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How to Do Your Research Project: A Guide for Students

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Research Aims, Objectives & Questions

The “Golden Thread” Explained Simply (+ Examples)

By: David Phair (PhD) and Alexandra Shaeffer (PhD) | June 2022

The research aims , objectives and research questions (collectively called the “golden thread”) are arguably the most important thing you need to get right when you’re crafting a research proposal , dissertation or thesis . We receive questions almost every day about this “holy trinity” of research and there’s certainly a lot of confusion out there, so we’ve crafted this post to help you navigate your way through the fog.

Overview: The Golden Thread

• What is the golden thread
• What are research aims ( examples )
• What are research objectives ( examples )
• What are research questions ( examples )
• The importance of alignment in the golden thread

What is the “golden thread”?  

The golden thread simply refers to the collective research aims , research objectives , and research questions for any given project (i.e., a dissertation, thesis, or research paper ). These three elements are bundled together because it’s extremely important that they align with each other, and that the entire research project aligns with them.

Importantly, the golden thread needs to weave its way through the entirety of any research project , from start to end. In other words, it needs to be very clearly defined right at the beginning of the project (the topic ideation and proposal stage) and it needs to inform almost every decision throughout the rest of the project. For example, your research design and methodology will be heavily influenced by the golden thread (we’ll explain this in more detail later), as well as your literature review.

The research aims, objectives and research questions (the golden thread) define the focus and scope ( the delimitations ) of your research project. In other words, they help ringfence your dissertation or thesis to a relatively narrow domain, so that you can “go deep” and really dig into a specific problem or opportunity. They also help keep you on track , as they act as a litmus test for relevance. In other words, if you’re ever unsure whether to include something in your document, simply ask yourself the question, “does this contribute toward my research aims, objectives or questions?”. If it doesn’t, chances are you can drop it.

Alright, enough of the fluffy, conceptual stuff. Let’s get down to business and look at what exactly the research aims, objectives and questions are and outline a few examples to bring these concepts to life.

Research Aims: What are they?

Simply put, the research aim(s) is a statement that reflects the broad overarching goal (s) of the research project. Research aims are fairly high-level (low resolution) as they outline the general direction of the research and what it’s trying to achieve .

Research Aims: Examples  

True to the name, research aims usually start with the wording “this research aims to…”, “this research seeks to…”, and so on. For example:

“This research aims to explore employee experiences of digital transformation in retail HR.”   “This study sets out to assess the interaction between student support and self-care on well-being in engineering graduate students”  

As you can see, these research aims provide a high-level description of what the study is about and what it seeks to achieve. They’re not hyper-specific or action-oriented, but they’re clear about what the study’s focus is and what is being investigated.

Need a helping hand?

Research Objectives: What are they?

The research objectives take the research aims and make them more practical and actionable . In other words, the research objectives showcase the steps that the researcher will take to achieve the research aims.

The research objectives need to be far more specific (higher resolution) and actionable than the research aims. In fact, it’s always a good idea to craft your research objectives using the “SMART” criteria. In other words, they should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound”.

Research Objectives: Examples  

Let’s look at two examples of research objectives. We’ll stick with the topic and research aims we mentioned previously.  

For the digital transformation topic:

To observe the retail HR employees throughout the digital transformation. To assess employee perceptions of digital transformation in retail HR. To identify the barriers and facilitators of digital transformation in retail HR.

And for the student wellness topic:

To determine whether student self-care predicts the well-being score of engineering graduate students. To determine whether student support predicts the well-being score of engineering students. To assess the interaction between student self-care and student support when predicting well-being in engineering graduate students.

  As you can see, these research objectives clearly align with the previously mentioned research aims and effectively translate the low-resolution aims into (comparatively) higher-resolution objectives and action points . They give the research project a clear focus and present something that resembles a research-based “to-do” list.

Research Questions: What are they?

Finally, we arrive at the all-important research questions. The research questions are, as the name suggests, the key questions that your study will seek to answer . Simply put, they are the core purpose of your dissertation, thesis, or research project. You’ll present them at the beginning of your document (either in the introduction chapter or literature review chapter) and you’ll answer them at the end of your document (typically in the discussion and conclusion chapters).  

The research questions will be the driving force throughout the research process. For example, in the literature review chapter, you’ll assess the relevance of any given resource based on whether it helps you move towards answering your research questions. Similarly, your methodology and research design will be heavily influenced by the nature of your research questions. For instance, research questions that are exploratory in nature will usually make use of a qualitative approach, whereas questions that relate to measurement or relationship testing will make use of a quantitative approach.  

