In the given question a phrase of the sentence is printed in bold which needs to be improved. Among the given options choose the option that can improve the given phrase and make it grammatically and contextually meaningful. If no improvement is required and the sentence is correct in its original form, then mark option 5
i.e., 'no  improvement required' as the answer. Despite facing several setbacks, the team of scientists  were praised for its efforts  in completing the research.