Proper design and management are crucial to successful research projects.
Innovations in science and the development of new products in business and industry depend upon research. Careful design and thoughtful management of a research project may be the difference between a worthwhile and useful discovery, or wasted time, energy, human resources and money on useless pursuits. Research projects require funding: so consult specialized sources on obtain internal or external funding. Research project stages include preparation, design, management and conclusion.
Instructions
Prepare
1. List the objectives and desired outputs of the research project. You may be trying to determine the effects of some intervention, compare the effects of different products or processes, develop a new method of testing or explore the meaning of an experience. You may also be trying to solve a problem, develop a new product, produce data that may inform a decision, or report on a discovery.
2. Review relevant prior research literature. This will help you find out what has been discovered by prior research and what has not yet been addressed. You should learn what problems earlier researchers have encountered, and the strengths and weaknesses of their approaches.
3. Select an appropriate research methodology. Quantitative research involves collecting data that is best represented by numbers, while qualitative research involves collecting narrative or textual data.
4. Select appropriate measurement instruments. In a quantitative study, any instrumentation you use must have demonstrated reliability and validity for the purpose and population for which you will be using the instrument.
Design
5. Write a comprehensive plan for conducting the research. Specify what steps will be followed in what order and how they will be accomplished, such as recruitment of human subjects and data analysis. Understand the implications of different types of results. Writing the "Introduction" and "Methods" sections of your report in advance will help you to remember the rationale for your design decisions.
6. Follow all relevant ethical guidelines in planning your research. For example, there are several guidelines regarding human subjects in research, such as ethical practices in recruiting subjects, treatment of subjects during the study and dealing with subjects after the study is completed.
7. Plan the data analysis as part of the design. Your questions and your research methods will define what methods of data analysis you should use. This should be specified in the design before you collect the first piece of data.
8. Use a sample large enough to find meaningful results. In quantitative research, different methods of statistical analysis require different sample sizes to find meaningful results.
9. Develop a realistic and practical schedule and budget. Assume that things will take longer than planned. Assume that up to half the human subjects you recruit will drop out of the study before completion.
Manage
10. Train and monitor research assistants carefully. Areas of special concern include adherence to procedures for recruitment of subjects, conduct of the study, and ethical treatment of human or animal subjects. On-site monitoring is usually necessary to ensure compliance, at least on a spot-testing basis.
11. Review progress daily. Be sure that the study is progressing according to schedule, especially in data collection. Adjust your schedule as necessary.
12. Review expenses daily. Account for expenses with annotated receipts. Monitor your spending to ensure that you are not going over budget.
13. Write progress reports on time. Larger, externally funded projects often require monthly progress reports. Account for deviations from the schedule or the budget, and specify a modified schedule and budget as necessary.
Conclude
14. Complete the Final Report of the research on time. Report deviations from originally planned procedures, results and implications. Depending on the project and the funding agency, this report may be brief or hundreds of pages long.
15. Perform a final accounting of expenditures. Note any deviations from the budget. Unspent amounts must be returned to the funding agency.
16. Write reports for presentation and publication. Scientific projects should be reported at regional, national, or international professional meetings and conferences. One or more papers should be presented for publication in peer-reviewed journals.
17.File for relevant patents promptly. Inventions and innovative processes are important and valuable aspects of intellectual property. Start the patent process as soon as possible after project completion. Be sure to have formal written agreements in place to specify the ownership of patents and other intellectual property emerging from the research project.
