Meaning of Significance of the Study

Significance of the study is a written statement that discusses the relevance of research to a selected group of people (beneficiaries of a study), that are directly or indirectly impacted by the outcome of a study (e.g. your population of the study, other researchers, students and the general population). When the outcome of research favours some set of people, they are referred to as the beneficiaries of the study, that is, the study was significant to them. The most beneficiaries of a study are the people who are direct key players on the subjects being studied, these are the same people who participate as respondents to answer some basic research questions (during administration of the questionnaire). The significance of the study could be for either quantitative or qualitative research purposes.

The significance of the study is an important aspect of research. The word significance means relevance or importance. This part of your project/thesis tries to show the relevance of your study to a certain group or category. It could be a group of people, an event or anything of interest.

All B.Sc., M.Sc. or PhD level researchers are strongly advised to show how a study will benefit the categories listed as a population of the study. For example: If the population of the study covers TV stations, schools, teachers, lawyers etc.; the researcher should reveal how the study intends to be of benefit to TV stations, schools, teachers and lawyers.

The population of the study has to be itemized and explained in writing how the findings of the study will either improve or benefit them. Sometimes you may need to include a few beneficiaries outside the population of the study such as researchers, students or the general population especially if your study is subject to further research.

The research must prove the need for the study being carried out. This is akin to the justification for the study. If the problem under investigation had previously been investigated (research built on previous studies), the researcher must point out the need for ongoing research and how it would contribute to the previous studies carried out by other researchers or students. It should contribute to the existing literature significantly.

If the study is a new one, the research should point out the relevance of the study to an idea, which has widespread implications. Alternatively, if the research results will challenge some common sense truisms, reveal the inadequacies of accepted views, or help to guide or change social policy or practice or if the research will provide needed information or new insights into an important social issue, the study is accepted as important or significant to the study.

Steps to Writing a Significance of the Study in Quantitative Research

1. State the title
2. Give a short preamble
3. List the beneficiaries
4. Explain the importance of the research to the beneficiaries

What to Include in the Significance of the Study

The significance of the study should include the following items;

The Reason for the Research: The reason for carrying out research could be to improve on an existing similar subject, to solve a problem, to develop a theory etc.

The Importance of the Study: The study could be important to a certain group of people, population, event, location, etc. The researcher is supposed to reveal the importance of the study to the readers so they would know what to expect after the research work.

The People that Would Most Likely Benefit From the Study: Often, it is the population of the study that benefits from the outcome. Since every study uses populations that are directly or indirectly affected by the study, they stand a good chance to benefit from the recommendations. Hence, stating the beneficiaries adds value to the study.

The Potential Outcome of a Study: The potential outcome of the study should be stated to keep the readers and beneficiaries abreast of how the results of the analysis would be.

Why the Outcome of the Study Should Be Anticipated: Depending on what the research is for, the researcher has to give the readers reasons to expect a good research report.

Example of Significance of the Study in Research

The examples in the box below are a guide for researchers and students who intend to write a good significance of the study in research. the examples will help forestall mistakes while writing a research report or paper, especially for PhD students.

FORMAT FOR WRITING SIGNIFICANT OF THE STUDY

The sample below is how to arrange your research significance of the study. This can be applied in final year projects, thesis and dissertation writing. It is a widely accepted format in research.  

Importance of Significance of the Study

Why is the significance of the study important in research?

The significance of the study is important because it informs the researchers’ audience of the importance that a study will bring and how they would benefit from the study. The research aims to solve a problem, this problem when identified becomes the basis for developing an objective that must be achieved at the end of the research. Some people or elements are affected by this same problem, even though the researcher tries to collect information (or data) from these affected people, the researcher will intend to do proper analysis to try to find out the cause of the problem, eventually, if the cause is found and a possible solution or alleviation is discovered, the same people affected by the problem would benefit from the solutions proffered. These are the people who benefited, hence it is okay to say that the study is significant to them.

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