Scientific research is a fundamental activity in the development of new advances that allow human beings to facilitate their journey through the world and/or improve their understanding of the universe and the phenomena that occur in it.

But an investigation does not come out of the blue: there must be some reason why the topic the researcher is considering has aroused his interest. Also, and especially if such research requires investment by others, it is necessary to be able to make clear why and for what purpose the study is intended or interesting.

That is why it is necessary to prepare a justification of the project, which allows to understand from which part or for what purpose it is wanted to be carried out. There are many ways to do this and sometimes it can be difficult to express the reason for our projects. That is why throughout this article we are going to see examples of project justification , in order to visualize different ways of doing it.

What do we call project justification?

The justification of a project is the part of a project in which the set of reasons and arguments that have led the researcher to propose and carry out the project are set out. This justification should be included in the preparation of the written work, generally at the beginning of it , as it allows for a context with respect to what the research proposes to work on: it allows for an understanding of where it arises from and what the research aims to achieve. It is a question of answering what, how, why and for what purpose the project is going to be carried out.

Thus, it is one of the fundamental parts of any work since it is the explanation that is provided of the motivations that have led to the research taking off, the reasons that lead to consider that carrying out the research is useful and important. It is especially relevant to establish what benefits the research may generate in the understanding of the object of study and/or the practical applications it may have.

Different types of arguments

Justifying a project requires establishing a series of arguments that must be valid and powerful enough to prove the need for the research. In this sense, there are many options to argue and defend our project.

Some of the most frequent ones are the fact that research allows the advancement of knowledge in a specific field (something that would include serving as a first step for the development of a more complex or larger scale research), the possibility that what has been researched can be applied to the solution of a specific problem, the application of a method for a different purpose for which it was designed.

Research may also be justified in order to reduce costs, improve efficiency or reduce resource consumption, improve the quality of life of the population or enable positive social and educational changes.

Examples of project justification

Below we leave you a series of examples of justification of a project in different areas of research and with different arguments (many of them as an introduction to the study).

1. Reducing depression in old age through reminiscence therapy

There is little work on the modification of autobiographical memories, either in young people (Watkins, Teasdale & Williams, 2000; Williams, Teasdale, Segal & Soulsby, 2000) or in older people. However, research by Serrano, Latorre, Gatz and Montañés (2004) indicates that life review based on the practice of autobiographical retrievals is effective in modifying autobiographical memories in older people with depression, producing a decrease in depressive symptoms and hopelessness, and an increase in life satisfaction and recovery from specific autobiographical events.

The work presented here is also part of the results that indicate a decrease in depressive symptoms in older people who have participated in an intervention program consisting of individual reminiscence sessions (Afonso and Bueno, 2009). The program implemented (Afonso, 2008) promotes recovery from both positive and negative events.

This feature, which is innovative in relation to other existing reminiscence programs, is related to the centrality attributed to the construct of self integrity in the design and construction of the program. From it derives the need to work on unresolved conflicts, which implies the reminiscence of positive and negative events. In line with previous authors (e.g., Wong, 1995), this idea is based on the premise that one of the most important functions of reminiscence is to help the person achieve the integrity of the self through integrating memories.

Based on the above, the aim of this paper has been to analyse the relationship between depressive symptoms in old age and the characteristics of autobiographical memories . In other words, to clarify the role of the type of memories obtained as an explanatory factor for the decrease observed in the depressive symptomatology of older people after participation in an individual therapy program based on integration reminiscence.

In this line, the specific objectives of this study are:

  • To assess whether older people exposed to the reminiscence programme increase their mean level of specific and positive autobiographical memories, compared to older people not exposed to the intervention
  • To analyze if there is a negative correlation between depressive symptoms and specific autobiographical memories and if a positive correlation is found between depressive symptoms and recovery of general autobiographical memories.
  • To analyse whether a negative correlation is found between depressive symptoms and the recovery of positive autobiographical memories and whether a positive correlation is found between depressive symptoms and the recovery of negative autobiographical memories.

