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• Methodology

Research Design | Step-by-Step Guide with Examples

Published on 5 May 2022 by Shona McCombes . Revised on 20 March 2023.

A research design is a strategy for answering your research question  using empirical data. Creating a research design means making decisions about:

• Your overall aims and approach
• The type of research design you’ll use
• Your sampling methods or criteria for selecting subjects
• Your data collection methods
• The procedures you’ll follow to collect data
• Your data analysis methods

A well-planned research design helps ensure that your methods match your research aims and that you use the right kind of analysis for your data.

Table of contents

Step 1: consider your aims and approach, step 2: choose a type of research design, step 3: identify your population and sampling method, step 4: choose your data collection methods, step 5: plan your data collection procedures, step 6: decide on your data analysis strategies, frequently asked questions.

• Introduction

Before you can start designing your research, you should already have a clear idea of the research question you want to investigate.

There are many different ways you could go about answering this question. Your research design choices should be driven by your aims and priorities – start by thinking carefully about what you want to achieve.

The first choice you need to make is whether you’ll take a qualitative or quantitative approach.

Qualitative research designs tend to be more flexible and inductive , allowing you to adjust your approach based on what you find throughout the research process.

Quantitative research designs tend to be more fixed and deductive , with variables and hypotheses clearly defined in advance of data collection.

It’s also possible to use a mixed methods design that integrates aspects of both approaches. By combining qualitative and quantitative insights, you can gain a more complete picture of the problem you’re studying and strengthen the credibility of your conclusions.

Practical and ethical considerations when designing research

As well as scientific considerations, you need to think practically when designing your research. If your research involves people or animals, you also need to consider research ethics .

• How much time do you have to collect data and write up the research?
• Will you be able to gain access to the data you need (e.g., by travelling to a specific location or contacting specific people)?
• Do you have the necessary research skills (e.g., statistical analysis or interview techniques)?
• Will you need ethical approval ?

At each stage of the research design process, make sure that your choices are practically feasible.

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Within both qualitative and quantitative approaches, there are several types of research design to choose from. Each type provides a framework for the overall shape of your research.

Types of quantitative research designs

Quantitative designs can be split into four main types. Experimental and   quasi-experimental designs allow you to test cause-and-effect relationships, while descriptive and correlational designs allow you to measure variables and describe relationships between them.

With descriptive and correlational designs, you can get a clear picture of characteristics, trends, and relationships as they exist in the real world. However, you can’t draw conclusions about cause and effect (because correlation doesn’t imply causation ).

Experiments are the strongest way to test cause-and-effect relationships without the risk of other variables influencing the results. However, their controlled conditions may not always reflect how things work in the real world. They’re often also more difficult and expensive to implement.

Types of qualitative research designs

Qualitative designs are less strictly defined. This approach is about gaining a rich, detailed understanding of a specific context or phenomenon, and you can often be more creative and flexible in designing your research.

The table below shows some common types of qualitative design. They often have similar approaches in terms of data collection, but focus on different aspects when analysing the data.

Your research design should clearly define who or what your research will focus on, and how you’ll go about choosing your participants or subjects.

In research, a population is the entire group that you want to draw conclusions about, while a sample is the smaller group of individuals you’ll actually collect data from.

Defining the population

A population can be made up of anything you want to study – plants, animals, organisations, texts, countries, etc. In the social sciences, it most often refers to a group of people.

For example, will you focus on people from a specific demographic, region, or background? Are you interested in people with a certain job or medical condition, or users of a particular product?

The more precisely you define your population, the easier it will be to gather a representative sample.

Sampling methods

Even with a narrowly defined population, it’s rarely possible to collect data from every individual. Instead, you’ll collect data from a sample.

To select a sample, there are two main approaches: probability sampling and non-probability sampling . The sampling method you use affects how confidently you can generalise your results to the population as a whole.

Probability sampling is the most statistically valid option, but it’s often difficult to achieve unless you’re dealing with a very small and accessible population.

For practical reasons, many studies use non-probability sampling, but it’s important to be aware of the limitations and carefully consider potential biases. You should always make an effort to gather a sample that’s as representative as possible of the population.

Case selection in qualitative research

In some types of qualitative designs, sampling may not be relevant.

For example, in an ethnography or a case study, your aim is to deeply understand a specific context, not to generalise to a population. Instead of sampling, you may simply aim to collect as much data as possible about the context you are studying.

In these types of design, you still have to carefully consider your choice of case or community. You should have a clear rationale for why this particular case is suitable for answering your research question.

For example, you might choose a case study that reveals an unusual or neglected aspect of your research problem, or you might choose several very similar or very different cases in order to compare them.

Data collection methods are ways of directly measuring variables and gathering information. They allow you to gain first-hand knowledge and original insights into your research problem.

You can choose just one data collection method, or use several methods in the same study.

Survey methods

Surveys allow you to collect data about opinions, behaviours, experiences, and characteristics by asking people directly. There are two main survey methods to choose from: questionnaires and interviews.

Observation methods

Observations allow you to collect data unobtrusively, observing characteristics, behaviours, or social interactions without relying on self-reporting.

Observations may be conducted in real time, taking notes as you observe, or you might make audiovisual recordings for later analysis. They can be qualitative or quantitative.

Other methods of data collection

There are many other ways you might collect data depending on your field and topic.

If you’re not sure which methods will work best for your research design, try reading some papers in your field to see what data collection methods they used.

Secondary data

If you don’t have the time or resources to collect data from the population you’re interested in, you can also choose to use secondary data that other researchers already collected – for example, datasets from government surveys or previous studies on your topic.

With this raw data, you can do your own analysis to answer new research questions that weren’t addressed by the original study.

Using secondary data can expand the scope of your research, as you may be able to access much larger and more varied samples than you could collect yourself.

However, it also means you don’t have any control over which variables to measure or how to measure them, so the conclusions you can draw may be limited.

As well as deciding on your methods, you need to plan exactly how you’ll use these methods to collect data that’s consistent, accurate, and unbiased.

Planning systematic procedures is especially important in quantitative research, where you need to precisely define your variables and ensure your measurements are reliable and valid.

Operationalisation

Some variables, like height or age, are easily measured. But often you’ll be dealing with more abstract concepts, like satisfaction, anxiety, or competence. Operationalisation means turning these fuzzy ideas into measurable indicators.

If you’re using observations , which events or actions will you count?

If you’re using surveys , which questions will you ask and what range of responses will be offered?

You may also choose to use or adapt existing materials designed to measure the concept you’re interested in – for example, questionnaires or inventories whose reliability and validity has already been established.

Reliability and validity

Reliability means your results can be consistently reproduced , while validity means that you’re actually measuring the concept you’re interested in.

For valid and reliable results, your measurement materials should be thoroughly researched and carefully designed. Plan your procedures to make sure you carry out the same steps in the same way for each participant.

If you’re developing a new questionnaire or other instrument to measure a specific concept, running a pilot study allows you to check its validity and reliability in advance.

Sampling procedures

As well as choosing an appropriate sampling method, you need a concrete plan for how you’ll actually contact and recruit your selected sample.

That means making decisions about things like:

• How many participants do you need for an adequate sample size?
• What inclusion and exclusion criteria will you use to identify eligible participants?
• How will you contact your sample – by mail, online, by phone, or in person?

If you’re using a probability sampling method, it’s important that everyone who is randomly selected actually participates in the study. How will you ensure a high response rate?

If you’re using a non-probability method, how will you avoid bias and ensure a representative sample?

Data management

It’s also important to create a data management plan for organising and storing your data.

Will you need to transcribe interviews or perform data entry for observations? You should anonymise and safeguard any sensitive data, and make sure it’s backed up regularly.

Keeping your data well organised will save time when it comes to analysing them. It can also help other researchers validate and add to your findings.

On their own, raw data can’t answer your research question. The last step of designing your research is planning how you’ll analyse the data.

Quantitative data analysis

In quantitative research, you’ll most likely use some form of statistical analysis . With statistics, you can summarise your sample data, make estimates, and test hypotheses.

Using descriptive statistics , you can summarise your sample data in terms of:

• The distribution of the data (e.g., the frequency of each score on a test)
• The central tendency of the data (e.g., the mean to describe the average score)
• The variability of the data (e.g., the standard deviation to describe how spread out the scores are)

The specific calculations you can do depend on the level of measurement of your variables.

Using inferential statistics , you can:

• Make estimates about the population based on your sample data.
• Test hypotheses about a relationship between variables.

Regression and correlation tests look for associations between two or more variables, while comparison tests (such as t tests and ANOVAs ) look for differences in the outcomes of different groups.

Your choice of statistical test depends on various aspects of your research design, including the types of variables you’re dealing with and the distribution of your data.

Qualitative data analysis

In qualitative research, your data will usually be very dense with information and ideas. Instead of summing it up in numbers, you’ll need to comb through the data in detail, interpret its meanings, identify patterns, and extract the parts that are most relevant to your research question.

Two of the most common approaches to doing this are thematic analysis and discourse analysis .

There are many other ways of analysing qualitative data depending on the aims of your research. To get a sense of potential approaches, try reading some qualitative research papers in your field.

A sample is a subset of individuals from a larger population. Sampling means selecting the group that you will actually collect data from in your research.

For example, if you are researching the opinions of students in your university, you could survey a sample of 100 students.

Statistical sampling allows you to test a hypothesis about the characteristics of a population. There are various sampling methods you can use to ensure that your sample is representative of the population as a whole.

Operationalisation means turning abstract conceptual ideas into measurable observations.

For example, the concept of social anxiety isn’t directly observable, but it can be operationally defined in terms of self-rating scores, behavioural avoidance of crowded places, or physical anxiety symptoms in social situations.

Before collecting data , it’s important to consider how you will operationalise the variables that you want to measure.

The research methods you use depend on the type of data you need to answer your research question .

• If you want to measure something or test a hypothesis , use quantitative methods . If you want to explore ideas, thoughts, and meanings, use qualitative methods .
• If you want to analyse a large amount of readily available data, use secondary data. If you want data specific to your purposes with control over how they are generated, collect primary data.
• If you want to establish cause-and-effect relationships between variables , use experimental methods. If you want to understand the characteristics of a research subject, use descriptive methods.

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• How it works

How to Write a Research Design – Guide with Examples

Published by Alaxendra Bets at August 14th, 2021 , Revised On June 24, 2024

A research design is a structure that combines different components of research. It involves the use of different data collection and data analysis techniques logically to answer the  research questions .

It would be best to make some decisions about addressing the research questions adequately before starting the research process, which is achieved with the help of the research design.

Below are the key aspects of the decision-making process:

• Data type required for research
• Research resources
• Participants required for research
• Hypothesis based upon research question(s)
• Data analysis  methodologies
• Variables (Independent, dependent, and confounding)
• The location and timescale for conducting the data
• The time period required for research

The research design provides the strategy of investigation for your project. Furthermore, it defines the parameters and criteria to compile the data to evaluate results and conclude.

Your project’s validity depends on the data collection and  interpretation techniques.  A strong research design reflects a strong  dissertation , scientific paper, or research proposal .

Step 1: Establish Priorities for Research Design

Before conducting any research study, you must address an important question: “how to create a research design.”

The research design depends on the researcher’s priorities and choices because every research has different priorities. For a complex research study involving multiple methods, you may choose to have more than one research design.

Multimethodology or multimethod research includes using more than one data collection method or research in a research study or set of related studies.

If one research design is weak in one area, then another research design can cover that weakness. For instance, a  dissertation analyzing different situations or cases will have more than one research design.

For example:

• Experimental research involves experimental investigation and laboratory experience, but it does not accurately investigate the real world.
• Quantitative research is good for the  statistical part of the project, but it may not provide an in-depth understanding of the  topic .
• Also, correlational research will not provide experimental results because it is a technique that assesses the statistical relationship between two variables.

While scientific considerations are a fundamental aspect of the research design, It is equally important that the researcher think practically before deciding on its structure. Here are some questions that you should think of;

• Do you have enough time to gather data and complete the write-up?
• Will you be able to collect the necessary data by interviewing a specific person or visiting a specific location?
• Do you have in-depth knowledge about the  different statistical analysis and data collection techniques to address the research questions  or test the  hypothesis ?

If you think that the chosen research design cannot answer the research questions properly, you can refine your research questions to gain better insight.

Step 2: Data Type you Need for Research

Decide on the type of data you need for your research. The type of data you need to collect depends on your research questions or research hypothesis. Two types of research data can be used to answer the research questions:

Primary Data Vs. Secondary Data

Qualitative Vs. Quantitative Data

Also, see; Research methods, design, and analysis .

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Step 3: Data Collection Techniques

Once you have selected the type of research to answer your research question, you need to decide where and how to collect the data.

It is time to determine your research method to address the  research problem . Research methods involve procedures, techniques, materials, and tools used for the study.

For instance, a dissertation research design includes the different resources and data collection techniques and helps establish your  dissertation’s structure .

The following table shows the characteristics of the most popularly employed research methods.

Research Methods

Step 4: Procedure of Data Analysis

Use of the  correct data and statistical analysis technique is necessary for the validity of your research. Therefore, you need to be certain about the data type that would best address the research problem. Choosing an appropriate analysis method is the final step for the research design. It can be split into two main categories;

Quantitative Data Analysis

The quantitative data analysis technique involves analyzing the numerical data with the help of different applications such as; SPSS, STATA, Excel, origin lab, etc.

This data analysis strategy tests different variables such as spectrum, frequencies, averages, and more. The research question and the hypothesis must be established to identify the variables for testing.

Qualitative Data Analysis

Qualitative data analysis of figures, themes, and words allows for flexibility and the researcher’s subjective opinions. This means that the researcher’s primary focus will be interpreting patterns, tendencies, and accounts and understanding the implications and social framework.

You should be clear about your research objectives before starting to analyze the data. For example, you should ask yourself whether you need to explain respondents’ experiences and insights or do you also need to evaluate their responses with reference to a certain social framework.

Step 5: Write your Research Proposal

The research design is an important component of a research proposal because it plans the project’s execution. You can share it with the supervisor, who would evaluate the feasibility and capacity of the results  and  conclusion .

Read our guidelines to write a research proposal  if you have already formulated your research design. The research proposal is written in the future tense because you are writing your proposal before conducting research.

The  research methodology  or research design, on the other hand, is generally written in the past tense.

How to Write a Research Design – Conclusion

A research design is the plan, structure, strategy of investigation conceived to answer the research question and test the hypothesis. The dissertation research design can be classified based on the type of data and the type of analysis.

Above mentioned five steps are the answer to how to write a research design. So, follow these steps to  formulate the perfect research design for your dissertation .

ResearchProspect writers have years of experience creating research designs that align with the dissertation’s aim and objectives. If you are struggling with your dissertation methodology chapter, you might want to look at our dissertation part-writing service.

Our dissertation writers can also help you with the full dissertation paper . No matter how urgent or complex your need may be, ResearchProspect can help. We also offer PhD level research paper writing services.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is research design.

Research design is a systematic plan that guides the research process, outlining the methodology and procedures for collecting and analysing data. It determines the structure of the study, ensuring the research question is answered effectively, reliably, and validly. It serves as the blueprint for the entire research project.

How to write a research design?

To write a research design, define your research question, identify the research method (qualitative, quantitative, or mixed), choose data collection techniques (e.g., surveys, interviews), determine the sample size and sampling method, outline data analysis procedures, and highlight potential limitations and ethical considerations for the study.

How to write the design section of a research paper?

In the design section of a research paper, describe the research methodology chosen and justify its selection. Outline the data collection methods, participants or samples, instruments used, and procedures followed. Detail any experimental controls, if applicable. Ensure clarity and precision to enable replication of the study by other researchers.

How to write a research design in methodology?

To write a research design in methodology, clearly outline the research strategy (e.g., experimental, survey, case study). Describe the sampling technique, participants, and data collection methods. Detail the procedures for data collection and analysis. Justify choices by linking them to research objectives, addressing reliability and validity.

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Research Design 101

Everything You Need To Get Started (With Examples)

By: Derek Jansen (MBA) | Reviewers: Eunice Rautenbach (DTech) & Kerryn Warren (PhD) | April 2023

Navigating the world of research can be daunting, especially if you’re a first-time researcher. One concept you’re bound to run into fairly early in your research journey is that of “ research design ”. Here, we’ll guide you through the basics using practical examples , so that you can approach your research with confidence.

Overview: Research Design 101

What is research design.

• Research design types for quantitative studies
• Video explainer : quantitative research design
• Research design types for qualitative studies
• Video explainer : qualitative research design
• How to choose a research design
• Key takeaways

Research design refers to the overall plan, structure or strategy that guides a research project , from its conception to the final data analysis. A good research design serves as the blueprint for how you, as the researcher, will collect and analyse data while ensuring consistency, reliability and validity throughout your study.

Understanding different types of research designs is essential as helps ensure that your approach is suitable  given your research aims, objectives and questions , as well as the resources you have available to you. Without a clear big-picture view of how you’ll design your research, you run the risk of potentially making misaligned choices in terms of your methodology – especially your sampling , data collection and data analysis decisions.

The problem with defining research design…

One of the reasons students struggle with a clear definition of research design is because the term is used very loosely across the internet, and even within academia.

Some sources claim that the three research design types are qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods , which isn’t quite accurate (these just refer to the type of data that you’ll collect and analyse). Other sources state that research design refers to the sum of all your design choices, suggesting it’s more like a research methodology . Others run off on other less common tangents. No wonder there’s confusion!

In this article, we’ll clear up the confusion. We’ll explain the most common research design types for both qualitative and quantitative research projects, whether that is for a full dissertation or thesis, or a smaller research paper or article.

Research Design: Quantitative Studies

Quantitative research involves collecting and analysing data in a numerical form. Broadly speaking, there are four types of quantitative research designs: descriptive , correlational , experimental , and quasi-experimental . 

Descriptive Research Design

As the name suggests, descriptive research design focuses on describing existing conditions, behaviours, or characteristics by systematically gathering information without manipulating any variables. In other words, there is no intervention on the researcher’s part – only data collection.

For example, if you’re studying smartphone addiction among adolescents in your community, you could deploy a survey to a sample of teens asking them to rate their agreement with certain statements that relate to smartphone addiction. The collected data would then provide insight regarding how widespread the issue may be – in other words, it would describe the situation.

The key defining attribute of this type of research design is that it purely describes the situation . In other words, descriptive research design does not explore potential relationships between different variables or the causes that may underlie those relationships. Therefore, descriptive research is useful for generating insight into a research problem by describing its characteristics . By doing so, it can provide valuable insights and is often used as a precursor to other research design types.

Correlational Research Design

Correlational design is a popular choice for researchers aiming to identify and measure the relationship between two or more variables without manipulating them . In other words, this type of research design is useful when you want to know whether a change in one thing tends to be accompanied by a change in another thing.

For example, if you wanted to explore the relationship between exercise frequency and overall health, you could use a correlational design to help you achieve this. In this case, you might gather data on participants’ exercise habits, as well as records of their health indicators like blood pressure, heart rate, or body mass index. Thereafter, you’d use a statistical test to assess whether there’s a relationship between the two variables (exercise frequency and health).

As you can see, correlational research design is useful when you want to explore potential relationships between variables that cannot be manipulated or controlled for ethical, practical, or logistical reasons. It is particularly helpful in terms of developing predictions , and given that it doesn’t involve the manipulation of variables, it can be implemented at a large scale more easily than experimental designs (which will look at next).

That said, it’s important to keep in mind that correlational research design has limitations – most notably that it cannot be used to establish causality . In other words, correlation does not equal causation . To establish causality, you’ll need to move into the realm of experimental design, coming up next…

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Experimental Research Design

Experimental research design is used to determine if there is a causal relationship between two or more variables . With this type of research design, you, as the researcher, manipulate one variable (the independent variable) while controlling others (dependent variables). Doing so allows you to observe the effect of the former on the latter and draw conclusions about potential causality.

For example, if you wanted to measure if/how different types of fertiliser affect plant growth, you could set up several groups of plants, with each group receiving a different type of fertiliser, as well as one with no fertiliser at all. You could then measure how much each plant group grew (on average) over time and compare the results from the different groups to see which fertiliser was most effective.

Overall, experimental research design provides researchers with a powerful way to identify and measure causal relationships (and the direction of causality) between variables. However, developing a rigorous experimental design can be challenging as it’s not always easy to control all the variables in a study. This often results in smaller sample sizes , which can reduce the statistical power and generalisability of the results.

Moreover, experimental research design requires random assignment . This means that the researcher needs to assign participants to different groups or conditions in a way that each participant has an equal chance of being assigned to any group (note that this is not the same as random sampling ). Doing so helps reduce the potential for bias and confounding variables . This need for random assignment can lead to ethics-related issues . For example, withholding a potentially beneficial medical treatment from a control group may be considered unethical in certain situations.

Quasi-Experimental Research Design

Quasi-experimental research design is used when the research aims involve identifying causal relations , but one cannot (or doesn’t want to) randomly assign participants to different groups (for practical or ethical reasons). Instead, with a quasi-experimental research design, the researcher relies on existing groups or pre-existing conditions to form groups for comparison.

For example, if you were studying the effects of a new teaching method on student achievement in a particular school district, you may be unable to randomly assign students to either group and instead have to choose classes or schools that already use different teaching methods. This way, you still achieve separate groups, without having to assign participants to specific groups yourself.

Naturally, quasi-experimental research designs have limitations when compared to experimental designs. Given that participant assignment is not random, it’s more difficult to confidently establish causality between variables, and, as a researcher, you have less control over other variables that may impact findings.

All that said, quasi-experimental designs can still be valuable in research contexts where random assignment is not possible and can often be undertaken on a much larger scale than experimental research, thus increasing the statistical power of the results. What’s important is that you, as the researcher, understand the limitations of the design and conduct your quasi-experiment as rigorously as possible, paying careful attention to any potential confounding variables .