Let’s look at some examples of research questions to make this more tangible.

Research Questions: Examples  

Again, we’ll stick with the research aims and research objectives we mentioned previously.  

For the digital transformation topic (which would be qualitative in nature):

How do employees perceive digital transformation in retail HR? What are the barriers and facilitators of digital transformation in retail HR?  

And for the student wellness topic (which would be quantitative in nature):

Does student self-care predict the well-being scores of engineering graduate students? Does student support predict the well-being scores of engineering students? Do student self-care and student support interact when predicting well-being in engineering graduate students?  

You’ll probably notice that there’s quite a formulaic approach to this. In other words, the research questions are basically the research objectives “converted” into question format. While that is true most of the time, it’s not always the case. For example, the first research objective for the digital transformation topic was more or less a step on the path toward the other objectives, and as such, it didn’t warrant its own research question.  

So, don’t rush your research questions and sloppily reword your objectives as questions. Carefully think about what exactly you’re trying to achieve (i.e. your research aim) and the objectives you’ve set out, then craft a set of well-aligned research questions . Also, keep in mind that this can be a somewhat iterative process , where you go back and tweak research objectives and aims to ensure tight alignment throughout the golden thread.

The importance of strong alignment 

Alignment is the keyword here and we have to stress its importance . Simply put, you need to make sure that there is a very tight alignment between all three pieces of the golden thread. If your research aims and research questions don’t align, for example, your project will be pulling in different directions and will lack focus . This is a common problem students face and can cause many headaches (and tears), so be warned.

Take the time to carefully craft your research aims, objectives and research questions before you run off down the research path. Ideally, get your research supervisor/advisor to review and comment on your golden thread before you invest significant time into your project, and certainly before you start collecting data .  

Recap: The golden thread

In this post, we unpacked the golden thread of research, consisting of the research aims , research objectives and research questions . You can jump back to any section using the links below.

As always, feel free to leave a comment below – we always love to hear from you. Also, if you’re interested in 1-on-1 support, take a look at our private coaching service here.

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 ...

41 Comments

Thank you very much for your great effort put. As an Undergraduate taking Demographic Research & Methodology, I’ve been trying so hard to understand clearly what is a Research Question, Research Aim and the Objectives in a research and the relationship between them etc. But as for now I’m thankful that you’ve solved my problem.

Well appreciated. This has helped me greatly in doing my dissertation.

An so delighted with this wonderful information thank you a lot.

so impressive i have benefited a lot looking forward to learn more on research.

I am very happy to have carefully gone through this well researched article.

Infact,I used to be phobia about anything research, because of my poor understanding of the concepts.

Now,I get to know that my research question is the same as my research objective(s) rephrased in question format.

I please I would need a follow up on the subject,as I intends to join the team of researchers. Thanks once again.

Thanks so much. This was really helpful.

I know you pepole have tried to break things into more understandable and easy format. And God bless you. Keep it up

i found this document so useful towards my study in research methods. thanks so much.

This is my 2nd read topic in your course and I should commend the simplified explanations of each part. I’m beginning to understand and absorb the use of each part of a dissertation/thesis. I’ll keep on reading your free course and might be able to avail the training course! Kudos!

Thank you! Better put that my lecture and helped to easily understand the basics which I feel often get brushed over when beginning dissertation work.

This is quite helpful. I like how the Golden thread has been explained and the needed alignment.

This is quite helpful. I really appreciate!

The article made it simple for researcher students to differentiate between three concepts.

Very innovative and educational in approach to conducting research.

I am very impressed with all these terminology, as I am a fresh student for post graduate, I am highly guided and I promised to continue making consultation when the need arise. Thanks a lot.

A very helpful piece. thanks, I really appreciate it .

Very well explained, and it might be helpful to many people like me.

Wish i had found this (and other) resource(s) at the beginning of my PhD journey… not in my writing up year… 😩 Anyways… just a quick question as i’m having some issues ordering my “golden thread”…. does it matter in what order you mention them? i.e., is it always first aims, then objectives, and finally the questions? or can you first mention the research questions and then the aims and objectives?

Thank you for a very simple explanation that builds upon the concepts in a very logical manner. Just prior to this, I read the research hypothesis article, which was equally very good. This met my primary objective.

My secondary objective was to understand the difference between research questions and research hypothesis, and in which context to use which one. However, I am still not clear on this. Can you kindly please guide?