2. Study on the use of T. harzianum for growth stimulation of Pinus radiata

The forestry industry represents the second source of foreign exchange in Chile, where Pinus radiata D. Don is the main species, reaching exports of US$ 2,205 million in timber and processed products (INFOR 2005). This level of exports generates a strong pressure on the production of plants, directly influencing the nurseries to seek new alternatives to increase both production and quality of seedlings .

Until now, the use of microorganisms to improve the development of P. radiata plants has been mainly based on ectomycorrhizae, considered a fundamental factor for the normal growth of pinaceae (Meyer 1973, Harley and Smith 1983). The benefits obtained vary according to the environmental conditions and with the particular association of the species involved (Trappe 1977, Bledsoe 1992).

In general, ectomycorrhized seedlings are better adapted to water stress (Duddridge et al. 1980, Boyd et al. 1986, Reid et al. 2002) and have a higher survival rate in plantations (Wright 1957, 1971, Castellano and Molina 1989).

Notwithstanding the above, non-mycorrhizal fungi can stimulate the growth of cultivated plants (Rabeendran et al. 2000), this is the case of Trichoderma harzianum (Rifai) (Deuteromycetes). This species is recognized for its characteristics as a biocontroller of soil pathogens (Elad et al. 1987, 1980, Harman et al. 1981, Harman and Kubicek 1998) and for being a common soil inhabitant, cosmopolitan, saprophytic, and normally associated with the rhizosphere (Cook and Baker 1989).

In several pathogen control studies, under axenic conditions, it has been observed that T. harzianum not only reduced the severity of these diseases but also induced plant growth stimulation , with reports only in herbaceous species such as lettuce (Lactuca sativa Linnaeus) (Baker 1988, Lynch et al. 1991), corn (Zea mays Linnaeus) (Blanchard and Bjorkman 1996), tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum Linnaeus), pumpkin (Cucúrbita maxima Linnaeus) (Chang et al. 1986, Kleifeld and Chet 1992), petunia (Petunia hybrida Linnaeus) (Ousley et al. 1994), tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum Mili) (Windham et al. 1986), among others.

Stimulation of plant defense mechanisms, resulting from applications of T. harzianum together with control mechanisms may, to some extent, explain growth stimulation (Bailey and Lumsden 1998, Kleifeld and Chet 1992). However, this effect has also been observed in crops under controlled conditions, where pathogen-free environments have been generated (Windham et al. 1986, Kleifeld and Chet 1992).

The present study seeks to determine the stimulating capacity of a native strain of T. harzianum on Pinus radiata seedlings and the effect of the use of compost as a substrate on this interaction, both from the point of view of the plant (vigour) and the fungus (population).

3. Adherence to drug treatment in patients with type 2 diabetes

“Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a genetically determined disease in which the subject presents alterations in the metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins and fats, and a relative or absolute deficiency of insulin secretion with varying degrees of resistance to it. Between 85 and 90% of patients with MD are type 2 diabetics.

Intensive and adequate treatment is related to the delay in the appearance and progression of the chronic complications of the disease, for which reason it seems reasonable to recommend strict control of its treatment .

Adherence to treatment is defined as the patient$0027s behavior that coincides with the medical prescription, in terms of taking the medication, following the diet or transforming their lifestyle. Adherence to treatment is important for evaluating clinical progress, since a therapeutic alliance between the patient and the physician is necessary for the success of the treatment.

There are several techniques to measure adherence to drug treatment, such as direct quantification of the drug in blood or urine, patient interview and tablet counting, among others. Lack of adherence to treatment implies large financial outlays, since more than 10% of hospital admissions are due to this cause. The risk factors for non-adherence to treatment are those related to the patient, the disease, the treating physician, the place where the treatment is prescribed, and the medication itself.

Studies on this topic show that it is 50% compliance in chronic diseases; and in acute diseases, such as diarrhoea, it varies between 31% and 49%, with the following risk factors associated: lack of knowledge of the disease, distrust of the doctor$0027s ability, consultation duration of less than five minutes, lack of understanding of medical indications, low schooling, marital status and intolerance to medication.

