Free tool, writing and publishing
Research question sharpener
Spot vague objectives and see sharper versions.
This tool checks up to five research objectives, marks each one on the SMART tests and suggests a sharper version for every loose line.
In many synopses we are seeing the objectives begin like “To study the impact of…”, and some begin with “To understand the role of…”. Then in the Doctoral Committee meeting, one of the member will ask how you will know that the study is over. It is a fair doubt and you should be ready with a reply. When the verb is soft and there is no population and no time period, nobody can measure that objective. Then you also cannot say when it is finished. Our tool goes through your lines one by one and shows where these gaps are. Better you do the corrections now itself, before any committee member catches it.
The AI check is switched off for now. You can call or WhatsApp us instead, and we’ll go through it with you.
Not sure the answer fits your study? WhatsApp us or call, and we’ll look at it with you.
How the tool works
The check does not happen inside your browser. What you paste goes through our server to OpenAI, and its language model reads the lines with fixed instructions written by us. Your first line is read first, then the second one, and like that till the last. On every line the model is doing three jobs.
- It names the weak points. First it checks the verb. Words like “study”, “understand”, “know” or “explore” are soft, and many times a measurable verb can go there. Next it checks whether the population, place, variable or period is missing. It will also flag a line that is carrying two aims together, and a scope that is much too big for one thesis.
- It marks the SMART tests. For each line the tool give a tick or a cross on five points. These are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound.
- It writes a better line for you. Whatever it writes must stay on your own topic only. The model is told not to add any variable that you have not named. If your line has no population, place or period, it leaves a blank in square brackets, like [population] or [district or state], for you to fill.
Say you paste “To study the effect of trust on adoption”. Mostly the tool will flag the soft verb and the missing population and setting. It will probably mark the line as not specific, not measurable and not time-bound. The sharper version may come out like “To measure the effect of perceived trust on digital payment adoption among [population] in [district] during [years]”. In place of those brackets you put the details from your own study.
The box will take maximum five lines, and the limit is 1,500 characters in total. Our server checks the shape of the answer before you see it, and it refuses text that is not research writing. Your objectives are not stored with us. Only the answer is kept for a short while, encrypted with a key made from your own text, and it is deleted after the following day. Each visitor gets only a few free checks in a day. Below the button you can see how many are balance. Details are in our privacy policy.
Questions scholars ask
Should every objective pass all five SMART tests?
Not every time. SMART came from management, and in research some objectives are kept open on purpose, mostly in qualitative work. But suppose one objective is neither specific nor measurable. In the Doctoral Committee meeting you will find it very hard to defend that line. Give your attention to those two tests before you worry about achievable, relevant and time-bound.
What makes a verb soft?
Take “to study”. It only says you will do some work on the topic, and what result you get at the end, that verb won’t tell. “To understand” and “to explore” have the same problem. From them the committee only learns that you will work on something. Verbs like “to measure”, “to compare”, “to estimate” or “to identify” tell them what you will have in hand at the end. Change the soft verb to a measurable one, and most objectives will clear two of the SMART tests immediately.
Can I paste the sharper version straight into my synopsis?
Take it as a starting point only. First fill the brackets with real population, place and period of your study. Then see whether the verb suits your method. If you are doing a survey, mostly “to measure” will suit. With interviews, “to explore how” may be the honest verb, and that is fine for qualitative work.
Objectives or research questions: which should I paste?
You can paste either one. Many Indian universities ask for objectives, while journals many times ask for research questions. The tool runs the same checks on both.
Is my text stored?
We keep no copy of your objectives. OpenAI receives them to write the feedback, under OpenAI’s own terms. The feedback is stored in encrypted form till the end of the next day, and after that it is deleted.
Why did the tool refuse my text?
The tool takes at most five lines, and it needs at least one sentence of real research writing. Give one objective in one line. Any background paragraph or numbering you kept between the lines, take it out. Sometimes the model’s answer is not proper. Just try once more then. That failed attempt is not counted against your free checks.
Sources
Stuck on a chapter? Talk it through with us.
Call or WhatsApp, say where you are in your thesis, and we’ll tell you plainly what kind of help makes sense, if any.