Research Design: Qualitative Studies

There are many different research design types when it comes to qualitative studies, but here we’ll narrow our focus to explore the “Big 4”. Specifically, we’ll look at phenomenological design, grounded theory design, ethnographic design, and case study design.

Phenomenological Research Design

Phenomenological design involves exploring the meaning of lived experiences and how they are perceived by individuals. This type of research design seeks to understand people’s perspectives , emotions, and behaviours in specific situations. Here, the aim for researchers is to uncover the essence of human experience without making any assumptions or imposing preconceived ideas on their subjects.

For example, you could adopt a phenomenological design to study why cancer survivors have such varied perceptions of their lives after overcoming their disease. This could be achieved by interviewing survivors and then analysing the data using a qualitative analysis method such as thematic analysis to identify commonalities and differences.

Phenomenological research design typically involves in-depth interviews or open-ended questionnaires to collect rich, detailed data about participants’ subjective experiences. This richness is one of the key strengths of phenomenological research design but, naturally, it also has limitations. These include potential biases in data collection and interpretation and the lack of generalisability of findings to broader populations.

Grounded Theory Research Design

Grounded theory (also referred to as “GT”) aims to develop theories by continuously and iteratively analysing and comparing data collected from a relatively large number of participants in a study. It takes an inductive (bottom-up) approach, with a focus on letting the data “speak for itself”, without being influenced by preexisting theories or the researcher’s preconceptions.

As an example, let’s assume your research aims involved understanding how people cope with chronic pain from a specific medical condition, with a view to developing a theory around this. In this case, grounded theory design would allow you to explore this concept thoroughly without preconceptions about what coping mechanisms might exist. You may find that some patients prefer cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) while others prefer to rely on herbal remedies. Based on multiple, iterative rounds of analysis, you could then develop a theory in this regard, derived directly from the data (as opposed to other preexisting theories and models).

Grounded theory typically involves collecting data through interviews or observations and then analysing it to identify patterns and themes that emerge from the data. These emerging ideas are then validated by collecting more data until a saturation point is reached (i.e., no new information can be squeezed from the data). From that base, a theory can then be developed .

As you can see, grounded theory is ideally suited to studies where the research aims involve theory generation , especially in under-researched areas. Keep in mind though that this type of research design can be quite time-intensive , given the need for multiple rounds of data collection and analysis.

Ethnographic Research Design

Ethnographic design involves observing and studying a culture-sharing group of people in their natural setting to gain insight into their behaviours, beliefs, and values. The focus here is on observing participants in their natural environment (as opposed to a controlled environment). This typically involves the researcher spending an extended period of time with the participants in their environment, carefully observing and taking field notes .

All of this is not to say that ethnographic research design relies purely on observation. On the contrary, this design typically also involves in-depth interviews to explore participants’ views, beliefs, etc. However, unobtrusive observation is a core component of the ethnographic approach.

As an example, an ethnographer may study how different communities celebrate traditional festivals or how individuals from different generations interact with technology differently. This may involve a lengthy period of observation, combined with in-depth interviews to further explore specific areas of interest that emerge as a result of the observations that the researcher has made.

As you can probably imagine, ethnographic research design has the ability to provide rich, contextually embedded insights into the socio-cultural dynamics of human behaviour within a natural, uncontrived setting. Naturally, however, it does come with its own set of challenges, including researcher bias (since the researcher can become quite immersed in the group), participant confidentiality and, predictably, ethical complexities . All of these need to be carefully managed if you choose to adopt this type of research design.

Case Study Design

With case study research design, you, as the researcher, investigate a single individual (or a single group of individuals) to gain an in-depth understanding of their experiences, behaviours or outcomes. Unlike other research designs that are aimed at larger sample sizes, case studies offer a deep dive into the specific circumstances surrounding a person, group of people, event or phenomenon, generally within a bounded setting or context .

As an example, a case study design could be used to explore the factors influencing the success of a specific small business. This would involve diving deeply into the organisation to explore and understand what makes it tick – from marketing to HR to finance. In terms of data collection, this could include interviews with staff and management, review of policy documents and financial statements, surveying customers, etc.

While the above example is focused squarely on one organisation, it’s worth noting that case study research designs can have different variation s, including single-case, multiple-case and longitudinal designs. As you can see in the example, a single-case design involves intensely examining a single entity to understand its unique characteristics and complexities. Conversely, in a multiple-case design , multiple cases are compared and contrasted to identify patterns and commonalities. Lastly, in a longitudinal case design , a single case or multiple cases are studied over an extended period of time to understand how factors develop over time.

As you can see, a case study research design is particularly useful where a deep and contextualised understanding of a specific phenomenon or issue is desired. However, this strength is also its weakness. In other words, you can’t generalise the findings from a case study to the broader population. So, keep this in mind if you’re considering going the case study route.

How To Choose A Research Design

Having worked through all of these potential research designs, you’d be forgiven for feeling a little overwhelmed and wondering, “ But how do I decide which research design to use? ”. While we could write an entire post covering that alone, here are a few factors to consider that will help you choose a suitable research design for your study.

Data type: The first determining factor is naturally the type of data you plan to be collecting – i.e., qualitative or quantitative. This may sound obvious, but we have to be clear about this – don’t try to use a quantitative research design on qualitative data (or vice versa)!

Research aim(s) and question(s): As with all methodological decisions, your research aim and research questions will heavily influence your research design. For example, if your research aims involve developing a theory from qualitative data, grounded theory would be a strong option. Similarly, if your research aims involve identifying and measuring relationships between variables, one of the experimental designs would likely be a better option.

Time: It’s essential that you consider any time constraints you have, as this will impact the type of research design you can choose. For example, if you’ve only got a month to complete your project, a lengthy design such as ethnography wouldn’t be a good fit.

Resources: Take into account the resources realistically available to you, as these need to factor into your research design choice. For example, if you require highly specialised lab equipment to execute an experimental design, you need to be sure that you’ll have access to that before you make a decision.

Keep in mind that when it comes to research, it’s important to manage your risks and play as conservatively as possible. If your entire project relies on you achieving a huge sample, having access to niche equipment or holding interviews with very difficult-to-reach participants, you’re creating risks that could kill your project. So, be sure to think through your choices carefully and make sure that you have backup plans for any existential risks. Remember that a relatively simple methodology executed well generally will typically earn better marks than a highly-complex methodology executed poorly.

Recap: Key Takeaways

We’ve covered a lot of ground here. Let’s recap by looking at the key takeaways:

• Research design refers to the overall plan, structure or strategy that guides a research project, from its conception to the final analysis of data.
• Research designs for quantitative studies include descriptive , correlational , experimental and quasi-experimenta l designs.
• Research designs for qualitative studies include phenomenological , grounded theory , ethnographic and case study designs.
• When choosing a research design, you need to consider a variety of factors, including the type of data you’ll be working with, your research aims and questions, your time and the resources available to you.

If you need a helping hand with your research design (or any other aspect of your research), check out our private coaching services .

Psst... there’s more!

This post was based on one of our popular Research Bootcamps . If you're working on a research project, you'll definitely want to check this out ...

14 Comments

Is there any blog article explaining more on Case study research design? Is there a Case study write-up template? Thank you.

Thanks this was quite valuable to clarify such an important concept.

Thanks for this simplified explanations. it is quite very helpful.

This was really helpful. thanks

Thank you for your explanation. I think case study research design and the use of secondary data in researches needs to be talked about more in your videos and articles because there a lot of case studies research design tailored projects out there.

Please is there any template for a case study research design whose data type is a secondary data on your repository?

This post is very clear, comprehensive and has been very helpful to me. It has cleared the confusion I had in regard to research design and methodology.

This post is helpful, easy to understand, and deconstructs what a research design is. Thanks

This post is really helpful.

how to cite this page

Thank you very much for the post. It is wonderful and has cleared many worries in my mind regarding research designs. I really appreciate .

how can I put this blog as my reference(APA style) in bibliography part?

This post has been very useful to me. Confusing areas have been cleared

This is very helpful and very useful!

Wow! This post has an awful explanation. Appreciated.

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Home » Research Design – Types, Methods and Examples

Research Design – Types, Methods and Examples

Table of Contents

Research Design

Definition:

Research design refers to the overall strategy or plan for conducting a research study. It outlines the methods and procedures that will be used to collect and analyze data, as well as the goals and objectives of the study. Research design is important because it guides the entire research process and ensures that the study is conducted in a systematic and rigorous manner.

Types of Research Design

Types of Research Design are as follows:

Descriptive Research Design

This type of research design is used to describe a phenomenon or situation. It involves collecting data through surveys, questionnaires, interviews, and observations. The aim of descriptive research is to provide an accurate and detailed portrayal of a particular group, event, or situation. It can be useful in identifying patterns, trends, and relationships in the data.

Correlational Research Design

Correlational research design is used to determine if there is a relationship between two or more variables. This type of research design involves collecting data from participants and analyzing the relationship between the variables using statistical methods. The aim of correlational research is to identify the strength and direction of the relationship between the variables.

Experimental Research Design

Experimental research design is used to investigate cause-and-effect relationships between variables. This type of research design involves manipulating one variable and measuring the effect on another variable. It usually involves randomly assigning participants to groups and manipulating an independent variable to determine its effect on a dependent variable. The aim of experimental research is to establish causality.

Quasi-experimental Research Design

Quasi-experimental research design is similar to experimental research design, but it lacks one or more of the features of a true experiment. For example, there may not be random assignment to groups or a control group. This type of research design is used when it is not feasible or ethical to conduct a true experiment.

Case Study Research Design

Case study research design is used to investigate a single case or a small number of cases in depth. It involves collecting data through various methods, such as interviews, observations, and document analysis. The aim of case study research is to provide an in-depth understanding of a particular case or situation.

Longitudinal Research Design

Longitudinal research design is used to study changes in a particular phenomenon over time. It involves collecting data at multiple time points and analyzing the changes that occur. The aim of longitudinal research is to provide insights into the development, growth, or decline of a particular phenomenon over time.

Structure of Research Design

The format of a research design typically includes the following sections:

• Introduction : This section provides an overview of the research problem, the research questions, and the importance of the study. It also includes a brief literature review that summarizes previous research on the topic and identifies gaps in the existing knowledge.
• Research Questions or Hypotheses: This section identifies the specific research questions or hypotheses that the study will address. These questions should be clear, specific, and testable.
• Research Methods : This section describes the methods that will be used to collect and analyze data. It includes details about the study design, the sampling strategy, the data collection instruments, and the data analysis techniques.
• Data Collection: This section describes how the data will be collected, including the sample size, data collection procedures, and any ethical considerations.
• Data Analysis: This section describes how the data will be analyzed, including the statistical techniques that will be used to test the research questions or hypotheses.
• Results : This section presents the findings of the study, including descriptive statistics and statistical tests.
• Discussion and Conclusion : This section summarizes the key findings of the study, interprets the results, and discusses the implications of the findings. It also includes recommendations for future research.
• References : This section lists the sources cited in the research design.

Example of Research Design

An Example of Research Design could be:

Research question: Does the use of social media affect the academic performance of high school students?

Research design:

• Research approach : The research approach will be quantitative as it involves collecting numerical data to test the hypothesis.
• Research design : The research design will be a quasi-experimental design, with a pretest-posttest control group design.
• Sample : The sample will be 200 high school students from two schools, with 100 students in the experimental group and 100 students in the control group.
• Data collection : The data will be collected through surveys administered to the students at the beginning and end of the academic year. The surveys will include questions about their social media usage and academic performance.
• Data analysis : The data collected will be analyzed using statistical software. The mean scores of the experimental and control groups will be compared to determine whether there is a significant difference in academic performance between the two groups.
• Limitations : The limitations of the study will be acknowledged, including the fact that social media usage can vary greatly among individuals, and the study only focuses on two schools, which may not be representative of the entire population.
• Ethical considerations: Ethical considerations will be taken into account, such as obtaining informed consent from the participants and ensuring their anonymity and confidentiality.

How to Write Research Design

Writing a research design involves planning and outlining the methodology and approach that will be used to answer a research question or hypothesis. Here are some steps to help you write a research design:

• Define the research question or hypothesis : Before beginning your research design, you should clearly define your research question or hypothesis. This will guide your research design and help you select appropriate methods.
• Select a research design: There are many different research designs to choose from, including experimental, survey, case study, and qualitative designs. Choose a design that best fits your research question and objectives.
• Develop a sampling plan : If your research involves collecting data from a sample, you will need to develop a sampling plan. This should outline how you will select participants and how many participants you will include.
• Define variables: Clearly define the variables you will be measuring or manipulating in your study. This will help ensure that your results are meaningful and relevant to your research question.
• Choose data collection methods : Decide on the data collection methods you will use to gather information. This may include surveys, interviews, observations, experiments, or secondary data sources.
• Create a data analysis plan: Develop a plan for analyzing your data, including the statistical or qualitative techniques you will use.
• Consider ethical concerns : Finally, be sure to consider any ethical concerns related to your research, such as participant confidentiality or potential harm.

When to Write Research Design

Research design should be written before conducting any research study. It is an important planning phase that outlines the research methodology, data collection methods, and data analysis techniques that will be used to investigate a research question or problem. The research design helps to ensure that the research is conducted in a systematic and logical manner, and that the data collected is relevant and reliable.

Ideally, the research design should be developed as early as possible in the research process, before any data is collected. This allows the researcher to carefully consider the research question, identify the most appropriate research methodology, and plan the data collection and analysis procedures in advance. By doing so, the research can be conducted in a more efficient and effective manner, and the results are more likely to be valid and reliable.

Purpose of Research Design

The purpose of research design is to plan and structure a research study in a way that enables the researcher to achieve the desired research goals with accuracy, validity, and reliability. Research design is the blueprint or the framework for conducting a study that outlines the methods, procedures, techniques, and tools for data collection and analysis.

Some of the key purposes of research design include:

• Providing a clear and concise plan of action for the research study.
• Ensuring that the research is conducted ethically and with rigor.
• Maximizing the accuracy and reliability of the research findings.
• Minimizing the possibility of errors, biases, or confounding variables.
• Ensuring that the research is feasible, practical, and cost-effective.
• Determining the appropriate research methodology to answer the research question(s).
• Identifying the sample size, sampling method, and data collection techniques.
• Determining the data analysis method and statistical tests to be used.
• Facilitating the replication of the study by other researchers.
• Enhancing the validity and generalizability of the research findings.

Applications of Research Design

There are numerous applications of research design in various fields, some of which are:

• Social sciences: In fields such as psychology, sociology, and anthropology, research design is used to investigate human behavior and social phenomena. Researchers use various research designs, such as experimental, quasi-experimental, and correlational designs, to study different aspects of social behavior.
• Education : Research design is essential in the field of education to investigate the effectiveness of different teaching methods and learning strategies. Researchers use various designs such as experimental, quasi-experimental, and case study designs to understand how students learn and how to improve teaching practices.
• Health sciences : In the health sciences, research design is used to investigate the causes, prevention, and treatment of diseases. Researchers use various designs, such as randomized controlled trials, cohort studies, and case-control studies, to study different aspects of health and healthcare.
• Business : Research design is used in the field of business to investigate consumer behavior, marketing strategies, and the impact of different business practices. Researchers use various designs, such as survey research, experimental research, and case studies, to study different aspects of the business world.
• Engineering : In the field of engineering, research design is used to investigate the development and implementation of new technologies. Researchers use various designs, such as experimental research and case studies, to study the effectiveness of new technologies and to identify areas for improvement.

Advantages of Research Design

Here are some advantages of research design:

• Systematic and organized approach : A well-designed research plan ensures that the research is conducted in a systematic and organized manner, which makes it easier to manage and analyze the data.
• Clear objectives: The research design helps to clarify the objectives of the study, which makes it easier to identify the variables that need to be measured, and the methods that need to be used to collect and analyze data.
• Minimizes bias: A well-designed research plan minimizes the chances of bias, by ensuring that the data is collected and analyzed objectively, and that the results are not influenced by the researcher’s personal biases or preferences.
• Efficient use of resources: A well-designed research plan helps to ensure that the resources (time, money, and personnel) are used efficiently and effectively, by focusing on the most important variables and methods.
• Replicability: A well-designed research plan makes it easier for other researchers to replicate the study, which enhances the credibility and reliability of the findings.
• Validity: A well-designed research plan helps to ensure that the findings are valid, by ensuring that the methods used to collect and analyze data are appropriate for the research question.
• Generalizability : A well-designed research plan helps to ensure that the findings can be generalized to other populations, settings, or situations, which increases the external validity of the study.

Research Design Vs Research Methodology

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How to... Design a research study

The design of a piece of research refers to the practical way in which the research was conducted according to a systematic attempt to generate evidence to answer the research question. The term "research methodology" is often used to mean something similar, however different writers use both terms in slightly different ways: some writers, for example, use the term "methodology" to describe the tools used for data collection, which others (more properly) refer to as methods.

On this page

What is research design, sampling techniques, quantitative approaches to research design, qualitative approaches to research design, planning your research design.

The following are some definitions of research design by researchers:

Design is the deliberately planned 'arrangement of conditions for analysis and collection of data in a manner that aims to combine relevance to the research purpose with economy of procedure'.

Selltiz C.S., Wrightsman L.S. and Cook S.W. 1981  Research Methods in Social Relations, Holt, Rinehart & Winston, London, quoted in Jankowicz, A.D.,  Business Research Methods , Thomson Learning, p.190.)

The idea behind a design is that different kinds of issues logically demand different kinds of data-gathering arrangement so that the data will be:

• relevant to your thesis or the argument you wish to present;
• an adequate test of your thesis (i.e. unbiased and reliable);
• accurate in establishing causality, in situations where you wish to go beyond description to provide explanations for whatever is happening around you;
• capable of providing findings that can be generalised to situations other than those of your immediate organisation.

(Jankowicz, A.D.,  Business Research Methods  , Thomson Learning, p. 190)

The design of the research involves consideration of the best method of collecting data to provide a relevant and accurate test of your thesis, one that can establish causality if required (see  What type of study are you undertaking? ), and one that will enable you to generalise your findings.

Design of the research should take account of the following factors, which are briefly discussed below with links to subsequent pages or other parts of the site where there is fuller information.

What is your theoretical and epistemological perspective?

Although management research is much concerned with observation of humans and their behaviour, to a certain extent the epistemological framework derives from that of science. Positivism assumes the independent existence of measurable facts in the social world, and researchers who assume this perspective will want to have a fairly exact system of measurement. On the other hand, interpretivism assumes that humans interpret events and researchers employing this method will adopt a more subjective approach.

What type of study are you undertaking?

Are you conducting an exploratory study, obtaining an initial grasp of a phenomenon, a descriptive study, providing a profile of a topic or institution:

Karin Klenke provides an exploratory study of issues of gender in management decisions in  Gender influences in decision-making processes in top management teams  ( Management Decision , Volume 41 Number 10)

Damien McLoughlin provides a descriptive study of action learning as a case study in  There can be no learning without action and no action without learning  in ( European Journal of Marketing , Volume 38 Number 3/4)

Or it can be explanatory, examining the causal relationship between variables: this can include the testing of hypotheses or examination of causes:

Martin  et al.  examined ad zipping and repetition in  Remote control marketing: how ad fast-forwarding and ad repetition affect consumers  ( Marketing Intelligence & Planning , Volume 20 Number 1) with a number of hypotheses e.g. that people are more likely to remember an ad that they have seen repeatedly.

What is your research question?

The most important issue here is that the design you use should be appropriate to your initial question. Implicit within your question will be issues of size, breadth, relationship between variables, how easy is it to measure variables etc.

The two different questions below call for very different types of design:

The example  Dimensions of library anxiety and social interdependence: implications for library services  (Jiao and Onwuegbuzie,  Library Review , Volume 51 Number 2) looks at attitudes and the relationship between variables, and uses very precise measurement instruments in the form of two questionnaires, with 43 and 22 items respectively.

In the example  Equity in Corporate Co-branding  (Judy Motion  et al. ,  European Journal of Marketing , Volume 37 Number 7),  the RQs posit a need to describe rather than to link variables, and the methodology used is one of discourse theory, which involves looking at material within the context of its use by the company.

What sample size will you base your data on?

The sample is the source of your data, and it is important to decide how you are going to select it.

See  Sampling techniques .

What research methods will you use and why?

We referred above to the distinction between methods and methodology. There are two main approaches to methodology – qualitative and quantitative.

For more detail on each of the approaches,  Quantitative approaches to design  and  Qualitative approaches to design  later in this feature.

Note, you do not have to stick to one methodology (although some writers recommend that you do). Combining methodologies is a matter of seeing which part of the design of your research is better suited to which methodology.

How will you triangulate your research?

Triangulation refers to the process of ensuring that any defects in a particular methodology are compensated by use of another at appropriate points in the design. For example, if you carry out a quantitative survey and need more in depth information about particular aspects of the survey you may decide to use in-depth interviews, a qualitative method.

Here are a couple of useful articles to read which cover the issue of triangulation:

• Combining quantitative and qualitative methodologies in logistics research  by John Mangan, Chandra Lalwani and Bernard Gardner ( International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management , Volume 34 Number 7) looks at ways of combining methodologies in a particular area of research, but much of what they say is generally applicable.
• Quantitative and qualitative research in the built environment: application of "mixed" research approach  by Dilanthi Amaratunga, David Baldry, Marjan Sarshar and Rita Newton ( Work Study , Volume 51 Number 1) looks at the relative merits of the two research approaches, and despite reference to the built environment in the title acts as a very good introduction to quantitative and qualitative methodology and their relative research literatures. The section on triangulation comes under the heading 'The mixed (or balanced) approach'. 

What steps will you take to ensure that your research is ethical?

Ethics in research is a very important issue. You should design the research in such a way that you take account of such ethical issues as:

• informed consent (have the participants had the nature of the research explained to them)?
• checking whether you have permission to transcribe conversations with a tape recorder
• always treating people with respect, consideration and concern.

How will you ensure the reliability of your research?

