Q: What is the meaning of content scope?

Thank you for your question! The content scope of a paper indicates the extent to which the research area will be explored in the project. Basically, it identifies the depth of your study and the parameters within which the study/project will be operating. To this end, you will have to define what the study is going to cover and what it is focusing on. Similarly, you also have to define what the study is not going to cover. This will be discussed under the limitations of the study. Generally, the scope of a research paper is followed by its limitations.

As a researcher, you have to be careful when you define your scope or area of focus. Remember that if you broaden the scope too much, you might not be able to do justice to the work or it might take a very long time to complete. Consider the feasibility of your work before you write down the scope. Again, if the scope is too narrow, the findings might not be generalizable.

For example, your study is about online personal banking, but it will not be possible for you to cover all banks and all individuals who use the online banking system. Therefore, you can maybe specify that your study will cover 100 people of one particular area and examine their use of the online banking system.

Typically, the information that you need to include in the scope would cover the following:

1. General purpose of the study
2. Sample that you are studying
3. Duration of the study
4. Topics or theories to be discussed
5. Geographical location covered in the study

Related reading

• How do I present the scope of my study?
• What is the meaning of scope and delimitations of a study?