Another factor associated with not adhering to therapeutic treatment is the use of plants or animal products to which medicinal properties are attributed. It is necessary to emphasize to the patient the acceptance of his condition and to identify the affective and anxiety disorders that this implies, since its adequate management is also associated with an improvement in the quality of life and in the therapeutic attachment.

The economic significance of inadequate drug consumption is indisputable and is a real challenge for administrators, due to the economic waste made by patients; in studies conducted for this purpose, consumption was found to be less than 75%.

Adequate control of MD is considered when the glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) value is between 8% and 12%. The American MD association has established the biochemical parameters for the control of the disease. It is estimated that the normal value of HbA1c is 3-6%, but due to methodological differences in the measurement technique, it is the responsibility of the laboratory to standardize the technique to be used; however, its use has not been widely disseminated due to lack of knowledge on the part of the physician and the absence of standardization in the results.

For the above reasons, we consider it important to identify in the patient diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus the frequency of non-adherence to therapy, its correlation with metabolic control, as well as those associated risk factors, in order to carry out programmes aimed at modifying them and thus influence the metabolic control in the diabetic patient”.

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4. Analysis and proposal for intervention on cyberbullying

“The project represented here is part of a series of objectives born from the analysis of the current situation regarding the treatment of cyber-bullying in schools, as well as the lack of resources manifested by many affected people and their environment.

T he objectives pursued with this project include, in the first place, carrying out a bibliographical investigation of the subject in order to define and contextualise the phenomenon of cyberbullying, its main actors and its consequences. This objective is considered a means both to improve the understanding of the situation of those affected by the phenomenon studied and to make it possible to achieve the second and main objective; and it is centred on the elaboration of a viable intervention proposal that can be put into practice in a generalised way, in response to the need to provide tools to professionals from educational centres, families and the students themselves who suffer situations of school bullying through the networks.

Related to this objective, it is also intended to make the different professionals aware of the need to maintain close links with the rest of the educational agents. The goal of this linkage is, apart from promoting interaction and collaborative work between agents, to promote an optimal education that allows the establishment of healthy relationships based on respect between the components of society, as well as to promote and enhance to the maximum the human development of adolescents.

A series of questionnaires will also be developed that can be used in the future to contrast the opinions, attitudes and procedures employed by professionals of various profiles dedicated to the education sector or linked to the processes of human development of secondary students with what is established in literature and theory. Finally, it is also intended to provide a critical reflection on the aspects that have been worked on in the preparation of the document, in order to promote possible improvements that the system could implement. “

5. Gender violence in Spanish universities

“This research is a break in the silence surrounding gender violence in our universities. The existence of gender violence in universities has been researched for decades in other countries such as the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

This R+D project is the first research in Spanish universities that focuses on this subject , together with other research financed by the Generalitat de Catalunya that started from the context of the Catalan universities, also directed by Rosa Valls (VALLS, 2005- 2006).

The purpose of this research is to analyse the existence of gender violence in Spanish universities and to identify measures that may contribute to overcoming it . To this end, an analysis has first been made of the research that has studied the phenomenon of gender violence in the university context at an international level. Of these investigations, special interest has been placed on those that have implemented questionnaires as a tool for collecting information, in order to extract those indicators applicable to a questionnaire in the context of our universities.

A summary of the state of play of the international investigations is given in paragraph 2 of this Article. In addition, an inventory of measures and resources against gender violence has been drawn up and is being carried out in the 20 most prestigious universities in the world. Subsequently, the assessment of our university community regarding these measures has been collected. Thus, in-depth interviews have been carried out with teaching staff and Administration and Services Staff (hereinafter PAS) and communicative accounts of daily life with students from the six participating universities.