Reliability

This is about the replicability of your research and the accuracy of the procedures and research techniques. Will the same results be repeated if the research is repeated? Are the measurements of the research methods accurate and consistent? Could they be used in other similar contexts with equivalent results? Would the same results be achieved by another researcher using the same instruments? Is the research free from error or bias on the part of the researcher, or the participants? (E.g. do the participants say what they believe the management, or the researcher, wants? For example, in a survey done on some course material, that on a mathematical module received glowing reports – which led the researcher to wonder whether this was anything to do with the author being the Head of Department!)

How successfully has the research actually achieved what it set out to achieve? Can the results of the study be transferred to other situations? Does x really cause y, in other words is the researcher correct in maintaining a causal link between these two variables? Is the research design sufficiently rigorous, have alternative explanations been considered? Have the findings really be accurately interpreted? Have other events intervened which might impact on the study, e.g. a large scale redundancy programme? (For example, in an evaluation of the use of CDs for self study with a world-wide group of students, it was established that some groups had not had sufficient explanation from the tutors as to how to use the CD. This could have affected their rather negative views.)

Generalisability

Are the findings applicable in other research settings? Can a theory be developed that can apply to other populations? For example, can a particular study about dissatisfaction amongst lecturers in a particular university be applied generally? This is particularly applicable to research which has a relatively wide sample, as in a questionnaire, or which adopts a scientific technique, as with the experiment.

Transferability

Can the research be applied to other situations? Particularly relevant when applied to case studies.

In addition, each of the sections in this feature on quantitative and qualitative approaches to research design contain notes on how to ensure that the research is reliable.

Some basic definitions

In order to answer a particular research question, the researcher needs to investigate a particular area or group, to which the conclusions from the research will apply. The former may comprise a geographical location such as a city, an industry (for example the clothing industry), an organisation/group of organisations such as a particular firm/type of firm, a particular group of people defined by occupation (e.g. student, manager etc.), consumption of a particular product or service (e.g. users of a shopping mall, new library system etc.), gender etc. This group is termed the  research population .

The  unit of analysis  is the level at which the data is aggregated: for example, it could be a study of individuals as in a study of women managers, of dyads, as in a study of mentor/mentee relationships, of groups (as in studies of departments in an organisation), of organisations, or of industries.

Unless the research population is very small, we need to study a subset of it, which needs to be general enough to be applicable to the whole. This is known as a  sample , and the selection of components of the sample that will give a representative view of the whole is known as  sampling technique  . It is from this sample that you will collect your data.

In order to draw up a sample, you need first to identify the total number of people in the research population. This information may be available in a telephone directory, a list of company members, or a list of companies in the area. It is known as a  sampling frame .

In  Networking for female managers' career development  (Margaret Linehan,  Journal of Management Development , Volume 20 Number 10), he sampling technique is described as follows:

"A total of 50 senior female managers were selected for inclusion in this study. Two sources were used for targeting interviewees, the first was a listing of Fortune 500 top companies in England, Belgium, France and Germany, and, second, The Marketing Guide to Ireland. The 50 managers who participated in the study were representative of a broad range of industries and service sectors including: mining, software engineering, pharmaceutical manufacturing, financial services, car manufacturing, tourism, oil refining, medical and state-owned enterprises."

Sampling may be done either a  probability  or a  non-probability  basis. This is an important research design decision, and one which will depend on such factors as whether the theory behind the research is positivist or idealist, whether qualitative or quantitative methods are used etc. Note that the two methods are not mutually exclusive, and may be used for different purposes at different points in the research, say purposive sampling to find out key attitudes, followed by a more general, random approach.

Note that there is a very good section from an online textbook on sampling: see William Trochim's  Research Methods Knowledge Base .

Probability sampling

In  probability  sampling, each member of a given research population has an equal chance of being selected. It involves, literally, the selection of respondents at random from the sampling frame, having decided on the sample size. This type of sampling is more likely if the theoretical orientation of the research is  positivist , and the methodology used is likely to be  quantitative .

Probability sampling can be:

• random  – the selection is completely arbitrary, and a given number of the total population is selected completely at random.
• systematic  – every  nth element  of the population is selected. This can cause a problem if the interval of selection means that the elements share a characteristic: for example, if every fourth seat of a coach is selected it is likely that all the seats will be beside a window.
• stratified   random  – the population is divided into segments, for example, in a University, you could divide the population into academic, administrators, and academic related (related professional staff). A random number of each group is then selected. It has the advantage of allowing you to categorise your population according to particular features. A.D. Jankowicz provides useful advice (Business Research Methods,Thomson Learning, 2000, p.197).

The concept of fit in services flexibility and research: an empirical approach  (Antonio J Verdú-Jover  et al. ,  International Journal of Service Industry Management , Volume 15 Number 5) uses stratified sampling: the study concentrates on three sectors within the EU, chemicals, electronics and vehicles, with the sample being stratified within this sector.

• cluster  – a particular subgroup is chosen at random. The subgroup may be based on a particular geographical area, say you may decide to sample particular areas of the country.

Non probability sampling

Here, the population does not have an equal chance of being selected; instead, selection happens according to some factor such as:

• convenience/accidental  – being present at a particular time e.g. at lunch in the canteen. This is an easy way of getting a sample, but may not be strictly accurate, because the factor you have chosen is based on your convenience rather than on a true understanding of the characteristics of the sample.

In  "Saying is one thing; doing is another": the role of observation in marketing research  ( Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal , Volume 2 Number 1), Matthews and Boote use a two-stage sampling process, with convenience sampling followed by time sampling: see their methodology.

• "key informant technique" – i.e. people with specialist knowledge
• using people at selected points in the organisational hierarchy 
• snowball, with one person being approached and then suggesting others.

In "The benefits of the implementation of the ISO 9000 standard: empirical research in 288 Spanish companies", a sample was selected based on all certified companies in a particular area, because this was where the highest number of certified companies could be found.

• quota  – the assumption is made that there are subgroups in the population, and a quota of respondents is chosen to reflect this diversity. This subgroup should be reasonably representative of the whole, but care should be taken in drawing conclusions for the whole population. For example, a quota sample taken in New York State would not be representative of the whole of the United States.

Monitoring consumer confidence in food safety: an exploratory study , de Jonge  et al . use quota sampling using age, gender, household size and region as selection variables in a food safety survey. Read about the methodology under Materials and methods.

Non probability sampling methods are more likely to be used in qualitative research, with the greater degree of collaboration with the respondents affording the opportunity of greater detail of data gathering. The researcher is more likely to be involved in the process and be adopting an  interpretivist theoretical  stance.

Calculating the sample size

In purposive sampling, this will be determined by judgement; in other more random types of sample it is calculated as a  proportion  of the sampling frame, the key criterion being to ensure that it is representative of the whole. (E.g. 10 per cent is fine for a large population, say over 1000, but for a small population you would want a larger proportion.)

If you are using stratified sampling you may need to adjust your strata and collapse into smaller strata if you find that some of your sample sizes are too small.

The response rate

It is important to keep track of the response rate against your sample frame. If you are depending on postal questionnaires, you will need to plan into your design time to follow up the questionnaires. What is considered to be a good response rate varies according to the type of survey: if you are, say, surveying managers, then a good response would be 50 per cent; for consumer surveys, the response rate is likely to be lower, say 10 to 20 per cent.

The thing that characterises quantitative research is that it is objective. The assumption is that facts exist totally independently and the researcher is a totally  objective  observer of situations, and has no power to influence them. At such, it probably starts from a positivist or empiricist position.

The research design is based on one iteration in collection of the data: the categories are isolated prior to the study, and the design is planned out and generally not changed during the study (as it may be in qualitative research).

What is my research question? What variables am I interested in exploring?

It is usual to start your research by carrying out a  literature review , which should help you formulate a research question.

Part of the task of the above is to help you determine what  variables  you are considering. What are the key variables for your research and what is the relationship between them – are you looking to  explore  issues, to  compare  two variables or to look at  cause and effect ?

The Dutch heart health community intervention "Hartslag Limburg": evaluation design and baseline data  (Gaby Ronda  et al. ,  Health Education , Volume 103 Number 6) describes a trial of a cardiovascular prevention programme which indicated the importance of its further implementation. The key variables are the types of health related behaviours which affect a person's chance of heart disease.

The following studies compare variables:

Service failures away from home: benefits in intercultural service encounters  (Clyde A Warden  et al. ,  International Journal of Service Industry Management , Volume 14 Number 4) compares service encounters (the independent variable) inside and outside Taiwan (the dependent variable) in order to look at certain aspects of 'critical incidents' in intercultural service encounters.

The concept of fit in services flexibility and research: an empirical approach  (Antonio J Verdú-Jover  et al. ,  International Journal of Service Industry Management , Volume 15 Number 5) looks at managerial flexibility in relation to different types of business, service and manufacturing.

They can also look at cause and effect:

In  Remote control marketing: how ad fast-forwarding and ad repetition affect consumers  (Brett A.S. Martin  et al. ,  Marketing Intelligence & Planning , Volume 20 Number 1), the authors look at two variables associated with advertising, notably zipping and fast forwarding, and in their effect on a third variable, consumer behaviour - i.e. ability to remember ads. Furthermore, it looks at the interaction between the first two variables - i.e. whether they interact on one another to help increase recall.

What is the hypothesis?

It is usual with quantitative research to proceed from a particular hypothesis. The object of research would then be to test the hypothesis.

In the example quoted above,  Remote control marketing: how ad fast-forwarding and ad repetition affect consumers , the researchers decided to explore a neglected area of the literature: the interaction between ad zipping and repetition, and came up with three hypotheses:

The influence of zipping H1 . Individuals viewing advertisements played at normal speed will exhibit higher ad recall and recognition than those who view zipped advertisements.

Ad repetition effects H2 . Individuals viewing a repeated advertisement will exhibit higher ad recall and recognition than those who see an advertisement once.

Zipping and ad repetition H3 . Individuals viewing zipped, repeated advertisements will exhibit higher ad recall and recognition than those who see a normal speed advertisement that is played once.

What are the appropriate measures to use

It is very important, when designing your research, to understand  what  you are measuring. This will call for a close examination of the issues involved: is your measure suitable to the hypothesis and research question under consideration? The type of scale you will use will dictate the statistical procedure which you can use to analyse your data, and it is important to have an understanding of the latter at the outset in order to obtain the correct level of analysis, and one that will throw the best light on your research question, and help test your hypothesis.

It is also important to understand what type of data you are trying to collect. Are you wanting to collect data that relates simply to different types of categories, for example, men and women (as in, say, differences in decision-making between men and women managers), or do you want to rank the data in some way? Choices as far as the nature of data are concerned again dictate the type of statistical analysis.

Data can be categorised as follows:

• Nominal – Representing particular categories, e.g. men or women.
• Ordinal – Ranked in some way such as order of passing a particular point in a shopping centre.
• Interval – Ranked according to the interval between the data, which remains the same. Most typical of this type of data is temperature.
• Ratio – Where it is possible to measure the difference between different types of data - for example applying a measurement.
• Scalar – This type of data has intervals between it, which are not quantifiable.

Note that some of the above categories, especially 'interval' and 'ratio' are drawn from a scientific model which assumes exact measurement of data (temperature, length etc.). In management research, you are unlikely to want to or be able to apply such a high degree of exactitude, and are more likely to be measuring less exact criteria which do not have an exact interval between them.

Here are some examples of use of data in management research. This one illustrates the use of different categories:

The concept of fit in services flexibility and research: an empirical approach  (see above) uses an approach which itemises the different aspects which the researchers wished to measure flexibility mix, performance and the form's general data. 

This one looks at categories and also at ranked data (ordinal):

In  Remote control marketing: how ad fast-forwarding and ad repetition affect consumers  (also see above), the measure involved 2 (speed of ad presentation: normal, fast-forwarded) ×\ 2 (repetition: none, one repetition) between-subjects factorial design.

The following examples look at measures on a scale, which may relate to tangible factors such as frequency, or more intangible ones which relate to attitude or opinion:

How many holidays do you take in a year?

One __  Between 2 and 5 __  Between 5 and 10 __  More than 10 __

Tick the option which most agrees with your views.

Navigating my way around the CD was:

Very easy __  Easy __  Neither easy nor hard __  Hard __  Very hard __

The later type of data are very common in management research, and are known as scalar data. A very common measure for such data is known as the Likert scale:

Strongly agree __________ Agree __________ Neither agree nor disagree __________ Disagree __________ Strongly disagree __________

How will I analyse the data?

Quantitative data are invariably analysed by some sort of statistical means, such as a t-test, a chi test, cluster analysis etc. It is very important to decide at the planning stage what your method of analysis will be: this will in turn affect your choice of measure. Both your analysis and measure should be suitable to test your hypothesis.

You need also to consider what type of package will you need to analyse your data. It may be sufficient to enter it into an Excel spreadsheet, or you may wish to use a statistical package such as SPSS or Mintab.

What are the instruments used in quantitative research?

Or, put more simply, what methods will you use to collect your data?

In scientific research, it is possible to be reasonably precise by generating experiments in laboratory conditions. Whilst the  field experiment  has a place in management research, as does  observation , the most usual instrument for producing quantitative data is the  survey , most often carried out by means of a  questionnaire .

You will find numerous examples of questionnaires and surveys in research published by Emerald, as you will in any database of management research. Questionnaires will be discussed at a later stage but here are some key issues:

• It is important to know exactly what questions you want answers to. A common failing is to realise, once you have got the questionnaire back, that you really need answers to a question which you never asked. Thus the questionnaire should be rigorously researched and the questions phrased as precisely as possible.
• You are more likely to get a response if you give people a reason to respond - commercial companies sometimes offer a prize, which may not be possible or appropriate if you are a researcher in a university, but it is usual in that case to give the reason behind your research, which gives your respondent a context. Even more motivational is the ease with which the questionnaire can be filled in.
• How many responses will I need? This concerns the eventual size of your dataset and depends upon the degree of complexity of your planned analysis, how you are treating your variables (for example, if you are wanting to show the effect of a variable, you will need a larger response size, likewise if you are showing changes in variables).

Other instruments that are used in quantitative research to generate data are experiments, historical records and documents, and observation.

Note that some authors claim that for a design to be a  true experiment , items must be randomly assigned to groups; if there is some sort of control group or multiple measures, then it may be  quasi experimental . If your survey fits neither of these descriptions, it may according to these authors be sufficient for descriptive purposes, but not if you seek to establish a causal relationship.

For more information on types of design, see William Trochim's Research Methods Knowledge Base section on  types of design .

What are the advantages and drawbacks of quantitative research?

The main advantage of quantitative research is that it is easy to determine its rigour: because of the objectivity of quantitative studies, it is easy to replicate them in another situation. For example, a well-constructed questionnaire can be used to analyse job satisfaction in two different companies; likewise, an observation studying consumer behaviour in a shopping centre can take place in two different such centres.

Quantitative methods are also good at obtaining a good deal of reliable data from a large number of sources. Their drawback is that they are heavily dependent on the reliability of the instrument: that is, in the case of the questionnaire, it is vital to ask the right questions in the right way. This in turn is dependent upon having sufficient information about a situation, which is not always possible. In addition, quantitative studies may generate a large amount of data, but the data may lack depth and fail to explain complex human processes such as attitudes to organisational change, or how how learning takes place.

For example, a quantitative study on a piece of educational software may show that on the whole people felt that they had learnt something, but may not necessarily show how they learnt, which an observation could.

For this reason, quantitative methods are often used in conjunction with qualitative methods: for example, qualitative methods of interviewing may be used as a way of finding out more about a situation in order to draw up an informed quantitative instrument; or to explore certain issues which have appeared in the quantitative study in greater depth.

Qualitative research operates from a different epistemological perspective than quantitative, which is essentially objective. It is a perspective that acknowledges the essential difference between the social world and the scientific one, recognising that people do not always observe the laws of nature, but rather comprise a whole range of feelings, observations, attitudes which are essentially subjective in nature. The theoretical framework is thus likely to be interpretivist or realist. Indeed, the researcher and the research instrument are often combined, with the former being the interviewer, or observer – as opposed to quantitative studies where the research instrument may be a survey and the subjects may never see the researcher.

In an  interview for Emerald ,  Professor Slawomir Magala , Editor of the  Journal of Organizational Change Management , has this to say about qualitative methods:

"We follow the view that the social construction of reality is personal, experienced by individuals and between individuals – in fact, the interactions which connect us are the building blocks of reality, and there is much meaning in the space between individuals."

As opposed to the statistical reliance of quantitative research, data from qualitative research is based on observation and words, and analysis is based on interpretation and pattern recognition rather than statistical analysis.

Miles and Huberman list the following as typical criteria of qualitative research:

• Intense and prolonged contact in the field.
• Designed to achieve a holistic or systemic picture.
• Perception is gained from the inside based on actors' understanding.
• Little standardised instrumentation is used.
• Most analysis is done with words.
• There are multiple interpretations available in the data.

Miles, M. and Huberman, A.M. (1994) Qualitative Data Analysis: An Expanded Sourcebook , Sage, London

To what types of research questions is qualitative research relevant?

Qualitative research is best suited to the types of questions which require exploration of data  in depth  over a not particularly large sample. For example, it would be too time consuming to ask questions such as "Please describe in detail your reaction to colour x" to a large number of people, it would be more appropriate to simply ask "Do you like colour x" and give people a "yes/no" option. By asking the former question to a smaller number of people, you would get a more detailed result.

Qualitative research is also best suited to  exploratory  and  comparative  studies; to a more limited extent, it can also be used for  "cause-effect"  type questions, providing these are fairly limited in scope.

One of the strengths of qualitative research is that it allows the researcher to gain an in-depth perspective, and to grapple with complexity and ambiguity. This is what makes it suitable to analysis of  particular  groups or situations, or unusual events.

What is the relationship of qualitative research to hypotheses?

Qualitative research is usually inductive: that is, researchers gather data, and then formulate a hypothesis which can be applied to other situations.

In fact, one of the strengths of qualitative research is that it can proceed from a relatively small understanding of a particular situation, and generate new questions during the course of data collection as opposed to needing to have all the questions set out beforehand. Indeed, it is good practice in quantitative research to go into a situation as free from preconceptions as possible.

How will you analyse the data?

There is not the same need with qualitative research to determine the measure and the method of analysis at an early stage of the research process, mainly because there are no standard ways of analysing data as there are for quantitative research: it is usual to go with whatever is appropriate for the research question. However, because qualitative data usually involves a large amount of transcription (e.g. of taped interviews, videos of focus groups etc.) it is a good idea to have a plan of how this should be done, and to allow time for the transcription process.

There are a couple of attested methods of qualitative data analysis:  content analysis , which involves looking at emerging patterns, and  grounded analysis , which involves going through a number of guided stages and which is closely linked to  grounded theory .

What are the main instruments of qualitative research?

Or put another way, what are the main methods used to collect data? These can be organised according to their methodology (note, the following is not an exhaustive list, for which you should consult a good book on qualitative research):

Ethnographic methods

As the name suggests, this methodology derives from anthropology and involves observing people as a participant within their social and cultural system. Most common methods of data collection are:

• Interviewing, which means discussions with people either on the phone, by email or in person when the purpose is to collect data which is by its nature unquantifiable and more difficult to analyse by statistical means, but which provides in-depth information. The interview can be either:  Structured , which means that the interviewer has a set number of questions.  Semi-structured , which means that the interviewer has a number of questions or a purpose, but the interview can still go off in unanticipated directions.
• Focus groups, which is where a group of people are assembled at one time to give their reaction to a product, or to discuss an issue. There is usually some sort of facilitation which involves either guided discussion or some sort of product demonstration.
• Participant observation – the researcher observes behaviour of people in the organisation, their language, actions, behaviour etc.

For some examples of participant observation, see Methods of empirical research ,  and for examples of interview technique, see  Techniques of data collection and analysis .

Historical analysis

This is literally, the analysis of historical documents of a particular company, industry etc. It is important to understand exactly what your focus is, and also which historical school or theoretical perspective you are drawing on.

Grounded theory

This is an essentially inductive approach, and is applied when the understanding of a particular phenomenen is sought. A feature is that the design of the research has several iterations: there is initial exploration followed by a theory which is then tested.

In  Grounded theory methodology and practitioner reflexivity in TQM research  ( International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management  , Volume 18 Number 2), Leonard and McAdam use grounded theory to explore TQM, on the grounds that quantitative methods "fail to give deep insights and rich data into TQM in practice within organizations", and that it is much more appropriate to listen to the individual experiences of participants. 

Action research

This is a highly participative form of research where the research is carried out in collaboration with those involved in a particular process, which is often concerned with some sort of change.

Narrative methods

This is when the researcher listens to the stories of people in the organisation and triangulates them against official documents.

Discourse theory

This methodology draws on a theory which allows language to have a meaning that is not set but is negotiated through social context.

Helen Francis in  The power of "talk" in HRM-based change  ( Personnel Review , Volume 31 Number 4) describes her use of discourse theory as follows:

"The approach to discourse analysis drew upon Fairclough's seminal work in which discourse is treated as a form of social practice and meaning is something that is essentially fluid and negotiated rather than being authored individually (Fairclough, 1992, 1995).

"For Fairclough (1992, 1995) the analysis of discursive events is three dimensional and includes simultaneously a piece of text, an instance of discursive practice, and an instance of social practice. Text refers to written and spoken language in use, while "discursive practices" allude to the processes by which texts are produced and interpreted. The social practice dimension refers to the institutional and organisational factors surrounding the discursive event and how they might shape the nature of the discursive practice.

"For the purposes of this research, the method of analysis included a description of the language text and how it was produced or interpreted amongst managers and their subordinates. Particular emphasis was placed on investigating the import of metaphors that are characteristic of HRM, and the introduction of HRM-based techniques adopted by change leaders in their attempt to privilege certain themes and issues over others."

Fairclough, N., 1992,  Discourse and Social Change , Polity Press, Cambridge.