In research, a research question is a clear and specific inquiry that the researcher wants to answer, while a research hypothesis is a tentative statement or prediction about the relationship between variables or the expected outcome of the study. Research questions are broader and guide the overall study, while hypotheses are specific and testable statements used in quantitative research. Research questions identify the problem, while hypotheses provide a focus for testing in the study.

Exactly what I need in this research journey, I look forward to more of your coaching videos.

This helped a lot. Thanks so much for the effort put into explaining it.

What data source in writing dissertation/Thesis requires?

What is data source covers when writing dessertation/thesis

This is quite useful thanks

I’m excited and thankful. I got so much value which will help me progress in my thesis.

where are the locations of the reserch statement, research objective and research question in a reserach paper? Can you write an ouline that defines their places in the researh paper?

Very helpful and important tips on Aims, Objectives and Questions.

Thank you so much for making research aim, research objectives and research question so clear. This will be helpful to me as i continue with my thesis.

Thanks much for this content. I learned a lot. And I am inspired to learn more. I am still struggling with my preparation for dissertation outline/proposal. But I consistently follow contents and tutorials and the new FB of GRAD Coach. Hope to really become confident in writing my dissertation and successfully defend it.

As a researcher and lecturer, I find splitting research goals into research aims, objectives, and questions is unnecessarily bureaucratic and confusing for students. For most biomedical research projects, including ‘real research’, 1-3 research questions will suffice (numbers may differ by discipline).

Awesome! Very important resources and presented in an informative way to easily understand the golden thread. Indeed, thank you so much.

Well explained

The blog article on research aims, objectives, and questions by Grad Coach is a clear and insightful guide that aligns with my experiences in academic research. The article effectively breaks down the often complex concepts of research aims and objectives, providing a straightforward and accessible explanation. Drawing from my own research endeavors, I appreciate the practical tips offered, such as the need for specificity and clarity when formulating research questions. The article serves as a valuable resource for students and researchers, offering a concise roadmap for crafting well-defined research goals and objectives. Whether you’re a novice or an experienced researcher, this article provides practical insights that contribute to the foundational aspects of a successful research endeavor.

A great thanks for you. it is really amazing explanation. I grasp a lot and one step up to research knowledge.

I really found these tips helpful. Thank you very much Grad Coach.

I found this article helpful. Thanks for sharing this.

thank you so much, the explanation and examples are really helpful

This is a well researched and superbly written article for learners of research methods at all levels in the research topic from conceptualization to research findings and conclusions. I highly recommend this material to university graduate students. As an instructor of advanced research methods for PhD students, I have confirmed that I was giving the right guidelines for the degree they are undertaking.

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Writing chapter 3 of your research project.

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Chapter three of your research project is to provide an experienced researcher with enough details to repeat the study, some supervisors fail to grasp this and demand that students produce what is essentially a textbook, a research design is used to organize the research and demonstrate how all of the key components, such as the sample, measurements, and assignment methods, work together to meet the study’s main research questions.

A paragraph emphasizing the study’s goal should be the first in the chapter, the following courses may or may not be taken in the order specified by a certain university, but they all together make up a sound methodology chapter.

• Suitability of the Research Design

Some institutions don’t require this component, whereas others do. Indicate whether the research’s study is experimental, quasi-experimental, correlative, causal-comparative, quantitative, qualitative, mixed techniques, or of a different design, you need to be precise and by contrasting and evaluating it with alternative approaches and disqualifying those that do not fit the needs of the study, the chosen technique should be argued. This section should make a concerted attempt to connect a sound research design with the study’s objectives rather than serving as a textbook overview of alternative research designs.

• Research Design

A qualitative analysis lacks variables. Variables in a scientific investigation are sometimes stated in Chapter 1 and specified in further detail in Chapter 3, so you should list the independent and dependent variables in detail and unhelpful redundancy occurs when research topics and/or hypotheses are repeated in Chapters 1 and 3 of some institutions, to lay the groundwork for subsequent statistical inferences, an operational explanation of the research hypotheses in null form is occasionally provided.

You should also indicate the degree of significance that will be utilized in quantitative analysis to accept or reject the hypotheses. In a quantitative study, a researcher-designed survey instrument needs a pilot study to test the tool’s performance and the questions’ worth in eliciting the relevant data needed to respond to the study’s main research questions, a pilot study may come before the primary observation in a scientific study to address any instruments or other issues with the data collection method, you should describe the pilot study about the research strategy, instrument development, data collection techniques, or sample characteristics.

