How to define your research goal before starting in ATLAS.ti

Who this article is for

Anyone who is preparing to start a qualitative research project in ATLAS.ti, including researchers, students, instructors, and collaborative research teams.

Why define research goals before starting?

Before beginning coding or analysis, it is helpful to clarify what you want to learn from your data.

Defining your research goals can help you:

• stay focused during coding and analysis
• choose an appropriate methodology
• organize your project more effectively
• identify relevant data sources
• develop meaningful codes and categories
• document analytical decisions
• maintain methodological transparency

Your research goals do not need to be final before starting. In many qualitative approaches, especially grounded theory or exploratory research, research questions and goals often evolve during analysis.

ATLAS.ti can help you document and revisit these changes throughout the project.

Questions to define before starting

Before creating codes or analyzing data, it can help to reflect on questions such as:

• What are your research goals?
• What do you expect to find in the data?
• Why is this topic important?
• What methodology are you using?
• Why did you choose this methodology?
• What types of data will you analyze?
• What themes, concepts, or processes might appear?
• Will you work individually or as a team?

You do not need complete answers immediately. Early reflections often become starting points for deeper analysis later.

How to define research goal in ATLAS.ti

Step 1 – Create a research goal memo

• In ATLAS.ti Web: Go to Memo Manager from the left-hand menu and click New Memo.
• In ATLAS.ti Windows: Go to Memo > Memos > New Memo
• In ATLAS.ti Mac: Go to Memo > New Memo.
  • Name the memo something descriptive, such as:

• Research goal
• Research diary
• Methodology
• Initial reflections

• Begin writing your:

• research questions
• project goals
• assumptions
• expectations
• methodological choices

• Examples:
  • What do I want to understand from this study?
  • What patterns do I expect to see?
  • What assumptions do I already have?
  • Why did I choose this methodology?

Step 2 – Organize Planning Memos

Use memo groups to organize planning documents and reflections.

Examples include:

• research objectives
• methodology
• Notes

To create memo groups:

• In ATLAS.ti Web
  • Open the Memo Manager.
  • Click Details.
  • Open Manage Groups using the gear icon.
  • Create a new group.
  • To add memos into groups:
    • Select one or more memos using the checkboxes.
    • Click the three dots menu at the bottom of the screen.
    • Select Add to Group.
    • Choose the group.
• In ATLAS.ti for Windows and Mac: Select the memo(s), right-click and select ‘New group from selection’ or drag and drop it to the left side to create a group.

Step 3 – Revisit and update your Goals

Qualitative research is often iterative, meaning your understanding may develop throughout the project.

As your analysis develops:

1. Reopen your research goals memo.
2. Add reflections about changes in your focus or understanding.
3. Record important analytical decisions.
4. Note new themes, concepts, or research directions.

This creates a transparent audit trail showing how your thinking developed during the project.

Tips for defining strong research goals

Good research goals are usually:

• clear
• focused
• flexible
• relevant to the data
• realistic for the project scope

Helpful reflection questions include:

• What problem am I trying to understand?
• What experiences or processes matter most?
• What kind of insight do I want to generate?
• How will I know if my analysis is successful?
• What qualitative methodology best fits this question?

How research goals connect to coding and analysis

Your research goals help shape:

• coding strategies
• document organization
• memo writing
• interview questions
• analysis tools
• reporting structure

For example:

• grounded theory projects often begin with broader exploratory goals
• thematic analysis projects may begin with clearer topic-focused questions
• content analysis projects may focus on identifying recurring concepts or patterns

Your methodology influences how you approach coding and interpretation.

Common issues and mistakes

• Starting analysis without a clear direction
  • You do not need a final theory before starting, but having at least a general research focus helps guide coding and analysis.
• Treating research goals as completely fixed
  • Qualitative research goals often evolve during analysis, especially in exploratory or inductive approaches.
• Forgetting to document methodological decisions
  • Use memos and comments to record why important analytical decisions were made.
• Creating goals that are too broad
  • Very large or vague goals can make coding and interpretation difficult.
• Not revisiting early assumptions
  • Review your early memos regularly to reflect on how your understanding changes during the project.

When to contact support

Contact ATLAS.ti Support if:

• memos cannot be created or saved
• memo groups are missing or not updating correctly
• comments are not displaying correctly
• projects fail to save or synchronize
• projects cannot be transferred between platforms
• memo or project content appears missing

When contacting support, please include:

• your ATLAS.ti platform (Windows, Mac, or Web)
• your ATLAS.ti version, if using Desktop
• screenshots or error messages
• a description of your workflow and what happened