Fairclough, N., 1995,  Critical Discourse Analysis: Papers in the Critical Study of Language , Longman, London.

Discourse theory can be applied to the written as well as the spoken word and can be used to analyse marketing literature as in the following example:

Equity in corporate co-branding: the case of Adidas and the all-blacks  by Judy Motion  et al.  ( European Journal of Marketing , Volume 37 Number 7), where discourse theory is used to analyse branding messages.

How rigorous is qualitative research?

It is often considered harder to demonstrate the rigour of qualitative research, simply because it may be harder to replicate the conditions of the study, and apply the data in other similar circumstances. The rigour may partly lie in the ability to generate a theory which can be applied in other situations, and which takes our understanding of a particular area further.

Rigour in qualitative research is greatly aided by:

• confirmability - which does not necessarily mean that someone else would adopt the same conclusion, but rather there is a clear audit trail between your data and your interpretation; and that interpretations are based on a wide range of data (for example, from several interviews rather than just one). (This is related to  triangulation , see below.)
• authenticity - are you drawing on a sufficiently wide range of rich data, do the interpretations ring true, have you considered rival interpretations, do your informants agree with your interpretation?

In  Cultural assumptions in career management: practice implications from Germany;  (Hansen and Willcox,  Career Development International , Volume 2 Number 4), the main method used is ethnographic interviews, and findings are verified by comparing data from the two samples.

Reliability is also enhanced if you can triangulate your data from a number of different sources or methods of data collection, at different times and from different participants.

Dennis Cahill, in  When to use qualitative methods: a new approach  ( Marketing Intelligence & Planning , Volume 14 Number 6), has this to say about the reliability of qualitative research:

"While there are times when qualitative techniques are inappropriate to the research goal, or appropriate only in certain portions of a research project, quantitative techniques do not have universal applicability, either. Although these techniques may be used to measure "reality" rather precisely, they often suffer from a lack of good descriptive material of the type which brings the information to life. This lack is particularly felt in corporate applications where implementation of the results is sought. Therefore, whether one has any interest in the specific research described above, if one is involved in implementation of research results – something we all should be involved in – the use of qualitative research at midpoint is a technique with which we should become familiar.

"It is at this point that some qualitative follow up – interviews or focus groups for example – can serve to flesh out the results, making it possible for people at the firm to understand and internalize those results."

Can qualitative research be used in with quantitative research?

Whereas some researchers only use either qualitative or quantitative methodologies, the two are frequently combined, as when for example qualitative methods are used exploratatively in order to obtain further information prior to developing a quantitative research instrument. In other cases, qualitative methods are used to complement quantitative methods and obtain a greater degree of descriptive richness:

In  When to use qualitative methods: a new approach , Dennis Cahill describes how qualitative methods were used after an extensive questionnaire used to carry out research for a new publication dedicated to the needs of the real estate market. The analysis for the questionnaire produced a five-segment typology (winners, authentics, heartlanders, wannabes and maintainers), which was tested by means of an EYE-TRAC test, when a selected sample was videotaped looking at a magazine of houses for sale.

Once you have established the key features of your design, you need to create an outline project plan which will include a budget and a timetable. In order to do this you need to think first about the activities of your data collection: how much data are you collecting, where etc. (See the section on  Sampling techniques .) You also need to consider your time period for data collection.

Over what time period will you collect your data?

This refers to two types of issues:

Type of study

Should the research be a 'snapshot', examining a particular phenomenon at a particular time, or should it be  longitutinal , examining an issue over a time period? If the latter, the object will be to explore changes over the period.

A longitudinal study of corporate social reporting in Singapore  (Eric W K Tsang,  Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal , Volume 11 Number 5) examines social reporting in that country from 1986 to 1995.

Methodology

Sometimes, you may have 'one shot' at the collection of your data - in other words, you plan your sample, your method of data collection, and then analyse the result. This is more likely to be the case if your research approach is more quantitative.

However, other types of research approach involve stages in the collection of data. For example, in  grounded theory  research, data is collected and analysed and then the process is repeated as more is discovered about the subject. Likewise in  action research , there is a cyclical process of data collection, reflection and more collection and analysis.

If you adopt an approach where you  combine quantitative and qualitative methods , then this methodology will dictate that you do a series of studies, whether qualitative followed by quantitative, or vice versa, or qualitative/quantitative/qualitative.

Grounded theory methodology and practitioner reflexivity in TQM research  (Leonard and McAdam,  International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management , Volume 18 Number 2) adopts a three-stage approach to the collection of data.

Doing the plan

The following are some of the costs which need to be considered:

• Travel to interview people.
• Postal surveys, including follow-up.
• The design and printing of the questionnaire, especially if there is use of Optical Mark Reader (OMR) and Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology.
• Programming to "read" the above.
• Programming the data into meaningful results.
• Transcription of any tape recorded interviews.
• Cost of design of any internet survey.
• Employment of a research assistant.

Timetabling

Make a list of the key stages of your research. Does it have several phases, for example, a questionnaire, then interviews?

How long will each phase take? Take account of factors such as:

• Sourcing your sampling frame
• Determining the sample
• Approaching interview subjects
• Preparations for interviews
• Writing questionnaires
• Response time for questionnaires (include a follow-up stage)
• Analysing the responses
• Writing the report

When doing a schedule, it's tempting to make it as short as possible in the belief that you actually can achieve more in the time than you think. However, it's very important to be as accurate as possible in your scheduling.

Planning is particularly important if you are working to a specific budget and timetable as for example if you are doing a PhD, or if you are working on a funded research project, which has a specific amount of money available and probably also specific deadlines.

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How to write a research plan: Step-by-step guide

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30 January 2024

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Today’s businesses and institutions rely on data and analytics to inform their product and service decisions. These metrics influence how organizations stay competitive and inspire innovation. However, gathering data and insights requires carefully constructed research, and every research project needs a roadmap. This is where a research plan comes into play.

Read this step-by-step guide for writing a detailed research plan that can apply to any project, whether it’s scientific, educational, or business-related.

• What is a research plan?

A research plan is a documented overview of a project in its entirety, from end to end. It details the research efforts, participants, and methods needed, along with any anticipated results. It also outlines the project’s goals and mission, creating layers of steps to achieve those goals within a specified timeline.

Without a research plan, you and your team are flying blind, potentially wasting time and resources to pursue research without structured guidance.

The principal investigator, or PI, is responsible for facilitating the research oversight. They will create the research plan and inform team members and stakeholders of every detail relating to the project. The PI will also use the research plan to inform decision-making throughout the project.

• Why do you need a research plan?

Create a research plan before starting any official research to maximize every effort in pursuing and collecting the research data. Crucially, the plan will model the activities needed at each phase of the research project .

Like any roadmap, a research plan serves as a valuable tool providing direction for those involved in the project—both internally and externally. It will keep you and your immediate team organized and task-focused while also providing necessary definitions and timelines so you can execute your project initiatives with full understanding and transparency.

External stakeholders appreciate a working research plan because it’s a great communication tool, documenting progress and changing dynamics as they arise. Any participants of your planned research sessions will be informed about the purpose of your study, while the exercises will be based on the key messaging outlined in the official plan.

Here are some of the benefits of creating a research plan document for every project:

Project organization and structure

Well-informed participants

All stakeholders and teams align in support of the project

Clearly defined project definitions and purposes

Distractions are eliminated, prioritizing task focus

Timely management of individual task schedules and roles

Costly reworks are avoided

• What should a research plan include?

The different aspects of your research plan will depend on the nature of the project. However, most official research plan documents will include the core elements below. Each aims to define the problem statement , devising an official plan for seeking a solution.

Specific project goals and individual objectives

Ideal strategies or methods for reaching those goals

Required resources

Descriptions of the target audience, sample sizes , demographics, and scopes

Key performance indicators (KPIs)

Project background

Research and testing support

Preliminary studies and progress reporting mechanisms

Cost estimates and change order processes

Depending on the research project’s size and scope, your research plan could be brief—perhaps only a few pages of documented plans. Alternatively, it could be a fully comprehensive report. Either way, it’s an essential first step in dictating your project’s facilitation in the most efficient and effective way.

• How to write a research plan for your project

When you start writing your research plan, aim to be detailed about each step, requirement, and idea. The more time you spend curating your research plan, the more precise your research execution efforts will be.

Account for every potential scenario, and be sure to address each and every aspect of the research.

Consider following this flow to develop a great research plan for your project:

Define your project’s purpose

Start by defining your project’s purpose. Identify what your project aims to accomplish and what you are researching. Remember to use clear language.

Thinking about the project’s purpose will help you set realistic goals and inform how you divide tasks and assign responsibilities. These individual tasks will be your stepping stones to reach your overarching goal.

Additionally, you’ll want to identify the specific problem, the usability metrics needed, and the intended solutions.

Know the following three things about your project’s purpose before you outline anything else:

What you’re doing

Why you’re doing it

What you expect from it

Identify individual objectives

With your overarching project objectives in place, you can identify any individual goals or steps needed to reach those objectives. Break them down into phases or steps. You can work backward from the project goal and identify every process required to facilitate it.

Be mindful to identify each unique task so that you can assign responsibilities to various team members. At this point in your research plan development, you’ll also want to assign priority to those smaller, more manageable steps and phases that require more immediate or dedicated attention.

Select research methods

Once you have outlined your goals, objectives, steps, and tasks, it’s time to drill down on selecting research methods . You’ll want to leverage specific research strategies and processes. When you know what methods will help you reach your goals, you and your teams will have direction to perform and execute your assigned tasks.

Research methods might include any of the following:

User interviews : this is a qualitative research method where researchers engage with participants in one-on-one or group conversations. The aim is to gather insights into their experiences, preferences, and opinions to uncover patterns, trends, and data.

Field studies : this approach allows for a contextual understanding of behaviors, interactions, and processes in real-world settings. It involves the researcher immersing themselves in the field, conducting observations, interviews, or experiments to gather in-depth insights.

Card sorting : participants categorize information by sorting content cards into groups based on their perceived similarities. You might use this process to gain insights into participants’ mental models and preferences when navigating or organizing information on websites, apps, or other systems.

Focus groups : use organized discussions among select groups of participants to provide relevant views and experiences about a particular topic.

Diary studies : ask participants to record their experiences, thoughts, and activities in a diary over a specified period. This method provides a deeper understanding of user experiences, uncovers patterns, and identifies areas for improvement.

Five-second testing: participants are shown a design, such as a web page or interface, for just five seconds. They then answer questions about their initial impressions and recall, allowing you to evaluate the design’s effectiveness.

Surveys : get feedback from participant groups with structured surveys. You can use online forms, telephone interviews, or paper questionnaires to reveal trends, patterns, and correlations.

Tree testing : tree testing involves researching web assets through the lens of findability and navigability. Participants are given a textual representation of the site’s hierarchy (the “tree”) and asked to locate specific information or complete tasks by selecting paths.

Usability testing : ask participants to interact with a product, website, or application to evaluate its ease of use. This method enables you to uncover areas for improvement in digital key feature functionality by observing participants using the product.

Live website testing: research and collect analytics that outlines the design, usability, and performance efficiencies of a website in real time.

There are no limits to the number of research methods you could use within your project. Just make sure your research methods help you determine the following:

What do you plan to do with the research findings?

What decisions will this research inform? How can your stakeholders leverage the research data and results?

Recruit participants and allocate tasks

Next, identify the participants needed to complete the research and the resources required to complete the tasks. Different people will be proficient at different tasks, and having a task allocation plan will allow everything to run smoothly.

Prepare a thorough project summary

Every well-designed research plan will feature a project summary. This official summary will guide your research alongside its communications or messaging. You’ll use the summary while recruiting participants and during stakeholder meetings. It can also be useful when conducting field studies.

Ensure this summary includes all the elements of your research project . Separate the steps into an easily explainable piece of text that includes the following:

An introduction: the message you’ll deliver to participants about the interview, pre-planned questioning, and testing tasks.

Interview questions: prepare questions you intend to ask participants as part of your research study, guiding the sessions from start to finish.

An exit message: draft messaging your teams will use to conclude testing or survey sessions. These should include the next steps and express gratitude for the participant’s time.

Create a realistic timeline

While your project might already have a deadline or a results timeline in place, you’ll need to consider the time needed to execute it effectively.

Realistically outline the time needed to properly execute each supporting phase of research and implementation. And, as you evaluate the necessary schedules, be sure to include additional time for achieving each milestone in case any changes or unexpected delays arise.

For this part of your research plan, you might find it helpful to create visuals to ensure your research team and stakeholders fully understand the information.

Determine how to present your results

A research plan must also describe how you intend to present your results. Depending on the nature of your project and its goals, you might dedicate one team member (the PI) or assume responsibility for communicating the findings yourself.

In this part of the research plan, you’ll articulate how you’ll share the results. Detail any materials you’ll use, such as:

Presentations and slides

A project report booklet

A project findings pamphlet

Documents with key takeaways and statistics

Graphic visuals to support your findings

• Format your research plan

As you create your research plan, you can enjoy a little creative freedom. A plan can assume many forms, so format it how you see fit. Determine the best layout based on your specific project, intended communications, and the preferences of your teams and stakeholders.

Find format inspiration among the following layouts:

Written outlines

Narrative storytelling

Visual mapping

Graphic timelines

Remember, the research plan format you choose will be subject to change and adaptation as your research and findings unfold. However, your final format should ideally outline questions, problems, opportunities, and expectations.

• Research plan example

Imagine you’ve been tasked with finding out how to get more customers to order takeout from an online food delivery platform. The goal is to improve satisfaction and retain existing customers. You set out to discover why more people aren’t ordering and what it is they do want to order or experience. 

You identify the need for a research project that helps you understand what drives customer loyalty . But before you jump in and start calling past customers, you need to develop a research plan—the roadmap that provides focus, clarity, and realistic details to the project.

Here’s an example outline of a research plan you might put together:

Project title

Project members involved in the research plan

Purpose of the project (provide a summary of the research plan’s intent)

Objective 1 (provide a short description for each objective)

Objective 2

Objective 3

Proposed timeline

Audience (detail the group you want to research, such as customers or non-customers)

Budget (how much you think it might cost to do the research)

Risk factors/contingencies (any potential risk factors that may impact the project’s success)

Remember, your research plan doesn’t have to reinvent the wheel—it just needs to fit your project’s unique needs and aims.

Customizing a research plan template

Some companies offer research plan templates to help get you started. However, it may make more sense to develop your own customized plan template. Be sure to include the core elements of a great research plan with your template layout, including the following:

Introductions to participants and stakeholders

Background problems and needs statement

Significance, ethics, and purpose

Research methods, questions, and designs

Preliminary beliefs and expectations

Implications and intended outcomes

Realistic timelines for each phase

Conclusion and presentations

How many pages should a research plan be?

Generally, a research plan can vary in length between 500 to 1,500 words. This is roughly three pages of content. More substantial projects will be 2,000 to 3,500 words, taking up four to seven pages of planning documents.

What is the difference between a research plan and a research proposal?

A research plan is a roadmap to success for research teams. A research proposal, on the other hand, is a dissertation aimed at convincing or earning the support of others. Both are relevant in creating a guide to follow to complete a project goal.

What are the seven steps to developing a research plan?

While each research project is different, it’s best to follow these seven general steps to create your research plan:

Defining the problem

Identifying goals

Choosing research methods

Recruiting participants

Preparing the brief or summary

Establishing task timelines

Defining how you will present the findings

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Project Planning for the Beginner: Research Design

• Defining a Topic
• Reviewing the Literature
• Developing a Researchable Question

Research Design

• Planning, Data, Writing and Dissemination

What Is a Research Plan?

This refers to the overall plan for your research, and will be used by you and your supervisor to indicate your intentions for your research and the method(s) you’ll use to carry it out. It includes:

• A specification of your research questions

• An outline of your proposed research methods

• A timetable for doing the work

What Is Research Design?

The term “ research design “ is usually used in reference to experimental research, and refers to the design of your experiment. However, you will also see the term “research design” used in other types of research. Below is a list of possible research designs you might encounter or adopt for your research:

• Descriptive or exploratory (e.g., case study , naturalistic observation )

• Correlational (e.g., case-control study, observational study )

• Quasi-experimental (e.g., field experiment , quasi-experiment )

• Experimental (experiment with random allocation and a control and test group )

• Review (e.g. literature review , systematic review )

• Meta-analytic (e.g. meta-analysis )

Research Design Choices

How do i match my research method to my research question.

The method(s) you use must be capable of answering the research questions you have set. Here are some things you may have to consider:

• Often questions can be answered in different ways using different methods

• You may be working with multiple methods

• Methods can answer different sorts of questions

• Questions can be answered in different ways.

The matching of method(s) to questions always matters . Some methods work better for particular sorts of questions.

If your question is a hypothesis which must be falsifiable, you can answer it using the following possible methods:

• An experimental method using statistical methods to test your hypothesis.

• Survey data (either generated by you or secondary data) using statistical methods to test your hypothesis.

If your question requires you to describe a social context and/or process, then you can answer it using the following possible methods:

• You can use data from your own surveys and/or secondary data to carry out descriptive statistics and numerical taxonomy methods for classification .

• You can use qualitative material derived from:

• Documentary research

• Qualitative interviews

• Focus groups

• Visual research

• Ethnographic methods

• Any combination of the above may be deployed.

If your question(s) require you to make causal statements about how certain things have come to be as they are, then you might consider using the following:

• You can build quantitative causal models using techniques which derive from statistical regression analysis and seeing if the models “fit” your quantitative data set.

• You can do this through building simulations .

• You can do this by using figurational methods, particularly qualitative comparative analysis , which start either with the construction of quantitative descriptions of cases from qualitative accounts of those cases, or with an existing data set which contains quantitative descriptions of cases. 

• You can combine both approaches.

If your question(s) require you to produce interpretive accounts of human social actions with a focus on the meanings actors have attached to those actions, then you might consider using the following:

• You can use documentary resources which include accounts of action(s) and the meanings actors have attached to those actions. This is a key approach in historical research.

• You can conduct qualitative interviews .

• You can hold focus groups .

• You can do this using ethnographic observation .

• You can combine any or all of above approaches.

If your question(s) are evaluative, this could mean that you have to find out if some intervention has worked, how it has worked if it has, and why it didn’t work if it didn’t. You might then consider using the following:

• Any combination of quantitative and qualitative methods which fit the data you have.

• You should always use process tracing to generate a careful historical account of the intervention and its context(s). 

Checklist: Question to Ask When Deciding On a Method

Here are seven questions you should be able to answer about the methods you have chosen for your research. 

• Does your method/do your methods fit the research question(s)?
• Do you understand how the methods relate to your methodological position?
• Do you know how to use the method(s)  ?  If not, can you learn how to use the method(s)?
• Do you have the resources you need to use the methods? For example:

• statistical software

• qualitative data analysis software

• an adequate computer

• access to secondary data sets

• audio-visual equipment

• language training

• transport You need to work through this list and add anything else that you need.

• If you are using multiple methods, do you know how you are going to combine them to carry out the research?
• If you are using multiple methods, do you know how you are going to combine the  products of using them when writing up your research? 
• << Previous: Developing a Researchable Question
• Next: Planning, Data, Writing and Dissemination >>
• Last Updated: May 11, 2022 2:56 PM
• URL: https://libguides.sph.uth.tmc.edu/c.php?g=949457

Illustration by James Round

How to plan a research project

Whether for a paper or a thesis, define your question, review the work of others – and leave yourself open to discovery.

by Brooke Harrington   + BIO

is professor of sociology at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. Her research has won international awards both for scholarly quality and impact on public life. She has published dozens of articles and three books, most recently the bestseller Capital without Borders (2016), now translated into five languages.

Edited by Sam Haselby

Need to know

‘When curiosity turns to serious matters, it’s called research.’ – From Aphorisms (1880-1905) by Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach

Planning research projects is a time-honoured intellectual exercise: one that requires both creativity and sharp analytical skills. The purpose of this Guide is to make the process systematic and easy to understand. While there is a great deal of freedom and discovery involved – from the topics you choose, to the data and methods you apply – there are also some norms and constraints that obtain, no matter what your academic level or field of study. For those in high school through to doctoral students, and from art history to archaeology, research planning involves broadly similar steps, including: formulating a question, developing an argument or predictions based on previous research, then selecting the information needed to answer your question.

Some of this might sound self-evident but, as you’ll find, research requires a different way of approaching and using information than most of us are accustomed to in everyday life. That is why I include orienting yourself to knowledge-creation as an initial step in the process. This is a crucial and underappreciated phase in education, akin to making the transition from salaried employment to entrepreneurship: suddenly, you’re on your own, and that requires a new way of thinking about your work.

What follows is a distillation of what I’ve learned about this process over 27 years as a professional social scientist. It reflects the skills that my own professors imparted in the sociology doctoral programme at Harvard, as well as what I learned later on as a research supervisor for Ivy League PhD and MA students, and then as the author of award-winning scholarly books and articles. It can be adapted to the demands of both short projects (such as course term papers) and long ones, such as a thesis.

At its simplest, research planning involves the four distinct steps outlined below: orienting yourself to knowledge-creation; defining your research question; reviewing previous research on your question; and then choosing relevant data to formulate your own answers. Because the focus of this Guide is on planning a research project, as opposed to conducting a research project, this section won’t delve into the details of data-collection or analysis; those steps happen after you plan the project. In addition, the topic is vast: year-long doctoral courses are devoted to data and analysis. Instead, the fourth part of this section will outline some basic strategies you could use in planning a data-selection and analysis process appropriate to your research question.

Step 1: Orient yourself

Planning and conducting research requires you to make a transition, from thinking like a consumer of information to thinking like a producer of information. That sounds simple, but it’s actually a complex task. As a practical matter, this means putting aside the mindset of a student, which treats knowledge as something created by other people. As students, we are often passive receivers of knowledge: asked to do a specified set of readings, then graded on how well we reproduce what we’ve read.