The contribution of this article will focus mainly on a presentation of some of the most significant results of what teachers , PAS and students have contributed in their assessment and perception of the measures of care and prevention of gender violence that are implemented in universities of international prestige and the suitability for application in Spanish universities. This is included in the third section and in the conclusions of the article. “

  1. The role of governing bodies and role clarity in family businesses
    “The paper aims to show that an appropriate organizational structure, in which the different governing bodies are clearly distinguished, as well as their roles and responsibilities, is one of the key elements for the success and survival of family businesses.

Providing the appropriate governing bodies helps to reduce the negative consequences of the confusion of roles, so frequent in family businesses, and to lay the foundations for increasing commitment to the organisation and the creation of effective ways of resolving conflicts”.

7. Relationship between family climate and school climate

“A study that is presented as necessary to comment in this sense is the classic work of Bernstein in the 1970s, where it is concluded that the negative or positive attitude of the adolescent towards teachers and school can be determined by the family$0027s perception of the school environment and of these formal authority figures.

It is possible, therefore, that the family constitutes an essential reference in the configuration of the attitude towards institutional authority (such as school and teachers) that, in turn, has shown to have a decisive influence on the violent behaviour of the adolescent (Emler and Reicher, 1995; Hoge, Andrews and Leicheid, 1996).

Thus, both the family environment and the attitude towards authority seem to be two highly relevant factors in explaining certain violent behaviour in adolescence, both within and outside the school context (Decker, Dona and Christenson, 2007; Gottfredson and Hirschi, 1990). Taking into account the above, the main objective of this study was to examine the relationship between both contexts based on the adolescent$0027s perception of family and school environments, analyzing the role played by certain individual factors (such as empathic capacity, attitude towards authority and violent behavior) in the association between them.

Specifically, the starting hypotheses are the following : (1) the perception of the family climate will be directly and positively related to the perception of the school climate; (2) the perception of the family climate will be indirectly associated with the perception of the school climate through the attitude towards institutional authority, empathy and violent behaviour. Therefore, we intend to analyse to what extent certain skills, attitudes and behaviours acquired or enhanced in the family environment can affect the relationships that are developed in another highly relevant socialization context in adolescence, such as school.

Deepening the knowledge of these relationships can be translated, as we have been pointing out, into a clear benefit for the design of preventive strategies against the development of behavioural problems at school, as well as aimed at improving the climate in the classroom and, therefore, the coexistence in the educational centres”

Bibliographic references

  • Afonso, R. and Bueno, B. (2010). Reminiscence with different types of autobiographical memories: effects on the reduction of depressive symptoms in old age Psicothema, 22 (2): 213-220 University of Oviedo Oviedo, Spain.
  • Castillero-Mimenza, O. (2016). Ciberbullying: Harassment on the Net. Analysis and proposal for intervention. University of Barcelona. [On line]. Available at: http://hdl.handle.net/2445/103343
  • Donoso, E., Lobos, G.A. and Rojas, N. (2008). Effect of Trichoderma harzianum and compost on the growth of Pinus radiata seedlings in nursery. Forest, 29(1): 52-57.
  • Durán-Varela, B.R., Rivera-Chavira, B. and Franco-Gallegos, E. (2000). Adherence to pharmacological treatment in patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus. National Institute of Public Health.
  • Manzano García, G., Ayala Calvo, J.C. (2003). Successful family businesses: governing bodies and role clarity. In: Sainz de Vicuña Ancín, J.M. (2003). El plan estratégico en la práctica (The strategic plan in practice). University of La Rioja
  • Moreno Ruiz, D., Estévez López, E., Murgui Pérez, S. and Musitu Ochoa, G. (2009). Relationship between family climate and school climate: the role of empathy, attitude towards authority and violent behaviour in adolescence. International Journal of Psychology and Psychological Therapy, 9 (1): 123- 136. University of Almería Almería, Spain
  • Valls Carol, R., Torrego Egido, L., Colás Bravo, P., & Ruiz Eugenio, L. (2009). Prevention of gender violence in universities: assessment of the university community on care and prevention measures. Revista Interuniversitaria De Formación Del Profesorado, (64), 41-58.