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In the development phase of your project, it is likely that you will need to draft a full research plan. You may be able to build on, and extend, the project outline in the
Your plan should define your research question or hypothesis, establish the need to study the research problem and present a detailed, practical programme for the research. It should demonstrate your understanding of the proposed research, both in detail and in a wider context, and must include a realistic
Play the animated video to explore core topics covered in a research plan.
Continue on to explore core topics covered in a research plan.
The following steps can help you to draw up a plan at the beginning of your research:
The depth and detail provided in a research plan will reflect your discipline and project focus. A Master's research plan (referred to as a proposal at some institutions) will generally be the same in structure as a plan for doctoral research, but will typically represent a shorter, more focused project. For a Master's degree, your institution will generally offer examples or explicit instructions for how to draft your research plan and the level of detail required.
Your research plan may also communicate your intent to your institution's ethics and safety committees or your funding body before authorisation or funding is awarded. Research plans can be persuasive and help
Select each character to find out how the focus of research plans differs between disciplines. Use the 'Next' button to proceed. Consider the question, then categorise the items by tagging them as 'relevant', or 'not relevant'.
Continue on to find out how the focus of research plans differs between disciplines. Then record your response to the question.
"My initial plan is quite flexible. The first step is to focus on contacting Aboriginal artists to organise interviews, and museum and gallery archivists to arrange access to records relating to the art market. Although some of the materials are available digitally, I will need to visit some archives. Once I have agreed dates for interviews and access, I can add more details to my plan, including a travel schedule and how I will allocate my travel budget."
"My plan is likely to be based on a grant application that has already been accepted. My work is expensive and complex, which is reflected in the detail provided in my plan. Budgets, timelines and step-by-step processes are important in my plan."
"The complexity in my plan stems from the involvement of multiple stakeholders. I will work with several community groups in order to ensure I can collect the range of survey data I need for a comparative study. This means my plan has several strands, as the different organisations have different processes and regulations that I need to engage with. My plan includes details of all the processes and it also maps onto a timeline, as I will need to monitor my progress carefully if I'm going to keep on track."
What kind of content would typically be included in a research plan for a project in your discipline? Use the below activity to create an action list of items you need consider. Categorise the items as 'relevant', or 'not relevant' by tagging them as such.
"My initial plan is quite flexible. The first step is to focus on contacting Aboriginal artists to organise interviews, and museum and gallery archivists to arrange access to records relating to the art market. Although some of the materials are available digitally, I will need to visit some archives. Once I have agreed dates for interviews and access, I can add more details to my plan, including a travel schedule and how I will allocate my travel budget."
"My plan is likely to be based on a grant application that has already been accepted. My work is expensive and complex, which is reflected in the detail provided in my plan. Budgets, timelines and step-by-step processes are important in my plan."
"The complexity in my plan stems from the involvement of multiple stakeholders. I will work with several community groups in order to ensure I can collect the range of survey data I need for a comparative study. This means my plan has several strands, as the different organisations have different processes and regulations that I need to engage with. My plan includes details of all the processes and it also maps onto a timeline, as I will need to monitor my progress carefully if I'm going to keep on track."
What kind of content would typically be included in a research plan for a project in your discipline? Use the below items to create an action list of items you need consider. There are no right or wrong ways to categorise the items in the list. Categorise the items as 'relevant', or 'not relevant'.
The items you are asked to categorise are as follows:
The research plan is one of the first important things that you will do when you start your research project. From defining your research question or hypothesis to outlining a comprehensive programme for the research, it will provide a detailed overview for you to refer back to as your project proceeds.