Researchers, however, must take on an active role as knowledge producers . Doing research requires more of you than reading and absorbing what other people have written: you have to engage in a dialogue with it. That includes arguing with previous knowledge and perhaps trying to show that ideas we have accepted as given are actually wrong or incomplete. For example, rather than simply taking in the claims of an author you read, you’ll need to draw out the implications of those claims: if what the author is saying is true, what else does that suggest must be true? What predictions could you make based on the author’s claims?

In other words, rather than treating a reading as a source of truth – even if it comes from a revered source, such as Plato or Marie Curie – this orientation step asks you to treat the claims you read as provisional and subject to interrogation. That is one of the great pieces of wisdom that science and philosophy can teach us: that the biggest advances in human understanding have been made not by being correct about trivial things, but by being wrong in an interesting way . For example, Albert Einstein was wrong about quantum mechanics, but his arguments about it with his fellow physicist Niels Bohr have led to some of the biggest breakthroughs in science, even a century later.

Step 2: Define your research question

Students often give this step cursory attention, but experienced researchers know that formulating a good question is sometimes the most difficult part of the research planning process. That is because the precise language of the question frames the rest of the project. It’s therefore important to pose the question carefully, in a way that’s both possible to answer and likely to yield interesting results. Of course, you must choose a question that interests you, but that’s only the beginning of what’s likely to be an iterative process: most researchers come back to this step repeatedly, modifying their questions in light of previous research, resource limitations and other considerations.

Researchers face limits in terms of time and money. They, like everyone else, have to pose research questions that they can plausibly answer given the constraints they face. For example, it would be inadvisable to frame a project around the question ‘What are the roots of the Arab-Israeli conflict?’ if you have only a week to develop an answer and no background on that topic. That’s not to limit your imagination: you can come up with any question you’d like. But it typically does require some creativity to frame a question that you can answer well – that is, by investigating thoroughly and providing new insights – within the limits you face.

In addition to being interesting to you, and feasible within your resource constraints, the third and most important characteristic of a ‘good’ research topic is whether it allows you to create new knowledge. It might turn out that your question has already been asked and answered to your satisfaction: if so, you’ll find out in the next step of this process. On the other hand, you might come up with a research question that hasn’t been addressed previously. Before you get too excited about breaking uncharted ground, consider this: a lot of potentially researchable questions haven’t been studied for good reason ; they might have answers that are trivial or of very limited interest. This could include questions such as ‘Why does the area of a circle equal π r²?’ or ‘Did winter conditions affect Napoleon’s plans to invade Russia?’ Of course, you might be able to make the argument that a seemingly trivial question is actually vitally important, but you must be prepared to back that up with convincing evidence. The exercise in the ‘Learn More’ section below will help you think through some of these issues.

Finally, scholarly research questions must in some way lead to new and distinctive insights. For example, lots of people have studied gender roles in sports teams; what can you ask that hasn’t been asked before? Reinventing the wheel is the number-one no-no in this endeavour. That’s why the next step is so important: reviewing previous research on your topic. Depending on what you find in that step, you might need to revise your research question; iterating between your question and the existing literature is a normal process. But don’t worry: it doesn’t go on forever. In fact, the iterations taper off – and your research question stabilises – as you develop a firm grasp of the current state of knowledge on your topic.

Step 3: Review previous research

In academic research, from articles to books, it’s common to find a section called a ‘literature review’. The purpose of that section is to describe the state of the art in knowledge on the research question that a project has posed. It demonstrates that researchers have thoroughly and systematically reviewed the relevant findings of previous studies on their topic, and that they have something novel to contribute.

Your own research project should include something like this, even if it’s a high-school term paper. In the research planning process, you’ll want to list at least half a dozen bullet points stating the major findings on your topic by other people. In relation to those findings, you should be able to specify where your project could provide new and necessary insights. There are two basic rhetorical positions one can take in framing the novelty-plus-importance argument required of academic research:

• Position 1 requires you to build on or extend a set of existing ideas; that means saying something like: ‘Person A has argued that X is true about gender; this implies Y, which has not yet been tested. My project will test Y, and if I find evidence to support it, that will change the way we understand gender.’
• Position 2 is to argue that there is a gap in existing knowledge, either because previous research has reached conflicting conclusions or has failed to consider something important. For example, one could say that research on middle schoolers and gender has been limited by being conducted primarily in coeducational environments, and that findings might differ dramatically if research were conducted in more schools where the student body was all-male or all-female.

Your overall goal in this step of the process is to show that your research will be part of a larger conversation: that is, how your project flows from what’s already known, and how it advances, extends or challenges that existing body of knowledge. That will be the contribution of your project, and it constitutes the motivation for your research.

Two things are worth mentioning about your search for sources of relevant previous research. First, you needn’t look only at studies on your precise topic. For example, if you want to study gender-identity formation in schools, you shouldn’t restrict yourself to studies of schools; the empirical setting (schools) is secondary to the larger social process that interests you (how people form gender identity). That process occurs in many different settings, so cast a wide net. Second, be sure to use legitimate sources – meaning publications that have been through some sort of vetting process, whether that involves peer review (as with academic journal articles you might find via Google Scholar) or editorial review (as you’d find in well-known mass media publications, such as The Economist or The Washington Post ). What you’ll want to avoid is using unvetted sources such as personal blogs or Wikipedia. Why? Because anybody can write anything in those forums, and there is no way to know – unless you’re already an expert – if the claims you find there are accurate. Often, they’re not.

Step 4: Choose your data and methods

Whatever your research question is, eventually you’ll need to consider which data source and analytical strategy are most likely to provide the answers you’re seeking. One starting point is to consider whether your question would be best addressed by qualitative data (such as interviews, observations or historical records), quantitative data (such as surveys or census records) or some combination of both. Your ideas about data sources will, in turn, suggest options for analytical methods.

You might need to collect your own data, or you might find everything you need readily available in an existing dataset someone else has created. A great place to start is with a research librarian: university libraries always have them and, at public universities, those librarians can work with the public, including people who aren’t affiliated with the university. If you don’t happen to have a public university and its library close at hand, an ordinary public library can still be a good place to start: the librarians are often well versed in accessing data sources that might be relevant to your study, such as the census, or historical archives, or the Survey of Consumer Finances.

Because your task at this point is to plan research, rather than conduct it, the purpose of this step is not to commit you irrevocably to a course of action. Instead, your goal here is to think through a feasible approach to answering your research question. You’ll need to find out, for example, whether the data you want exist; if not, do you have a realistic chance of gathering the data yourself, or would it be better to modify your research question? In terms of analysis, would your strategy require you to apply statistical methods? If so, do you have those skills? If not, do you have time to learn them, or money to hire a research assistant to run the analysis for you?

Please be aware that qualitative methods in particular are not the casual undertaking they might appear to be. Many people make the mistake of thinking that only quantitative data and methods are scientific and systematic, while qualitative methods are just a fancy way of saying: ‘I talked to some people, read some old newspapers, and drew my own conclusions.’ Nothing could be further from the truth. In the final section of this guide, you’ll find some links to resources that will provide more insight on standards and procedures governing qualitative research, but suffice it to say: there are rules about what constitutes legitimate evidence and valid analytical procedure for qualitative data, just as there are for quantitative data.

Circle back and consider revising your initial plans

As you work through these four steps in planning your project, it’s perfectly normal to circle back and revise. Research planning is rarely a linear process. It’s also common for new and unexpected avenues to suggest themselves. As the sociologist Thorstein Veblen wrote in 1908 : ‘The outcome of any serious research can only be to make two questions grow where only one grew before.’ That’s as true of research planning as it is of a completed project. Try to enjoy the horizons that open up for you in this process, rather than becoming overwhelmed; the four steps, along with the two exercises that follow, will help you focus your plan and make it manageable.

Key points – How to plan a research project

• Planning a research project is essential no matter your academic level or field of study. There is no one ‘best’ way to design research, but there are certain guidelines that can be helpfully applied across disciplines.
• Orient yourself to knowledge-creation. Make the shift from being a consumer of information to being a producer of information.
• Define your research question. Your question frames the rest of your project, sets the scope, and determines the kinds of answers you can find.
• Review previous research on your question. Survey the existing body of relevant knowledge to ensure that your research will be part of a larger conversation.
• Choose your data and methods. For instance, will you be collecting qualitative data, via interviews, or numerical data, via surveys?
• Circle back and consider revising your initial plans. Expect your research question in particular to undergo multiple rounds of refinement as you learn more about your topic.

Good research questions tend to beget more questions. This can be frustrating for those who want to get down to business right away. Try to make room for the unexpected: this is usually how knowledge advances. Many of the most significant discoveries in human history have been made by people who were looking for something else entirely. There are ways to structure your research planning process without over-constraining yourself; the two exercises below are a start, and you can find further methods in the Links and Books section.

The following exercise provides a structured process for advancing your research project planning. After completing it, you’ll be able to do the following:

• describe clearly and concisely the question you’ve chosen to study
• summarise the state of the art in knowledge about the question, and where your project could contribute new insight
• identify the best strategy for gathering and analysing relevant data

In other words, the following provides a systematic means to establish the building blocks of your research project.

Exercise 1: Definition of research question and sources

This exercise prompts you to select and clarify your general interest area, develop a research question, and investigate sources of information. The annotated bibliography will also help you refine your research question so that you can begin the second assignment, a description of the phenomenon you wish to study.

Jot down a few bullet points in response to these two questions, with the understanding that you’ll probably go back and modify your answers as you begin reading other studies relevant to your topic:

• What will be the general topic of your paper?
• What will be the specific topic of your paper?

b) Research question(s)

Use the following guidelines to frame a research question – or questions – that will drive your analysis. As with Part 1 above, you’ll probably find it necessary to change or refine your research question(s) as you complete future assignments.

• Your question should be phrased so that it can’t be answered with a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
• Your question should have more than one plausible answer.
• Your question should draw relationships between two or more concepts; framing the question in terms of How? or What? often works better than asking Why ?

c) Annotated bibliography

Most or all of your background information should come from two sources: scholarly books and journals, or reputable mass media sources. You might be able to access journal articles electronically through your library, using search engines such as JSTOR and Google Scholar. This can save you a great deal of time compared with going to the library in person to search periodicals. General news sources, such as those accessible through LexisNexis, are acceptable, but should be cited sparingly, since they don’t carry the same level of credibility as scholarly sources. As discussed above, unvetted sources such as blogs and Wikipedia should be avoided, because the quality of the information they provide is unreliable and often misleading.

To create an annotated bibliography, provide the following information for at least 10 sources relevant to your specific topic, using the format suggested below.

Name of author(s):

Publication date:

Title of book, chapter, or article:

If a chapter or article, title of journal or book where they appear:

Brief description of this work, including main findings and methods ( c 75 words):

Summary of how this work contributes to your project ( c 75 words):

Brief description of the implications of this work ( c 25 words):

Identify any gap or controversy in knowledge this work points up, and how your project could address those problems ( c 50 words):

Exercise 2: Towards an analysis

Develop a short statement ( c 250 words) about the kind of data that would be useful to address your research question, and how you’d analyse it. Some questions to consider in writing this statement include:

• What are the central concepts or variables in your project? Offer a brief definition of each.
• Do any data sources exist on those concepts or variables, or would you need to collect data?
• Of the analytical strategies you could apply to that data, which would be the most appropriate to answer your question? Which would be the most feasible for you? Consider at least two methods, noting their advantages or disadvantages for your project.

Links & books

One of the best texts ever written about planning and executing research comes from a source that might be unexpected: a 60-year-old work on urban planning by a self-trained scholar. The classic book The Death and Life of Great American Cities (1961) by Jane Jacobs (available complete and free of charge via this link ) is worth reading in its entirety just for the pleasure of it. But the final 20 pages – a concluding chapter titled ‘The Kind of Problem a City Is’ – are really about the process of thinking through and investigating a problem. Highly recommended as a window into the craft of research.

Jacobs’s text references an essay on advancing human knowledge by the mathematician Warren Weaver. At the time, Weaver was director of the Rockefeller Foundation, in charge of funding basic research in the natural and medical sciences. Although the essay is titled ‘A Quarter Century in the Natural Sciences’ (1960) and appears at first blush to be merely a summation of one man’s career, it turns out to be something much bigger and more interesting: a meditation on the history of human beings seeking answers to big questions about the world. Weaver goes back to the 17th century to trace the origins of systematic research thinking, with enthusiasm and vivid anecdotes that make the process come alive. The essay is worth reading in its entirety, and is available free of charge via this link .

For those seeking a more in-depth, professional-level discussion of the logic of research design, the political scientist Harvey Starr provides insight in a compact format in the article ‘Cumulation from Proper Specification: Theory, Logic, Research Design, and “Nice” Laws’ (2005). Starr reviews the ‘research triad’, consisting of the interlinked considerations of formulating a question, selecting relevant theories and applying appropriate methods. The full text of the article, published in the scholarly journal Conflict Management and Peace Science , is available, free of charge, via this link .

Finally, the book Getting What You Came For (1992) by Robert Peters is not only an outstanding guide for anyone contemplating graduate school – from the application process onward – but it also includes several excellent chapters on planning and executing research, applicable across a wide variety of subject areas. It was an invaluable resource for me 25 years ago, and it remains in print with good reason; I recommend it to all my students, particularly Chapter 16 (‘The Thesis Topic: Finding It’), Chapter 17 (‘The Thesis Proposal’) and Chapter 18 (‘The Thesis: Writing It’).

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15 Steps to Good Research

• Define and articulate a research question (formulate a research hypothesis). How to Write a Thesis Statement (Indiana University)
• Identify possible sources of information in many types and formats. Georgetown University Library's Research & Course Guides
• Judge the scope of the project.
• Reevaluate the research question based on the nature and extent of information available and the parameters of the research project.
• Select the most appropriate investigative methods (surveys, interviews, experiments) and research tools (periodical indexes, databases, websites).
• Plan the research project. Writing Anxiety (UNC-Chapel Hill) Strategies for Academic Writing (SUNY Empire State College)
• Retrieve information using a variety of methods (draw on a repertoire of skills).
• Refine the search strategy as necessary.
• Write and organize useful notes and keep track of sources. Taking Notes from Research Reading (University of Toronto) Use a citation manager: Zotero or Refworks
• Evaluate sources using appropriate criteria. Evaluating Internet Sources
• Synthesize, analyze and integrate information sources and prior knowledge. Georgetown University Writing Center
• Revise hypothesis as necessary.
• Use information effectively for a specific purpose.
• Understand such issues as plagiarism, ownership of information (implications of copyright to some extent), and costs of information. Georgetown University Honor Council Copyright Basics (Purdue University) How to Recognize Plagiarism: Tutorials and Tests from Indiana University
• Cite properly and give credit for sources of ideas. MLA Bibliographic Form (7th edition, 2009) MLA Bibliographic Form (8th edition, 2016) Turabian Bibliographic Form: Footnote/Endnote Turabian Bibliographic Form: Parenthetical Reference Use a citation manager: Zotero or Refworks

Adapted from the Association of Colleges and Research Libraries "Objectives for Information Literacy Instruction" , which are more complete and include outcomes. See also the broader "Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education."

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How to do a research project for your academic study

• Link copied!

Writing a research report is part of most university degrees, so it is essential you know what one is and how to write one. This guide on how to do a research project for your university degree shows you what to do at each stage, taking you from planning to finishing the project.

What is a research project? 

The big question is: what is a research project? A research project for students is an extended essay that presents a question or statement for analysis and evaluation. During a research project, you will present your own ideas and research on a subject alongside analysing existing knowledge. 

How to write a research report 

The next section covers the research project steps necessary to producing a research paper. 

Developing a research question or statement 

Research project topics will vary depending on the course you study. The best research project ideas develop from areas you already have an interest in and where you have existing knowledge. 

The area of study needs to be specific as it will be much easier to cover fully. If your topic is too broad, you are at risk of not having an in-depth project. You can, however, also make your topic too narrow and there will not be enough research to be done. To make sure you don’t run into either of these problems, it’s a great idea to create sub-topics and questions to ensure you are able to complete suitable research. 

A research project example question would be: How will modern technologies change the way of teaching in the future? 

Finding and evaluating sources 

Secondary research is a large part of your research project as it makes up the literature review section. It is essential to use credible sources as failing to do so may decrease the validity of your research project.

Examples of secondary research include:

• Peer-reviewed journals
• Scholarly articles
• Newspapers 

Great places to find your sources are the University library and Google Scholar. Both will give you many opportunities to find the credible sources you need. However, you need to make sure you are evaluating whether they are fit for purpose before including them in your research project as you do not want to include out of date information. 

When evaluating sources, you need to ask yourself:

• Is the information provided by an expert?
• How well does the source answer the research question?
• What does the source contribute to its field?
• Is the source valid? e.g. does it contain bias and is the information up-to-date?

It is important to ensure that you have a variety of sources in order to avoid bias. A successful research paper will present more than one point of view and the best way to do this is to not rely too heavily on just one author or publication. 

Conducting research 

For a research project, you will need to conduct primary research. This is the original research you will gather to further develop your research project. The most common types of primary research are interviews and surveys as these allow for many and varied results. 

Examples of primary research include: 

• Interviews and surveys 
• Focus groups 
• Experiments 
• Research diaries 

If you are looking to study in the UK and have an interest in bettering your research skills, The University of Sheffield is a  world top 100 research university  which will provide great research opportunities and resources for your project. 

Research report format  

Now that you understand the basics of how to write a research project, you now need to look at what goes into each section. The research project format is just as important as the research itself. Without a clear structure you will not be able to present your findings concisely. 

A research paper is made up of seven sections: introduction, literature review, methodology, findings and results, discussion, conclusion, and references. You need to make sure you are including a list of correctly cited references to avoid accusations of plagiarism. 

Introduction 

The introduction is where you will present your hypothesis and provide context for why you are doing the project. Here you will include relevant background information, present your research aims and explain why the research is important. 

Literature review  

The literature review is where you will analyse and evaluate existing research within your subject area. This section is where your secondary research will be presented. A literature review is an integral part of your research project as it brings validity to your research aims. 

What to include when writing your literature review:

• A description of the publications
• A summary of the main points
• An evaluation on the contribution to the area of study
• Potential flaws and gaps in the research 

Methodology

The research paper methodology outlines the process of your data collection. This is where you will present your primary research. The aim of the methodology section is to answer two questions: 

• Why did you select the research methods you used?
• How do these methods contribute towards your research hypothesis? 

In this section you will not be writing about your findings, but the ways in which you are going to try and achieve them. You need to state whether your methodology will be qualitative, quantitative, or mixed. 

• Qualitative – first hand observations such as interviews, focus groups, case studies and questionnaires. The data collected will generally be non-numerical. 
• Quantitative – research that deals in numbers and logic. The data collected will focus on statistics and numerical patterns.
• Mixed – includes both quantitative and qualitative research.

The methodology section should always be written in the past tense, even if you have already started your data collection. 

Findings and results 

In this section you will present the findings and results of your primary research. Here you will give a concise and factual summary of your findings using tables and graphs where appropriate. 

Discussion 

The discussion section is where you will talk about your findings in detail. Here you need to relate your results to your hypothesis, explaining what you found out and the significance of the research. 

It is a good idea to talk about any areas with disappointing or surprising results and address the limitations within the research project. This will balance your project and steer you away from bias.

Some questions to consider when writing your discussion: 

• To what extent was the hypothesis supported?
• Was your research method appropriate?
• Was there unexpected data that affected your results?
• To what extent was your research validated by other sources?

Conclusion 

The conclusion is where you will bring your research project to a close. In this section you will not only be restating your research aims and how you achieved them, but also discussing the wider significance of your research project. You will talk about the successes and failures of the project, and how you would approach further study. 

It is essential you do not bring any new ideas into your conclusion; this section is used only to summarise what you have already stated in the project. 

References 

As a research project is your own ideas blended with information and research from existing knowledge, you must include a list of correctly cited references. Creating a list of references will allow the reader to easily evaluate the quality of your secondary research whilst also saving you from potential plagiarism accusations. 

The way in which you cite your sources will vary depending on the university standard.

If you are an international student looking to  study a degree in the UK , The University of Sheffield International College has a range of  pathway programmes  to prepare you for university study. Undertaking a Research Project is one of the core modules for the  Pre-Masters programme  at The University of Sheffield International College.

Frequently Asked Questions 

What is the best topic for research .

It’s a good idea to choose a topic you have existing knowledge on, or one that you are interested in. This will make the research process easier; as you have an idea of where and what to look for in your sources, as well as more enjoyable as it’s a topic you want to know more about.

What should a research project include? 

There are seven main sections to a research project, these are:

• Introduction – the aims of the project and what you hope to achieve
• Literature review – evaluating and reviewing existing knowledge on the topic
• Methodology – the methods you will use for your primary research
• Findings and results – presenting the data from your primary research
• Discussion – summarising and analysing your research and what you have found out
• Conclusion – how the project went (successes and failures), areas for future study
• List of references – correctly cited sources that have been used throughout the project. 

How long is a research project? 

The length of a research project will depend on the level study and the nature of the subject. There is no one length for research papers, however the average dissertation style essay can be anywhere from 4,000 to 15,000+ words. 

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• How to Write a Research Proposal | Examples & Templates

How to Write a Research Proposal | Examples & Templates

Published on October 12, 2022 by Shona McCombes and Tegan George. Revised on September 5, 2024.

A research proposal describes what you will investigate, why it’s important, and how you will conduct your research.

The format of a research proposal varies between fields, but most proposals will contain at least these elements:

Introduction

Literature review.

• Research design

Reference list

While the sections may vary, the overall objective is always the same. A research proposal serves as a blueprint and guide for your research plan, helping you get organized and feel confident in the path forward you choose to take.

Table of contents

Research proposal purpose, research proposal examples, research design and methods, contribution to knowledge, research schedule, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about research proposals.

