment of the general objective. They usually respond therefore to the divisions of the project in question, that is, to their internal classification or internal composition, whether chapters (a monograph), departments (a company), etc.

They often imply a gradual , measurable progress , and they can be successive, that is, one is needed first to reach another. At the time of writing them, for a document or an exhibition, the specific objectives must be written in infinitive , as well as the general objective, and detailed separately after it.

3. Specific objectives of an investigation

An investigation of any kind will always have a general objective, what you want to verify, refute or demonstrate, and a series of specific objectives, which will be the steps to follow in order to achieve the main goal of the investigation . They usually coincide with the research chapters, which usually deal with a topic or a specific stage of it.

If a monograph , for example, intends to address a topic in three different chapters, each one will obey one or two specific objectives, so that progress in the matter takes place step by step, and in a clear and verifiable manner.

4. Specific objectives of a company

In the business field, specific objectives are discussed to refer to the different guidelines and guides that lead to the general objectives , that is, to satisfy what is proposed in the mission and vision of the company .

In this case, the general objectives will be derived from the analysis of priorities and procedures of the organization, in order to determine which is the desired path towards the goal, in economic , operational, legal and even ethical . In addition, the correct approach to these objectives will be key to determine the lines of action , that is, the procedures.

Many organizations have departments or coordinations, each responsible for the fulfillment of a strategic objective. Seen this way, an organization can only correctly achieve its general objective through the synergy of its departments or internal divisions.

5. Examples of specific objectives

It is an experimental investigation (to demonstrate the effectiveness of a drug in the treatment of cancer ) or monographic (to demonstrate the influence of a philosophical movement in the work of a sculptor), we will always have a general objective that corresponds to the title of the project and that sums up its purpose in broad strokes.

Knowing said general objective, we can deduce the specific ones:

In the case of experimental research , we will surely have the specific objectives of:

• Understand the biochemical dynamics of cancer and establish a possible pharmacological treatment.
• Develop different strains of drugs and detail their specific characteristics.
• Test the drugs in the test subjects and record the effectiveness of each case.
• Obtain conclusions regarding drug improvement for future research.

In the case of monographic research , however, we will have the specific objectives of:

• Determine the key philosophical elements of the movement in question.
• Choose the sculptor’s works that best reflect these elements.
• Establish on a case-by-case basis the type of link between the two.
• Obtain the relevant conclusions of the case.