Project is ambiguous, or little progress is made. Students and faculty have not negotiated a schedule of activities to which they adhere. Students have not conducted a thorough literature review and thus do not know what questions to ask.
Students fail to build effectively on previous findings.
The goal statement should be followed by a list of specific objectives. This exercise encourages team discussion, and may need to be repeated several times. Each effort should focus the project goal further. Students should provide the advisor with a completed literature review. Collaboration on the literature review will encourage group discussion of the goals of the project.