Academics often have to write research proposals to get funding for their projects. As a student, you might have to write a research proposal as part of a grad school application , or prior to starting your thesis or dissertation .

In addition to helping you figure out what your research can look like, a proposal can also serve to demonstrate why your project is worth pursuing to a funder, educational institution, or supervisor.

Research proposal length

The length of a research proposal can vary quite a bit. A bachelor’s or master’s thesis proposal can be just a few pages, while proposals for PhD dissertations or research funding are usually much longer and more detailed. Your supervisor can help you determine the best length for your work.

One trick to get started is to think of your proposal’s structure as a shorter version of your thesis or dissertation , only without the results , conclusion and discussion sections.

Download our research proposal template

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

Writing a research proposal can be quite challenging, but a good starting point could be to look at some examples. We’ve included a few for you below.

• Example research proposal #1: “A Conceptual Framework for Scheduling Constraint Management”
• Example research proposal #2: “Medical Students as Mediators of Change in Tobacco Use”

Like your dissertation or thesis, the proposal will usually have a title page that includes:

• The proposed title of your project
• Your supervisor’s name
• Your institution and department

The first part of your proposal is the initial pitch for your project. Make sure it succinctly explains what you want to do and why.

Your introduction should:

• Introduce your topic
• Give necessary background and context
• Outline your  problem statement  and research questions

To guide your introduction , include information about:

• Who could have an interest in the topic (e.g., scientists, policymakers)
• How much is already known about the topic
• What is missing from this current knowledge
• What new insights your research will contribute
• Why you believe this research is worth doing

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As you get started, it’s important to demonstrate that you’re familiar with the most important research on your topic. A strong literature review  shows your reader that your project has a solid foundation in existing knowledge or theory. It also shows that you’re not simply repeating what other people have already done or said, but rather using existing research as a jumping-off point for your own.

In this section, share exactly how your project will contribute to ongoing conversations in the field by:

• Comparing and contrasting the main theories, methods, and debates
• Examining the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches
• Explaining how will you build on, challenge, or synthesize prior scholarship

Following the literature review, restate your main  objectives . This brings the focus back to your own project. Next, your research design or methodology section will describe your overall approach, and the practical steps you will take to answer your research questions.

To finish your proposal on a strong note, explore the potential implications of your research for your field. Emphasize again what you aim to contribute and why it matters.

For example, your results might have implications for:

• Improving best practices
• Informing policymaking decisions
• Strengthening a theory or model
• Challenging popular or scientific beliefs
• Creating a basis for future research

Last but not least, your research proposal must include correct citations for every source you have used, compiled in a reference list . To create citations quickly and easily, you can use our free APA citation generator .

Some institutions or funders require a detailed timeline of the project, asking you to forecast what you will do at each stage and how long it may take. While not always required, be sure to check the requirements of your project.

Here’s an example schedule to help you get started. You can also download a template at the button below.

Download our research schedule template

If you are applying for research funding, chances are you will have to include a detailed budget. This shows your estimates of how much each part of your project will cost.

Make sure to check what type of costs the funding body will agree to cover. For each item, include:

• Cost : exactly how much money do you need?
• Justification : why is this cost necessary to complete the research?
• Source : how did you calculate the amount?

To determine your budget, think about:

• Travel costs : do you need to go somewhere to collect your data? How will you get there, and how much time will you need? What will you do there (e.g., interviews, archival research)?
• Materials : do you need access to any tools or technologies?
• Help : do you need to hire any research assistants for the project? What will they do, and how much will you pay them?

If you want to know more about the research process , methodology , research bias , or statistics , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

Methodology

• Sampling methods
• Simple random sampling
• Stratified sampling
• Cluster sampling
• Likert scales
• Reproducibility

 Statistics

• Null hypothesis
• Statistical power
• Probability distribution
• Effect size
• Poisson distribution

Research bias

• Optimism bias
• Cognitive bias
• Implicit bias
• Hawthorne effect
• Anchoring bias
• Explicit bias

Once you’ve decided on your research objectives , you need to explain them in your paper, at the end of your problem statement .

Keep your research objectives clear and concise, and use appropriate verbs to accurately convey the work that you will carry out for each one.

I will compare …

A research aim is a broad statement indicating the general purpose of your research project. It should appear in your introduction at the end of your problem statement , before your research objectives.

Research objectives are more specific than your research aim. They indicate the specific ways you’ll address the overarching aim.

A PhD, which is short for philosophiae doctor (doctor of philosophy in Latin), is the highest university degree that can be obtained. In a PhD, students spend 3–5 years writing a dissertation , which aims to make a significant, original contribution to current knowledge.

A PhD is intended to prepare students for a career as a researcher, whether that be in academia, the public sector, or the private sector.

A master’s is a 1- or 2-year graduate degree that can prepare you for a variety of careers.

All master’s involve graduate-level coursework. Some are research-intensive and intend to prepare students for further study in a PhD; these usually require their students to write a master’s thesis . Others focus on professional training for a specific career.

Critical thinking refers to the ability to evaluate information and to be aware of biases or assumptions, including your own.

Like information literacy , it involves evaluating arguments, identifying and solving problems in an objective and systematic way, and clearly communicating your ideas.

The best way to remember the difference between a research plan and a research proposal is that they have fundamentally different audiences. A research plan helps you, the researcher, organize your thoughts. On the other hand, a dissertation proposal or research proposal aims to convince others (e.g., a supervisor, a funding body, or a dissertation committee) that your research topic is relevant and worthy of being conducted.

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• Indian J Anaesth
• v.60(9); 2016 Sep

How to write a research proposal?

Department of Anaesthesiology, Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

Devika Rani Duggappa

Writing the proposal of a research work in the present era is a challenging task due to the constantly evolving trends in the qualitative research design and the need to incorporate medical advances into the methodology. The proposal is a detailed plan or ‘blueprint’ for the intended study, and once it is completed, the research project should flow smoothly. Even today, many of the proposals at post-graduate evaluation committees and application proposals for funding are substandard. A search was conducted with keywords such as research proposal, writing proposal and qualitative using search engines, namely, PubMed and Google Scholar, and an attempt has been made to provide broad guidelines for writing a scientifically appropriate research proposal.

INTRODUCTION

A clean, well-thought-out proposal forms the backbone for the research itself and hence becomes the most important step in the process of conduct of research.[ 1 ] The objective of preparing a research proposal would be to obtain approvals from various committees including ethics committee [details under ‘Research methodology II’ section [ Table 1 ] in this issue of IJA) and to request for grants. However, there are very few universally accepted guidelines for preparation of a good quality research proposal. A search was performed with keywords such as research proposal, funding, qualitative and writing proposals using search engines, namely, PubMed, Google Scholar and Scopus.

Five ‘C’s while writing a literature review

BASIC REQUIREMENTS OF A RESEARCH PROPOSAL

A proposal needs to show how your work fits into what is already known about the topic and what new paradigm will it add to the literature, while specifying the question that the research will answer, establishing its significance, and the implications of the answer.[ 2 ] The proposal must be capable of convincing the evaluation committee about the credibility, achievability, practicality and reproducibility (repeatability) of the research design.[ 3 ] Four categories of audience with different expectations may be present in the evaluation committees, namely academic colleagues, policy-makers, practitioners and lay audiences who evaluate the research proposal. Tips for preparation of a good research proposal include; ‘be practical, be persuasive, make broader links, aim for crystal clarity and plan before you write’. A researcher must be balanced, with a realistic understanding of what can be achieved. Being persuasive implies that researcher must be able to convince other researchers, research funding agencies, educational institutions and supervisors that the research is worth getting approval. The aim of the researcher should be clearly stated in simple language that describes the research in a way that non-specialists can comprehend, without use of jargons. The proposal must not only demonstrate that it is based on an intelligent understanding of the existing literature but also show that the writer has thought about the time needed to conduct each stage of the research.[ 4 , 5 ]

CONTENTS OF A RESEARCH PROPOSAL

The contents or formats of a research proposal vary depending on the requirements of evaluation committee and are generally provided by the evaluation committee or the institution.

In general, a cover page should contain the (i) title of the proposal, (ii) name and affiliation of the researcher (principal investigator) and co-investigators, (iii) institutional affiliation (degree of the investigator and the name of institution where the study will be performed), details of contact such as phone numbers, E-mail id's and lines for signatures of investigators.

The main contents of the proposal may be presented under the following headings: (i) introduction, (ii) review of literature, (iii) aims and objectives, (iv) research design and methods, (v) ethical considerations, (vi) budget, (vii) appendices and (viii) citations.[ 4 ]

Introduction

It is also sometimes termed as ‘need for study’ or ‘abstract’. Introduction is an initial pitch of an idea; it sets the scene and puts the research in context.[ 6 ] The introduction should be designed to create interest in the reader about the topic and proposal. It should convey to the reader, what you want to do, what necessitates the study and your passion for the topic.[ 7 ] Some questions that can be used to assess the significance of the study are: (i) Who has an interest in the domain of inquiry? (ii) What do we already know about the topic? (iii) What has not been answered adequately in previous research and practice? (iv) How will this research add to knowledge, practice and policy in this area? Some of the evaluation committees, expect the last two questions, elaborated under a separate heading of ‘background and significance’.[ 8 ] Introduction should also contain the hypothesis behind the research design. If hypothesis cannot be constructed, the line of inquiry to be used in the research must be indicated.

Review of literature

It refers to all sources of scientific evidence pertaining to the topic in interest. In the present era of digitalisation and easy accessibility, there is an enormous amount of relevant data available, making it a challenge for the researcher to include all of it in his/her review.[ 9 ] It is crucial to structure this section intelligently so that the reader can grasp the argument related to your study in relation to that of other researchers, while still demonstrating to your readers that your work is original and innovative. It is preferable to summarise each article in a paragraph, highlighting the details pertinent to the topic of interest. The progression of review can move from the more general to the more focused studies, or a historical progression can be used to develop the story, without making it exhaustive.[ 1 ] Literature should include supporting data, disagreements and controversies. Five ‘C's may be kept in mind while writing a literature review[ 10 ] [ Table 1 ].

Aims and objectives

The research purpose (or goal or aim) gives a broad indication of what the researcher wishes to achieve in the research. The hypothesis to be tested can be the aim of the study. The objectives related to parameters or tools used to achieve the aim are generally categorised as primary and secondary objectives.

Research design and method

The objective here is to convince the reader that the overall research design and methods of analysis will correctly address the research problem and to impress upon the reader that the methodology/sources chosen are appropriate for the specific topic. It should be unmistakably tied to the specific aims of your study.

In this section, the methods and sources used to conduct the research must be discussed, including specific references to sites, databases, key texts or authors that will be indispensable to the project. There should be specific mention about the methodological approaches to be undertaken to gather information, about the techniques to be used to analyse it and about the tests of external validity to which researcher is committed.[ 10 , 11 ]

The components of this section include the following:[ 4 ]

Population and sample

Population refers to all the elements (individuals, objects or substances) that meet certain criteria for inclusion in a given universe,[ 12 ] and sample refers to subset of population which meets the inclusion criteria for enrolment into the study. The inclusion and exclusion criteria should be clearly defined. The details pertaining to sample size are discussed in the article “Sample size calculation: Basic priniciples” published in this issue of IJA.

Data collection

The researcher is expected to give a detailed account of the methodology adopted for collection of data, which include the time frame required for the research. The methodology should be tested for its validity and ensure that, in pursuit of achieving the results, the participant's life is not jeopardised. The author should anticipate and acknowledge any potential barrier and pitfall in carrying out the research design and explain plans to address them, thereby avoiding lacunae due to incomplete data collection. If the researcher is planning to acquire data through interviews or questionnaires, copy of the questions used for the same should be attached as an annexure with the proposal.

Rigor (soundness of the research)

This addresses the strength of the research with respect to its neutrality, consistency and applicability. Rigor must be reflected throughout the proposal.

It refers to the robustness of a research method against bias. The author should convey the measures taken to avoid bias, viz. blinding and randomisation, in an elaborate way, thus ensuring that the result obtained from the adopted method is purely as chance and not influenced by other confounding variables.

Consistency

Consistency considers whether the findings will be consistent if the inquiry was replicated with the same participants and in a similar context. This can be achieved by adopting standard and universally accepted methods and scales.

Applicability

Applicability refers to the degree to which the findings can be applied to different contexts and groups.[ 13 ]

Data analysis

This section deals with the reduction and reconstruction of data and its analysis including sample size calculation. The researcher is expected to explain the steps adopted for coding and sorting the data obtained. Various tests to be used to analyse the data for its robustness, significance should be clearly stated. Author should also mention the names of statistician and suitable software which will be used in due course of data analysis and their contribution to data analysis and sample calculation.[ 9 ]

Ethical considerations

Medical research introduces special moral and ethical problems that are not usually encountered by other researchers during data collection, and hence, the researcher should take special care in ensuring that ethical standards are met. Ethical considerations refer to the protection of the participants' rights (right to self-determination, right to privacy, right to autonomy and confidentiality, right to fair treatment and right to protection from discomfort and harm), obtaining informed consent and the institutional review process (ethical approval). The researcher needs to provide adequate information on each of these aspects.

Informed consent needs to be obtained from the participants (details discussed in further chapters), as well as the research site and the relevant authorities.

When the researcher prepares a research budget, he/she should predict and cost all aspects of the research and then add an additional allowance for unpredictable disasters, delays and rising costs. All items in the budget should be justified.

Appendices are documents that support the proposal and application. The appendices will be specific for each proposal but documents that are usually required include informed consent form, supporting documents, questionnaires, measurement tools and patient information of the study in layman's language.

As with any scholarly research paper, you must cite the sources you used in composing your proposal. Although the words ‘references and bibliography’ are different, they are used interchangeably. It refers to all references cited in the research proposal.

Successful, qualitative research proposals should communicate the researcher's knowledge of the field and method and convey the emergent nature of the qualitative design. The proposal should follow a discernible logic from the introduction to presentation of the appendices.

Financial support and sponsorship

Conflicts of interest.

There are no conflicts of interest.

Research for Organizing

A Toolkit for Participatory Action Research from TakeRoot Justice

Download the Entire Chapter as a PDF

DESIGNING YOUR RESEARCH PROJECT

This section is designed to assist you with the planning phase of your Participatory Action Research (PAR) project. The section includes activities that will enable your group to make informed decisions about starting a research project, developing research goals and questions, choosing a research method, and creating a plan and timeline to guide your research. It also includes tools that will help your team to design and plan your overall research project.

Download Activity 2.1

Activity: 2.1 Developing Research Goals and Questions

Purpose of Activity:

The purpose of this activity is to have participants discuss the goals and purpose of the research project. After you’ve discussed what the research is trying to accomplish and why your organization is doing it, the participants will come up with research questions that will guide the research process.

By the End of Activity Participants Will:

• Discuss the social or policy change you want to bring about through your research and campaign work
• Discuss why research is useful or relevant to your organization or campaign
• Determine the overarching questions you want to answer through your research

Before this Activity Participants Will Need to:

Be introduced to the basics of Participatory Action Research (PAR)

Decide that PAR is right for your organization

Tools Needed:

Copies of Tool 2.1: Guiding Questions for Developing Research Goals and Questions

Materials Needed:

Butcher paper

Research Goals

Research Question

Intended Audience:

Community Members

Time Needed:

Part I:  What and Why of PAR  (20 minutes)

Facilitator Instructions:

1. Provide a brief summary of your campaign to set the context for the discussion 2. Explain that today we will have a discussion about using participatory action research in our campaign. We are going to try to begin to develop goals and questions that can guide our research. 3.  Write “What?” at the top of a piece of butcher paper, and go through the questions below with the participants. Record responses on butcher paper, and keep the paper for later. (If you have 7 or more participants you can break out into small groups).

…is the social or policy change you want to bring about at the end of the day?

…are the overarching questions you want to answer through your research?

…information do you need to better understand and document the issues you are addressing?

…primary question do you want to answer with your research?

4.  Once you’ve answered each “What?” question sufficiently, write “Why?” on a new sheet of butcher paper. Go through each of the questions below with participants. Record responses.

…is research useful or important for your organization? Will it be used…

…internally, to inform and assess needs in the community?

…externally, to mobilize and educate community members or elected officials around an issue?

Part II:  Developing Research Goals (20 minutes)

• Put up a piece of butcher paper that says “Research Goals: What you want to accomplish with your research?”
• Facilitate a discussion based upon your group’s answer to the “What” and “Why” questions that leads the group to establish the goals of the research and the research questions.
• Ask the question: based on the answers to the “What” and “Why” questions, what are our goals for this research? What do we want to accomplish through doing this research?
• Ask people to popcorn responses and record their responses on butcher paper.
• Explain that now that we have some research goals, we need to frame those goals as questions in order to conduct research.

Part III: Developing Research Questions (20 minutes)

• Frame the activity: explain that part of being a researcher is to ask questions and find answers.  To design a research project you need to first figure out what big questions you want to answer.  We will use our list of goals to figure out what questions we want to ask
• Put up a piece of butcher paper that says: “Research Questions: What big questions do you want to answer with your research?”  Also write an example of a research question on the butcher paper.  For example, if one of our goals is to document rapid development of luxury housing in our neighborhood, our question would be, “What is the current state of housing development in our neighborhood?”
• Ask the question: based on the answers to the “What” and “Why” questions and the goals we just created, what big questions do we want to answer through our research?
• Explain to the groups that these goals and questions will be the foundation for your research design and implementation.

Download Activity 2.2

Activity: 2.2 Choosing Your Research Method

This activity is designed to help organizers and members understand the various options for how they can conduct research and choose the research method(s) they will use.

• Finalize research goals and questions
• Understand relevant research methods
• Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of different research methods
• Decide the research method appropriate for your group

Develop research goals and research questions

Copies of Tool 2.2: Guiding Questions for Choosing a Research Method

Copies of Tool 2.3: PAR Menu of Methods

Post-it notes

Quantitative Data

Qualitative Data

Focus Groups

Community Mapping

Community Visioning

Secondary Data

Media Review

Literature Review

Community Members or Organizers

Part I: Nailing Down your Research Goals and Questions  (15 minutes)

• Frame the activity in the context of your campaign: now that we’ve decided to do participatory research we need to dig into how to do it. There are a bunch of different ways we can conduct research so we need to explore these different research methods.
• Put up the butcher paper with “Research Goals” and “Research Questions” from Section 2, Activity 1.
• Ask the group, is anything missing?
• Wrap it up: Summarize what has been said and explain that these goals and questions will help to determine which methods you will use to conduct your research.

Part II:  Brainstorm as a Big Group  (25 minutes)

• Explain that now that we have determined some of our goals and research questions, we need to dig into how to do the research.
• Next, facilitate a discussion that answers the questions: how do we do the research, when do we do it and where? Record responses on butcher paper, and keep butcher paper for Part 3 (This can also be done in break-out groups).

…can you document or better understand the issue? Do you need “hard” numbers (quantitative data) and/or stories of personal experience (qualitative data) or both?

…are you going to give legs to your research? What action strategies could you employ to make the research and report as impactful as possible?

…are the stakeholders in the issue? Who has interest? Who is affected?

…needs to have their voice be heard?

…are you trying to influence? Who has power over the issue?

…is your target audience (community members, elected officials, media)?

…will collect your data?

…can you find the people you need to talk to get your data?

…can you find existing information that is relevant to your research?

…can you go for support and assistance (non-profits, universities, government agencies)?

Part II:  Understanding the Research Methods  (35 minutes)

• Choose 3-4 methods that you think are the most relevant to your project (from Tool T2.1 PAR Menu of Methods).
• Break the participants into 3-4 groups and assign one method that you’ve chosen to each group.
• Pass out Tool T2.1 “PAR Menu of Methods” to each group.
• Tell each group to read over the description for the method they have been assigned and give them 5-7 minutes to make up a skit for that method.  Encourage them to be creative.
• Have each small group perform their skit.
• After each skit, facilitate a discussion with the full group.  Ask the group: what did you see in the skit? What do you think are the pros and cons of that method for our work?  Record the pros and cons list on butcher paper.

Part III:  Decide Your Research Method  (20 Minutes)

• Place the butcher papers from each A2.2 activity next to each other at the focal point of the room.
• First, ask a volunteer to read your responses to the “How” “Who” and “Where” questions from the first activity to remind everyone of your initial conversations.
• Facilitate a discussion: now that we know more about each of the possible research methods, which methods align with the groups responses to the “How”, “Who” and “Where” questions?
• Make a decision about which method(s) make the most sense for your project. Record the methods you choose to put into your research workplan (see Tool 2.3).

Download Activity 2.3

Activity: 2.3 Developing Your Research Timeline

This activity is designed to enable your research team to sit together and plan out the remaining steps of your research project. Through the activity, participants will devise a timeline that will map out all of the necessary steps in your project, and will specify who is going to be responsible for each step of the project. By the end of the activity you will have created a research timeline that you can use to guide the rest of your project.

By the End of this Activity You Will:

• Map out all of the steps of your research project in a timeline
• Decide who is going to do what and when they are going to do it
• Create a system of accountability for your research project

Have been introduced to the basics of Participatory Action Research (PAR)

Have created the research goals and questions for your project

Have decided on your research method

Tool 2.4: Research Timeline Template

Data Report Back

Policy Recommendation

Members and Organizers that will be active in research process

Part I:  Creating Your Research Plan and Timeline  (15 minutes)

1.  Before the meeting prepare the room.

• Prepare two pieces of butcher paper in advance; Butcher Paper 1:  a list of the main steps in PAR (listed below), Butcher Paper 2: recreate the table below on large sheets of butcher paper big enough so that you can write in each box. Depending on the specifics of your project you may need to modify this table.

• Place the two pieces of butcher paper next to each other at the front of the room with the PAR steps to the left of the table.
• Fill out the first three steps (Organizing Goal, Research Question, and Research Plan) in the table if you have already done them. Fill out any other steps that you have already discussed or figured out (for example you might have chosen someone to design the research instruments).

2.  Introduce the activity; today we are going to create our research plan. By the end of the meeting we will have completed a timeline of the research steps and will have split up who will do what. 3.  Describe the butcher paper sheets you have created. Describe that you will be using these sheets to create your timeline. 4.  Go through each of the PAR steps that you will use for your project and fill out the what, when and who of each step with participants. 5.  After you’ve completed the table, take a moment to congratulate everyone as you have now finished the planning stages of your research project! 6.  Keep all of the Butcher Paper sheets you created and use them to type up your Research Plan (see Tool 2.4 and T2.5:  Template for Research Work Plan and Research Timeline Template).

Download Tool 2.1

Tool: 2.1 Guiding Questions for Developing Research Goals and Questions

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WHAT…

…is the social or policy change you want to bring about at the end of the day?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

…are your organizing goals, and how can this research be helpful achieving these goals? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

…information do you need to better understand and document the issues you are addressing? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

…is research useful or important for your organization? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

… internally, to inform and assess needs in the community?          YES          NO

Explain:_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

… externally, to mobilize and educate community members around an  issue?

YES        NO

…to support a specific policy campaign or influence policy and public debate around an issue?

YES           NO

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Tool: 2.2 Guiding Questions for Choosing a Research Method

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…  can you document or better understand the issue?  Do you need “hard” numbers (quantitative data) or stories of personal experience (qualitative data)?

Quantitative         Qualitative           Both

________________________________________________________

…  are you going to give legs to your research? What action strategies could you employ to make the research and report as effective as possible? ________________________________________________________

… are the stakeholders in the issue? Who has interest, who is affected? ________________________________________________________

…needs their voice to be heard? ________________________________________________________

…are you trying to influence? Who has power over the issue? ________________________________________________________

…is your target audience (community members, elected officials, media)? ________________________________________________________

…will collect your data? ________________________________________________________

… can you go to for information and other existing data? ________________________________________________________

…can you go for support and assistance (non-profits, universities, government agencies)? ________________________________________________________

… is the right time to do research? ________________________________________________________

…In your campaign? ________________________________________________________

…In the political context? ________________________________________________________

…In your organization? …In the political context? ________________________________________________________

Download Tool 2.3

Tool: 2.3 Participatory Action Research (PAR) Menu of Methods

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• Surveys-  Ask specific questions and tend to include short answer, multiple-choice, and scaled-answer questions. Surveys can be done online, through the mail, and can be written and filled out in person.  The most effective way to conduct surveys in support of organizing is in an in person “interview style” so that the surveyor can make personal connections with the respondent. Surveys are helpful for getting information or data from a wider group of people and are better for getting quantitative information like numbers, than they are for getting qualitative information, like people’s stories. Surveys can be helpful when making policy demands because elected officials, policymakers and the media tend to respond to hard numbers.
• Interviews-  Are guided conversations about a specific topic, are often done one-on-one, and tend to use open-ended questions in order to get in-depth explanations.  Interviews are useful when you want to get more specific, detailed information than you would get from a survey and you want to get deeper into people’s experiences and personal stories. Interviews are appropriate when dealing with sensitive or personal information that people may not be comfortable writing on a survey or sharing in a group setting (such as a focus group). Interviews can also assist the organizing outreach process because they facilitate one-to-one interaction, but they can be more time intensive then surveys.
• Focus Groups-  Are small group sessions (7-12 people) that are led by a facilitator in order to obtain opinions based on the research question.  Like interviews, focus groups are good for getting qualitative data, and are an effective way to get people’s personal stories, testimonies, and experiences from a group setting. They can also be useful for delving deeper into a specific issue or research question not fully addressed by another method.  Focus groups can be useful in allowing participants to bounce ideas and stories off of each other.  Due to the group setting, they can also be more challenging than interviews for discussing sensitive topics.
• Community Mapping/Canvassing-  Is a process of documenting and visually presenting trends or patterns in a given community.  Community maps and canvassing can be used to document many physical, spatial dynamics of a neighborhood from new construction sites, to new luxury condos, to green spaces, to new businesses, to vacant lots, etc. This is an effective tool for tracking physical changes in a neighborhood, and specifically as a way to document the impact of gentrification on a neighborhood.
• Community Visioning-  Is a process where group of community members come together to develop an alternative vision or proposal for the future of their community.  Visioning can be used to develop public policy demands and can be particularly useful when communities are working to impact the physical development of their community.  This can also be useful for groups working to influence a particular issue or policy.
• Mystery Shopping-  Is a process where community members posing as customers call or visit businesses and document their experience and observations.  Usually mystery shoppers have a specific set of criteria they are looking for when they visit or call a business.  This is a good way to document employment practices, compliance with labor laws, and consumer fraud.
• Secondary data-  Is data that comes from someone else’s research.  This is distinct from “primary data” which is original data that you collect through your own research in the field.  Secondary data is helpful for getting background information that will complement the ground-level information that comes from people’s experiences (primary data). It can also be helpful to do a bit of secondary data collection before you begin your primary data collection in order to focus your research questions and help you to develop your research instruments (such as surveys and interview guides). Secondary data can come from a variety of public and private sources, such as the U.S. Census Bureau, city and state agencies, research organizations and academic institutions.
• Media Review-  Is a systematic review of a certain number of news articles or clips from a variety of sources about a specific topic to uncover the most common words or themes that emerge.  This can be used as background research to help inform your research design and can also be used on its own to give you data about how a specific issue is being presented or framed in the media.
• Literature Review-  Is a review of existing articles, academic studies or reports in order to find out what information already exists about the topic you are exploring.  This can be part of your secondary research; can help inform your research questions and can help you identify gaps in research and information on a given issue.

Download Tool 2.4 as a Word Doc

Tool: 2.4 Research Work Plan Template

Why is This Tool Useful?

Descarga Herramienta 2.4 En Espanol

This tool will help to document your research plan and methodology.  It is also useful in developing a workplan, timeline and accountability mechanism for your project to make sure that each member of your research team is doing the work they have committed to doing and are keeping up with deadlines.   This can also be helpful in putting together proposals for funding or other support because you will have all the information about your project in one place. Below is a template for a research plan.  Sections can be shifted and deleted as needed.

Name of Organization(s):

Name of Research Project:

This section should include some background information about the social issue that your research will address and/ or the campaign that your research will support.

Overview of project

This section should provide a brief overview of the research project including what issue you are addressing and why, what information you plan to collect, whom you are collecting the information from and how you are collecting information (See Tools 2.1 and 2.2).

Goals of project

This section should include a bulleted list of what you hope to achieve through doing this research project.  Some examples include:

• To gather current and detailed data from our community.
• To develop skills and leadership of members.
• To build the base of members in our organization.
• To educate elected officials about our organization’s campaign.

Research Questions

This should include a bulleted list of the overarching questions you hope to answer through your research.  Research questions are different from survey or interview questions because they are broad and can help to guide the more specific questions you will ask in your surveys, interviews, focus groups, canvassing Tool, etc. Some examples include:

• What is the impact of poor housing conditions on residents of Chinatown?
• What types of benefits are workers getting and what are they not getting from their employers?
• How do various policies and procedures at methadone programs affect participant’s access to methadone?
• What is the current state of luxury housing development in low-income communities of color in NYC?

Methodology/Research Components

This section should include all the methods you will use to answer your research questions along with a short description for each method. Below are some examples, but you should feel free to chose other methods (see Tool 2.3)

• Short survey:   This short survey will be focused on collecting updated and detailed data on x, y and z.  The goal will be to collect 500 surveys.  The surveys will be translated into Spanish and French languages and administered by members of our organization.
• In Depth Interviews:  Members and organizers will conduct in depth interviews with 5-10 workers in order to collect qualitative data about x and y and to show z.
• Secondary Research:  Members will conduct an analysis of current literature and data to support the findings from field research.
• Media Review:  Members will review 100 articles found in local newspapers in the last three years that include the word “public housing” in the headline.  Researchers will identify the most prevalent words and themes in these articles.

Project Output

This section should include a few sentences about what you will create at the end of this project.  This could be a report, a 1 or 2 page summary of your findings, a map, a video, etc.

How the PAR Project Will Support Community Organizing

This section should explain how your research will support and be integrated into your organizing campaign.  Will your research help with leadership development? Help to build your base? Help to garner media attention about a policy issue you are fighting for?

This table should include all of the different tasks that you will need to complete for the research project, along with who will be responsible for completing the task and by what date.  The tasks will differ depending on which methods you chose but Tool 2.5 will provide a template as a place to start.

Download Tool 2.5 as a Word Doc

Tool: 2.5 Research Timeline Template

Download Tool 2.5 as a PDF

Download Tool 2.6 as a PDF

Tool: 2.6 Advisory Board Invitation Template

Download Tool 2.6 as a Word Doc

Tool 2.6:  Sample Advisory Board Invitation Template

Why is this tool useful?

Developing a Research Advisory Board can be a great way to bring together a team of resource allies to support and add capacity to your Participatory Action Research. Academics, lawyers or policy analysts that specialize in the issue you are researching are all good examples of potential advisors. We recommend bringing advisors together as a group early in the process and being clear about the role they will play and what they can expect from the process. Below is a sample letter you can send to invite advisors to an initial meeting. We also have a sample agenda for a Research Advisory Board meet (see Tool 2.7).

[INSERT YOUR ORGANIZATION’S LOGO OR PUT ON ORGANIZATIONAL LETTERHEAD]

Dear ________________,

I hope you are well! I am writing to you to ask you to be a part of an exciting new research project of the  [YOUR ORGANIZATION’S NAME]  by serving on our advisory board.

As you may know…  [INSERT BRIEF SUMMARY ABOUT YOUR ORGANIZATION’S OVERARCHING GOALS AND AIMS]

As part of this work,   we are planning to conduct a participatory action research project focusing on [RESEARCH TOPIC].

Because of your familiarity with [ORGANIZATION NAME] and your expertise with these issues or strategies, I am reaching out to you in the hopes that you will serve on a Research Advisory Team to provide feedback on our research.  As an advisor, I am requesting that you participate in one or more of the following:

• Read a draft of our report and provide feedback;
• Participate in one or more conference calls about the report;
• Provide feedback on policy recommendations;
• Provide advice on how to best use the report to advance  [ORGANIZATION’S NAME] ’s advocacy and organizing goals.

Please let me know by  [INSERT DATE]  if you are willing to participate on this Research Advisory Team.  We will be scheduling for a meeting for  [INSERT DATE].  Please don’t hesitate to call  (XXX) XXX- XXXX  or email [ INSERT EMAIL HERE ] if you would like additional information or have further questions.  We hope you will join us in this important work!

[INSERT NAME]

[INSERT POSITION]

Download Tool 2.7 as a PDF

Tool: 2.7 Sample Advisory Board Meeting Agenda Template

Download Tool 2.7 as a Word Doc

Developing a Research Advisory Board can be a great way to bring together a team of resource allies to support and add capacity to your Participatory Action Research. Academics, lawyers or policy analysts that specialize in the issue you are researching are all good examples of potential advisors. Once the Research Advisory Board (see Tool 2.6) is assembled, it is a good idea to bring the Board together as early in the research process as possible. The research plan should be more or less complete by this point (see Tool 2.4), and advisors can give valuable feedback on research goals and questions, methodology, project output and the timeline. The advisors should also walk away with a concrete understanding of their role in the work and what you will be asking of them in participating in the research process. It is also a good idea to make sure the research timeline is mostly complete (see Tool 2.5) because this will make planning next steps with the board easier. Below is a sample meeting agenda for the Research Advisory Board, which can be used to ensure that the meeting is productive and provides crucial feedback on the project.

Research Advisory Board Meeting

Download The Case Study

Case Study: 2.1 Center for Frontline Retail and CDP Report: Pathways to Success: The Need for Accessible, Appropriate Trainings for Retail Workers, 2017

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Background on the Organization and Issue

The Center for Frontline Retail (CFR) is a worker-led organization committed to improving the lives of retail workers through community organizing, industry analysis, and leadership development. CFR works to simultaneously elevate workers’ voices and raise standards in the retail sector. CFR’s prior research has shown that retail workers face discrimination and harassment in the workplace, along with unfair scheduling practices.

Through discussions with their members, CFR identified a lack of training opportunities for workers, impacting their ability to advance in the sector.  . CFR also noticed that women and people of color are disproportionately affected by the lack of training from employers and as a result lack opportunities for career advancement.

In order to document the lack of training and advancement opportunities for retail workers, and the disproportionate effect of this on women and people of color, CFR partnered with the Community Development Project on a participatory action research project in order to voice the concerns of retail workers and highlight CFR’s training model as a pathway for advancement. This project ultimately resulted in a report that describes workers’ desire for, and barriers to, training and advancement opportunities in the retail industry, outlines policies that would set aside money to train retail workers, and puts the CFR training model forward to train and educate entry level workers, as well as higher level training to grow within the retail industry.

Below is a description of the Center for Frontline Retail Research Project, based on the Participatory Action Research guiding framework  (see Tools  2.1  and  2.2 ).

Were the Organizing Goals connected to this research?

• To generate data on the training needs of retail workers in NYC.
• To document and generate data on the extent to which retail workers are offered training and education programs by their employers, and distinguish whether workers of color and women are able to access such programs.
• To document the experiences of people of color and women working in the retail industry in accessing appropriate trainings and education programs.
• To explore and document the existing training and education programs that are available to retail workers and their associated costs.

Overall questions did CFR want to answer through their research?

• What is the current training and education landscape for retail workers in NYC?
• What are the training and education needs of retail workers (with focus on women and people of color)?
• What are the experiences of women and people of color working in retail in accessing training and other career advancement opportunities?

Is this research useful or important for CFR?

• INTERNALLY: to base build and educate retail workers; to develop member leaders and their outreach skills.
• EXTERNALLY: to inform a curriculum developed for retail workers that would provide crucial training for career advancement; put together the landscape of barriers that retail workers face in accessing education and training; put forward recommendations for retailers to adopt high road retail strategies.

Are the Stakeholders in this Issue?

• Retail workers in New York City

Was CFR trying to influence?

• New York City Council Members, Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development, retail employers and brands, developers of commercial retail spaces

Did CFR gather information (what methods did they use)?

• SHORT SURVEY :   CFR members administered a survey to 300 retail workers in order to understand the training needs and existing training opportunities of retail workers working in general merchandise stores in New York City, specifically discount, fast fashion and high end stores. Retail workers were targeted during classes at the Center for Frontline Retail and when retail workers were on breaks throughout the work day.
• FOCUS GROUPS:  In order to build and expand on the quantitative data gathered from surveys, CFR also conducted three focus groups with their members in order to collect qualitative data about the experiences and stories of retail workers accessing trainings in the workplace, and to show the barriers and discrimination faced by women and people of color.
• SECONDARY RESEARCH : CDP conducted an analysis of current literature and data to support findings from research, and to document the current landscape of trainings, curriculum and education programs in retail.

Did Research support CFR’s organizing efforts?

• The survey project provided opportunities to base build and educate community members. The focus groups provided member leaders with the opportunity to learn facilitation skills and a deepened understanding of the landscape of barriers facing workers.
• The data collected through the research was written into a report and presented to key stakeholders in the retail sector, such as retail employers, the New York City Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development, and developers of commercial work spaces who could partner with CFR to provide training to potential retail workers.

Read the report  here . Read coverage of the report release in  Crains NY  and the  Associated Press .

• Designing Your Research project
• Developing Research Goals and Questions
• Choosing Your Research Method
• Developing Your Research Timeline
• Guiding Questions for Developing Research Goals and Questions
• Guiding Questions for Choosing a Research Method
• Participatory Action Research (PAR) Menu of Methods
• Research Work Plan Template
• Research Timeline Template
• Advisory Board Invitation Template
• Sample Advisory Board Meeting Agenda Template
• Center for Frontline Retail and CDP Report: Pathways to Success: The Need for Accessible, Appropriate Trainings for Retail Workers, 2017

Research Design Canvas

• First Online: 10 June 2024

Cite this chapter

• Rashina Hoda   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-5147-8096 2  

This chapter focuses on describing how to go about designing a research project. First, we will learn about framing the research study as a project . Then, we will be introduced to the research design canvas . While the details are specific to socio-technical grounded theory (STGT) studies, the research design canvas or template can be used for research project design in general. Next, we will learn about the 10 elements of the research design canvas, including the forming of the research team , identifying the domain and actors , selecting the phenomenon and topic to investigate, carefully assessing research ethics and considering the research values , formulating the guiding research questions , acknowledging the team’s research philosophy , deciding on the initial research protocols including data, techniques, and tools, and listing the desirable research impact . The chapter concludes by describing a pilot study to apply and refine the above elements of the research project design.

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Hoda, R. (2024). Research Design Canvas. In: Qualitative Research with Socio-Technical Grounded Theory. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-60533-8_4

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Stanford Research Development Office

What Makes a Successful Proposal

Grant proposals are a distinct genre compared to other academic writing. At its heart, a compelling proposal focuses on posing an exciting research question or problem and offering a convincing narrative for how you will use grant funds to answer or solve it. 

Strong proposals typically exhibit several key characteristics:

• Define a specific, compelling, and carefully vetted concept.
• Explain its relevance to the academic community and society.
• Highlight the potential impact and why the research is timely and necessary.
• Present an innovative and original approach or access to a new corpus/data.
• Some funding programs are more interested in incremental accomplishments, while others (many that we work with) want more transformative potential.
• Provide a well-defined and practical plan for carrying out the project, including contingency plans.
• Clearly outline as applicable the research design, theoretical approach, data collection methods, analysis techniques, and include necessary preliminary data or proof of concept to demonstrate feasibility.
• Establish clear, achievable goals and objectives.
• Outline a realistic timeline with milestones.
• Provide a strategy for continuous evaluation and adaptation.
• Highlight the expertise of a well-rounded project team with clear roles and responsibilities in the project.
• Demonstrate strong collaboration and cohesion within the team, showcasing previous related work and publications to reinforce credibility.
• Tailor the proposal to align with the program’s objectives and priorities.
• Show how the research fits within the broader mission of the funding agency.
• Write concisely and avoid jargon. Define specialized terminology if necessary.
• Ensure that the proposal is accessible to a diverse audience, including non-specialists who may be involved in the review process.
• Use storytelling techniques to create a compelling narrative.
• Incorporate visual elements, such as graphics, charts, and figures, to effectively convey complex information.
• Provide a detailed and realistic budget, demonstrating a clear understanding of resource needs.
• Justify all expenses, showing how they support the project's success.
• Outline how you will share results with the academic community and beyond.
• Include plans for publications, conferences, and using other dissemination channels.
• Strictly follow the funder’s guidelines, ensuring all required components, including supporting documents and signatures, are included.
• Consider using strategic formatting elements, such as headers, bold text, and figures or tables, to make key elements easy to locate.

Addressing these key characteristics will help position your proposal for success. The Stanford Research Development Office is here to work with you throughout the process, from developing a compelling narrative to ensuring alignment with funder priorities. Our team offers expert guidance, resources, and support to enhance the competitiveness of your proposal for external funding.

Contact us at  [email protected] to learn how we can help you.

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Literature Search

6 Best Research Project Graphic Organizer Templates

Discover 6 top research project graphic organizer templates to streamline project planning and boost productivity.

Sep 9, 2024

Researching a topic can feel overwhelming, especially when you need to make sense of what seems like endless information before you can start your paper. A research project graphic organizer can help you confidently tackle the literature search so you can write an efficient research paper that earns a top grade. In this guide, we'll explore the many benefits of graphic organizers for research projects and show you how to make one for your next project. Otio's AI research and writing partner helps you organize your thoughts, create a graphic organizer, and write a stellar research paper. With this tool, you can make excellent study material that breaks down information for a quick overview of what you need to know.

Table Of Contents

What is a research graphic organizer, purpose of a research project graphic organizer, what are the 7 types of graphic organizers, how to create a research project graphic organizer, supercharge your researching ability with otio — try otio for free today.

A graphic organizer (also referred to as a research matrix) is a valuable tool for compiling detailed notes during the research process. These note-taking systems can take a long time to assemble, so they’re geared toward long-term papers, such as graduate research or capstone projects. That being said, they are well worth the effort as they save time and effort when navigating themes, content, and theories across articles. Furthermore, these organization systems make it easy to quickly compile a bibliography as all the information is stored in one place.  

Also known as research project graphic organizers, graphic organizers help students visually sort and outline information before, during, and after reading. Their visual nature helps students reduce cognitive load by creating a simple framework for organizing information. This allows students to focus on understanding the material instead of becoming overwhelmed with the details. 

Kickstart, Your Research with Graphic Organizers

During the pre-reading stage, graphic organizers can be a brainstorming tool to activate prior knowledge and connect what students know with new information.  For example, if a student is about to read a biography on Rosa Parks, a graphic organizer can help them sort out what they know about the civil rights movement before reading. 

Dig In While You Read 

During the reading stage, graphic organizers can help students arrange pertinent information, facilitating learning by highlighting links among concepts. Continuing with Rosa Parks' biography example, as the students read, they can use a graphic organizer to help them sort details about her life, her role in the civil rights movement, and the broader historical context. 

Reflect and Consolidate What You've Learned 

In the post-reading stage, graphic organizers can assess comprehension, recall pertinent information, summarize main ideas, and maintain the content learned. After finishing the biography, the students could use a graphic organizer to help them reflect on what they learned about Rosa Parks and the civil rights movement. 

Supercharge Your Researching Ability With Otio

Knowledge workers, researchers, and students today suffer from content overload. Too many settle for stitching together complicated bookmarking, read-it-later, and note-taking apps to get through their workflows. Now that anyone can create content with a button, this problem will only worsen. Otio solves this problem by providing researchers with one AI-native workspace. 

Let Otio be your AI research and writing partner — try Otio for free today !

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• Systematic Review Vs Meta Analysis • Impact Evaluation • How To Critique A Research Article • How To Synthesize Sources • Annotation Techniques • Skimming And Scanning • Types Of Literature Reviews • Literature Review Table • Literature Review Matrix • How To Increase Reading Speed And Comprehension • How To Read Research Papers • How To Summarize A Research Paper • Literature Gap

1. Venn Diagrams: Understanding Relationships and Differences   

Venn diagrams help readers grasp the relationships between various concepts. Venn diagrams use two or more overlapping circles to show the similarities and differences between each idea. The areas where the circles overlap display the traits that the ideas have in common, while the individual sections of each circle illustrate the unique characteristics of each concept.

2. Series of Events Chains: Sequencing Events  

A series of events graphic organizer helps students visualize the order of events in a story or passage. This type of organizer has a simple format that can be adapted for any length. Events are written chronologically to show how they relate to one another. This helps illustrate the continuous movement of the narrative.

3. Concept Maps: Branching Out from a Central Idea   

A concept map, or spider map, helps students visually display what they know about a topic before, during, and after a reading or research project. This graphic organizer has a central idea in the middle, with other relevant information supporting the topic branching out. The more detailed a concept map gets, the better students understand the relationship between the ideas and how they connect to the main topic.

4. Story Maps: Breaking Down Fiction

A story map helps students visually display crucial information related to components of a story before, during, and after reading. This type of graphic organizer helps students break down the character(s), setting, and problem. This enables readers to comprehend the narrative better and summarize the plot.

5. Network Tree Maps: Organizing Information  

A network treemap has a main idea at the top with subtopics underneath. As students learn about the different concepts, they can fill in the tree map to show their understanding of how the information is organized. This type of graphic organizer works well for helping students prepare for writing assignments and research projects.

6. Fishbone Maps: Analyzing Causes and Effects  

A fishbone graphic organizer helps students visualize the interaction and relationship of a complex event and its effects. The “bones” of the fish represent the different causes of a specific problem, while the “head” of the fish illustrates the main issue. This type of organizer enables students to break down complex information to analyze it and better understand the content.

7. Problem Solution Maps: Summarizing Text  

Problem solution maps help students summarize text, identify the problems within the text, recognize solutions used to solve the problem, and interpret the results. This type of graphic organizer is helpful for expository and narrative texts.

1. Otio: Your AI Research Assistant  

Today’s knowledge workers, researchers, and students are overwhelmed by content overload. There are too many stitch-together complicated bookmarking, read-it-later, and note-taking apps to get through their workflows. With the ability for anyone to create content with the click of a button, this problem will only get worse. Otio solves this problem by providing researchers with one AI-native workspace. It helps them: 

Collect many data sources, from bookmarks, tweets, and extensive books to YouTube videos. 

Extract key takeaways with detailed AI-generated notes and source-grounded Q&A chat. 

Create draft outputs using the sources you’ve collected. Otio helps you to go from the reading list to the first draft faster. 

Along with this, Otio also helps you write research papers/essays faster. Here are our top features that researchers love: AI-generated notes on all bookmarks (Youtube videos, PDFs, articles, etc.), Otio enabling you to chat with individual links or entire knowledge bases, just like you chat with ChatGPT and AI-assisted writing. 

Let Otio be your AI research and writing partner —try Otio for free today!  

2. Teachers Pay Teachers Graphic Organizer Templates  

Their graphic organizer templates have a simple design to guide students' research when discovering a career of their choice. Students will look up the basics of a possible career, including salary, education requirements, employment outlook, skills, tasks, etc.  

3. EdrawMax Research Graphic Organizer  

EdrawMax offers free editable graphic organizers . EdrawMax Online is a cloud-based software that allows users to create various diagrams, charts, drawings, and graphic organizers. By signing up, you can access a canvas to draw any organizer of your choice by dragging and dropping various shapes and symbols from the included library. You can also use EdrawMax Online to create graphic organizers for research papers. You can choose to create one from scratch or just use a template, albeit the latter option relies on the presence of a template in the template gallery. 

4. HMH Free Graphic Organizer Templates  

Help your students classify ideas and communicate more effectively with these free graphic organizer templates available for download. They can be used to structure writing projects and help in problem-solving, decision-making, studying, planning research, and brainstorming.  

5. Twinkl Research Notes Graphic Organizer  

Use this research notes graphic organizer to help students as they research for a project or essay. This resource allows students to track where their information is coming from to help avoid plagiarism.  

6. Teach Starter Graphic Organizers  

Teach Starter has various templates for research graphic organizers. You can download them as a PDF and print them out as well. Some are paid, and some are free.

Graphic organizers help students systematically arrange and visually display information while researching to help them identify, study, and understand the relationships between the parts and the whole. A research project graphic organizer can help students visualize the components of a research project and what they’ll need to do before, during, and after the research process.  

For example, a T-chart can help students break down the differences between two topics before selecting one for a research project. Venn diagrams can also help students identify similarities and differences between two topics.  Research project graphic organizers can also be utilized as a planning tool to help students organize their thoughts before they begin writing their research papers. 

For instance, a research project graphic organizer can help students identify their research questions, organize their findings, and visually display how their research will address the paper's topics and subtopics.   

Using AI Tools to Create Graphic Organizers for Research Projects

Artificial intelligence tools can help students create research project graphic organizers. First, students can select the graphic organizer they want to make, such as a T-chart or Venn diagram. Next, they can use prompts to help the AI generate content for their organizers. The results can be used to help fill in the graphic organizers and provide structure to their research.

Knowledge workers, researchers, and students today suffer from content overload. Otio solves this problem by providing researchers with one AI-native workspace . 

Collecting Research with Otio 

When conducting a research project, you’ll want to gather various sources. Otio helps you to do this quickly and efficiently. You can import bookmarks, tweets, PDFs, articles, YouTube videos, and even entire books. Importing all this data into Otio creates a centralized repository for your research project, a great way to stay organized and improve your workflow. 

Extracting Key Takeaways with Otio 

Once you have collected your research materials, you can analyze them for relevant information. Otio makes this process easier by generating detailed AI notes for all your research materials. You can even chat with these AI notes just like you would with ChatGPT. This improves information retrieval and helps you to understand your research better. 

Creating Outputs with Otio

After you have collected and analyzed your research, you can start creating written outputs. Otio helps you to go from a reading list to a first draft faster. Use the notes generated by Otio to inform your writing, and take advantage of AI-assisted writing features to improve your overall efficiency. 

Let Otio be your AI research and writing partner — try Otio for free today ! 

• Paragraph Graphic Organizer • Sequence Graphic Organizer • Best AI for Research • Sharly AI Alternatives • AI For Summarizing Research Papers • Literature Review Tools • How To Identify Theoretical Framework In An Article • Graduate School Reading • Research Tools • AI For Academic Research • Research Paper Organizer • Best AI Tools For Research • Zotero Alternatives • Zotero Vs Endnote • ChatGPT For Research Papers • ChatGPT Literature Review • Mendeley Alternative • Unriddle AI Alternatives • Literature Matrix Generator • Research Assistant • Research Tools • Research Graphic Organizer • Good Websites for Research • Research Paper Graphic Organizer • Graphic Organizer Examples • Summary Graphic Organizer • Who What When Where Why Graphic Organizer • Research Note Taking Graphic Organizer • Graphic Organizer Research Paper Outline • Research Essay Graphic Organizer • Research Notes Graphic Organizer • Translational Research Graphic Organizer • Research Graphic Organizer Template

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Medical School Summer Research projects

• Research Strategy and Support Office
• Summer Research Program
• Faculty of Medicine Summer Research projects

A systematic review of co-design methods, frameworks and tools

A systematic review of patterns of care for comorbid chronic disease patients with depression, comparative law analysis of tobacco and non-smoked nicotine products, alcohol or cannabis supply frameworks.

• Centre for Health Services Research
• Child Health Research Centre
• First Nations Cancer and Wellbeing Research Program
• Frazer Institute
• Medical School
• School of Biomedical Sciences
• School of Public Health
• UQ Centre for Clinical Research

UCL Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering

• Undergraduate degrees
• Master's degrees
• Environmental Design and Engineering MPhil/PhD
• Lighting and Lighting MSc modules for the 2025/26 academic year
• Partnerships

Policy and Implementation for Climate & Health Equity (PAICE)

PAICE aims to inform and evaluate policies – both existing and potential – that contribute towards delivering a healthy net zero future in the UK.

13 September 2024

Policy and Implementation for Climate & Health Equity (PAICE) is a collaborative research effort between University College London (UCL) and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), in partnership with the UK Climate Change Committee (CCC) and the Greater London Authority (GLA). With a transdisciplinary approach underpinning its research, PAICE is: 

• Engaging with stakeholders to develop shared priorities, a programme theory and linked monitoring and evaluation plan. 
• Working with the CCC and GLA to analyse policy opportunities using system dynamics.
• Developing models to carry out cross-sectoral impact assessment. By considering connections between climate and health, the project evaluates potential effects on population health, health equity, and greenhouse gas emissions.
• Applying findings to the CCC mitigation and adaptation monitoring frameworks. 
• Continually evaluating the project processes and objectives to improve and inform our activities and provide accurate advice to UK decision makers in a fast-moving policy landscape.

Through these activities, PAICE will help deliver informed climate action that promotes a healthy and equitable future.

Jump to: Project areas  | Associated work  | PAICE team

Project areas

Shared vision.

Systems analysis

Monitoring and refinement

Programme evaluation

Associated work

Davies, M. et al. (2025) The PAICE project: Integrating health and health equity into UK climate change policy, Protocol Paper, Sustainability Science (submitted).

Moore, G. et al. (2025) Evaluating transdisciplinary research: insights from climate and health research' (in progress)

Osrin, D. et al. (2025). Transdisciplinary research for climate and health: a case study in programme theory development (in progress)

Petrou, G. et al. (2025) What are the costs and benefits of energy efficiency and overheating adaptation measures in UK homes? (in progress)

Petrou G. Exploring the impact of sensor placement in quantifying indoor air pollutant exposure in UK homes. Presentated at: 2024 Clean Air Conference; 2-3 October 2024. Birmingham, UK.

Simpson, C. et al .  (2024) Resilience of care homes to overheating. Presented at: 4th UK National Climate Impacts Meeting; 5-6 September 2024. Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.

Details of members from across UCL and LSHTM, and how they fit into the project can be found below.

Michael Davies  (UCL) Professor of Building Physics and the Environment PAICE Principal Investigator/Lead

Charlie Dearman (LSHTM)  Public Health Registrar

Rosemary Green (LSHTM) Professor of Environment, Food and Health 

Andy Haines (LSHTM) Professor of Environmental Change and Public Health

Clare Heaviside (UCL) Associate Professor in Climate Change, Health and Cities

Filiz Karakas (LSHTM) Research Fellow

Susan Michie (UCL) Professor of Health Psychology

James Milner (LSHTM) Associate Professor in Climate Change, Environment & Health, PAICE Co-Lead

Gemma Moore (UCL) Associate Professor in Health, Wellbeing and Communities

David Osrin (UCL) Professor of Global Health

Silvia Pastorino (LSHTM) Research Fellow

Giorgos Petrou (UCL) Senior Research Fellow, PAICE Scientific Manager

Irene Pluchinotta  (UCL) Lecturer in Systems Thinking for Sustainability

Jana Sabinovska (UCL) PAICE Consortium Manager

Charles Simpson (UCL) Senior Research Fellow 

Phil Symonds (UCL) Lecturer in Built Environment Analytics

Catalina Turcu (UCL) Professor of Sustainable Built Environment 

Sarah Whitmee (LSHTM) Assistant Professor in the Centre on Climate Change and Planetary Health

Ke Zhou (UCL) Research Fellow

Nici Zimmermann (UCL) Professor of System Dynamics

Management and administration

Michael Davies  (UCL) Professor PAICE Principal Investigator/Lead [email protected]

James Milner (LSHTM) Associate Professor PAICE Co-Lead [email protected]

Giorgos Petrou  (UCL) Senior Research Fellow PAICE Scientific Manager  [email protected]

Jana Sabinovska (UCL) PAICE Consortium Manager [email protected]

Collaborating Partner

PAICE is a collaborative research effort between UCL and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).

Funding for the PAICE project has been kindly given by the Wellcome Trust , reference: 227123/Z/23/Z

News from Brown

Brown unveils design for signature life sciences research facility in providence.

Renderings for Danoff Laboratories show a state-of-the-art facility for integrated research ranging from molecular-level science, to biotech innovations, to patient therapies and interventions.

Brown's 300,000-square-foot facility for integrated life sciences research will have state-of-the-art laboratories, a street-level education lab and plentiful gathering spaces. Rendering courtesy TenBerke.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Grounded in the concepts of innovation, connection and flexibility, Brown University’s planned facility for integrated life sciences research is designed to convene scientists across multiple fields of study to solve complex, interconnected health and medical challenges.

State-of-the-art laboratory spaces illuminated by natural light, a street-level education lab accessible to the public, and plentiful interior and exterior gathering spaces are among its signature elements, as illustrated in architectural renderings released on Thursday, Sept. 12.

The building will be named the William A. and Ami Kuan Danoff Life Sciences Laboratories — to be referred to commonly as Danoff Laboratories — in recognition of a generous gift from the couple.

The building is being designed by TenBerke , an award-winning firm founded by Yale School of Architecture Dean Deborah Berke, in collaboration with Ballinger , a leader in the design of innovative laboratories. Upon completion, the seven-story, 300,000-square-foot facility will provide labs and workspace for research in aging, immunity, brain science, cancer and biomedical engineering, among other fields. With goals to attract and cultivate future scientists, it will create a dynamic environment for researchers and students alike.

Powered by 100% renewable electricity with emergency backup for resiliency, the all-electric laboratory building will be a first for Brown and stand as one of the first “net zero” lab constructions in New England.

University President Christina H. Paxson said Danoff Laboratories, which will become the largest academic laboratory building in Rhode Island, is a signature project in Brown’s commitment to advancing research for impact.

“Brown has bold aspirations to develop a biomedical ecosystem where innovations can move seamlessly from research and discovery to solutions with direct, real-life impact for patients and communities,” Paxson said. “Central to this vision is this cutting-edge research facility where Brown’s exceptional faculty, students and staff will work together to tackle some of the most daunting challenges facing human health globally.”

At ground level, the facility will be surrounded by open space and a bright, publicly accessible patio, as well as an area designated for a café with seating. Rendering courtesy TenBerke.

Passersby will be able to peer inside to the lobby of the integrated sciences research facility. Rendering courtesy TenBerke.

Landscaping has been designed with community connections in mind, with paths through and around the building. Rendering courtesy TenBerke.

The full release of the renderings follows an 18-month planning and design process that included engagement with internal University stakeholders, city officials, neighborhood associations and local community members.

As envisioned, the project will expand Brown’s slate of research facilities and serve as a catalyst for growth in Providence’s Jewelry District, a vibrant mixed-use neighborhood that Brown has played a key role in helping to revitalize. The building site is on Richmond Street across from Brown's Warren Alpert Medical School near Ship and Elbow streets. Mobilization of the site for enabling work began in Summer 2024, and pending progress in fundraising and full construction authorization by Brown’s governing board, the University is targeting a 2027 completion date for the building. Suffolk Construction will serve as lead contractor.

Flexible design for evolving science

Danoff Laboratories will be a visible anchor in the Jewelry District, and the architecture team worked carefully on the design of the building’s exterior to ensure its successful integration in the neighborhood, said Noah Biklen, a Brown Class of 1997 graduate and senior principal of TenBerke who is leading the project design team. In a nod to the façades of nearby factory buildings, the base of the facility will be made from regionally sourced masonry and stone, he said. The seven stories will be stacked in a calibrated grid design of metal and glass, inspired by the tactility, depth and tones of the nearby industrial buildings.

In a rejection of the traditional aesthetic of a fortress-like science lab, Brown’s architects said the facility will offer a welcoming public presence. “We started from the idea that science is a collective endeavor, and therefore a social one,” Biklen said.

Wet labs will be situated inside glass enclosures to amplify natural light and enhance connectedness, with adjacent work spaces. Rendering courtesy Ballinger.

At the corners of each floor, comfortable meeting spaces will invite researchers, faculty and students to convene and collaborate, with dining areas and seating that can be arranged for symposiums or impromptu gatherings. Rendering courtesy Ballinger.

On the ground floor, a flexible auditorium and education lab can be used for teaching as well as hosting public programs. Rendering courtesy TenBerke.

At ground level, it will be surrounded by open space and a bright, south-facing publicly accessible patio, and an area designated for a café with seating. Passersby will be able to peer inside to the lobby, a flexible auditorium and an education lab that can be used for teaching and public programs, including science demonstrations with local students. The first floor will also house spaces for interactions with participants in clinical trials for new medical treatments or other patient-based research — a distinctive element uncommon to most lab buildings, but reflective of Brown’s focus on developing solutions to real-world patient challenges. Corridors will offer ample gallery-like space for display of scientific research or artwork, and landscaping has been designed with community connections in mind, with paths through and around the building.

“We're introducing new ideas of transparency and connection in terms of how a research building engages the street, where there’s a real sense of permeability to the shared public realm,” Biklen said. “We're very excited about how, architecturally, we've been able to create an attractive, sustainable research environment for scientists that will also serve visitors and the broader community for years to come.”

The Danoff Laboratories building is designed to enable groundbreaking discoveries now and serve as a research environment flexible enough to accommodate the way science will be practiced in the future. Five of the building’s seven floors will be fully dedicated to research, with wet labs situated inside glass enclosures to amplify natural light and enhance connectedness. At adjacent dry work spaces, researchers will be able to perform work such as advanced computational analyses, an increasingly significant aspect of scientific research. Movable equipment will accommodate evolving technology, methodologies and approaches.

“These will be extremely flexible laboratories that are able to morph over time as science evolves,” said Terry Steelman, senior principal at Ballinger and one of the architectural leads on the project.

Investing in impact

Brown will name its planned facility the William A. and Ami Kuan Danoff Life Sciences Laboratories in recognition of a generous gift from the couple.

The wet labs will be located by the windows, while spaces that require complete enclosure for tissue culture or microscopy are embedded in the middle of the building, with minimal exposure to sun.

Comfortable meeting spaces that invite researchers, faculty and students to convene and collaborate will be situated at the corner of each floor of the L-shaped building, with dining areas and seating that can be arranged for symposiums or impromptu gatherings, Steelman said. Small rooms will also be available for formal meetings.

“As opposed to having one researcher in one area working on their own project and another tucked away working on something else, the type of space we’re envisioning will maximize the potential for interdisciplinary work and the cross-fertilization of ideas,” Steelman said.

Danoff Laboratories will have capacity to provide lab space for 75 principal investigators, with a total of roughly 700 life sciences researchers expected to move into the facility in phases. In addition to faculty, researchers will include students from every academic level along with postdoctoral scholars and Brown research staff.

Four major research programs — cancer, brain science, immunity/ infectious disease and aging — and cross-cutting areas such as biomedical engineering, artificial intelligence and RNA technology will be embedded throughout the research floors. A physical bridge will connect the building to Brown’s Laboratories for Molecular Medicine at 70 Ship St., which will support research and collaboration continuity. Three of the major research groups (cancer, brain science and immunology) will include faculty and students in both buildings.

“Engineers will join biomedical scientists to drive innovation, entrepreneurship and strategic partnerships, allowing for the translation of discovery to real-world impact in human health,” said Tejal Desai, dean of Brown’s School of Engineering and an accomplished biomedical engineer.

The building site is on Richmond Street across from Brown's Warren Alpert Medical School near Ship and Elbow streets. Rendering courtesy TenBerke.

The facility's seven stories will be stacked in a calibrated grid of metal and glass, a design inspired by the industrial character of the neighborhood's historical buildings. Rendering courtesy TenBerke.

Diane Lipscombe, a professor of neuroscience who directs Brown’s Carney Institute for Brain Science , said Danoff Laboratories will enable the University to combine research in areas such as neuroscience, pathology, genetics, biomedical engineering and computational brain science, increasing the potential for discoveries.

“Brown researchers continue to deepen scientific understanding of how the brain works and expand knowledge about diseases like ALS, autism, Alzheimer’s disease, neurodevelopmental disorders, epilepsy, addiction and depression, and this new state-of-the-art research facility will accelerate our work toward new therapeutics, interventions and diagnostic tools,” Lipscombe said.

Because of its proximity to other life science spaces, the new facility will help to co-locate a critical mass of leaders across the biomedical sciences, engineering and medicine to address significant problems in human health, said Dr. Mukesh Jain, dean of medicine and biological sciences at Brown. The facility will be located near Brown’s medical school , its labs at 225 Dyer St. , research buildings for its affiliated health systems, and the under-construction Ancora L&G building that will host the Rhode Island State Health Laboratories and other Brown labs.

“Brown has a long tradition of pioneering scientific collaborations that affect patient outcomes,” Jain said. “This facility is the centerpiece of a comprehensive vision developed with great intentionality to advance discovery and to leverage partnerships with local health systems, the private sector and the state to achieve impact.”

A leader in sustainable design

In addition to enabling leading-edge science, Danoff Laboratories will support environmental sustainability goals of the University, city and state, said Stephen Porder, Brown’s associate provost for sustainability. It will become Brown’s first laboratory building powered by 100% renewable electricity (with emergency backup for resiliency) and one of the first all-electric laboratory buildings in the region.

The facility’s impact will eventually extend far beyond its walls, Porder noted, with its equipment decarbonizing other Brown buildings in downtown Providence. By establishing hydraulic connections between the new building and older, neighboring structures, its hyper-efficient electric heating and cooling system will enable substantial reductions in heating and air conditioning usage in the connected buildings, accelerating their paths to a zero-emissions future.

“From a sustainability standpoint, large laboratories are a challenge because they use a very high amount of energy and require constant air circulation,” Porder said. “By confronting this at the earliest stages of this project and bringing innovative planning and design to bear on the problem, we are converting this into a massive opportunity to create a more modern and sustainable facility, without sacrificing scale or ambition.”

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