• Research settings and Participants

When describing the study’s setting in a quantitative study, include visible landmarks like a nearby major center also describe the potential participants, the choice of how many people to include in a study becomes a reflection of the goal of the investigation in a qualitative study.

In qualitative investigations including the comprehension of participant experiences and views, ten to twelve people may prove to be sufficient while in a phenomenological investigation, a successful purposeful sample could be any number between 1 and 40, the total number of potential participants determines the sample size and a power analysis should be used to calculate the necessary sample size.

The population effect size (the estimated influence of the independent variable within the target population) and the alpha level are used in this research to determine the approximate number of participants required to demonstrate an existent effect.

In most cases, researchers aim for a power of.80, which denotes an 80% likelihood that an existent effect will be discovered in the sample, the difference in how different media are considered to be effective is the impact.

Instrument for data collection

The data collection tool in a qualitative study may be original to the researcher or based on an already-existing tool, If the instrument was established by a researcher, the method for choosing the questions should be explained and supported and if an existing instrument is utilized, its history is described, including who created it and the methods that were employed to validate it, If a Likert scale is employed, it needs to be explained and if the study includes interviews, a methodology for the interviews should be created so that the data collection process is uniform throughout all interviews.

good research project topics

An interview protocol has two different sorts of questions: the primary research questions, which are not addressed to the participants, and the interview questions, which are addressed to the participants and are based on the primary research questions, instruments should not be included in the main text but rather in an appendix.

Most qualitative studies incorporate both an interview process and a demographic survey to create a profile of the participants, if the instrument was developed by researchers, a pilot study should be done to evaluate it.

An illustration of the setup may be included in the detailed description of the instrumentation used in a scientific study to gather data.

• Data Analysis and Processing

The particular procedure of how the data were processed and then analyzed is given in both qualitative and quantitative studies, the use of any one of the many data gathering and analysis tools available online, like SurveyMonkey, is becoming more and more common in qualitative studies, Internet services produce data that can be swiftly incorporated into Chapter 4 since they are efficient and precise.

• Ethical Consideration

The steps used to protect human participants should be disclosed in a qualitative study, when submitted to a mechanical plagiarism tool, this piece will likely be flagged as plagiarized because it is almost identical in all qualitative investigations.

Ethical Consideration especially when it comes to organizing, carrying out, and assessing research there should be little chance of experimental therapy or exposure to bodily or psychological harm for study participants.

It is important to make sure that all participants are aware of the study’s purpose and that participation is entirely voluntary. It should be stated that participant identification won’t be possible during or after the study and that the confidentiality of retrieved data will always be respected.

undergraduate research topics

• Instrument Validity

Validity is a measure of how well a design uses measuring techniques to get the data needed to answer the study objectives. Validity comes in two flavors: internal and external, in quantitative research internal validity refers to the study’s capacity to identify cause and effect, internal validity is evidence that the study design was appropriate and pilot testing of the suggested survey instruments helps ensure that the tool is unambiguous, ensuring internal validity in both qualitative and quantitative investigations.

Instrument pilot testing is a process that enables the researcher to modify an instrument in response to data, the degree to which the study’s findings can be extrapolated to apply to other populations or circumstances is referred to as their external validity no matter if a self-designed or validated instrument is used, or if it is a qualitative or quantitative study, it must be indicated how validity will be ensured.

The validity and reliability of the study can be illustrated by the way it is carried out and reported, and this should be by the theoretical framework in Chapter 1. The validity of the findings is improved by the triangulation of the results, triangulation examines the data from many angles to validate the process.

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

Last updated

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

Should you be using a customer insights hub?

Do you want to discover previous research faster?

Do you share your research findings with others?

Do you analyze research data?

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Writing 2: Research Project Guides

Writing program guides, humanities division, uc santa cruz, research projects: 3, getting started.

You’ve read the assignment, understand what you need to do, completed the preparatory reading, and gotten an early start. Now you need to start writing up the assignment.

Here’s where many students go wrong if the assignment requires a complete research essay or paper:

1) They start at the end of the research process rather than the beginning. Why? They read a sample research paper and see it’s a well-crafted argument with a thesis and supporting evidence, so they assume they should start with a thesis.

2) They select topics or research questions that are too broad and/or vague.

3) They fail to understand what’s significant, important, or relevant about their research question.

4) They never answer their research question, instead writing about their research question’s general topic.

These approaches all share common problems: the students are going about it backwards. Most research projects start with a research question, a question that plunges you into a search for its answer. You, the researcher, become engaged in an act of inquiry. You are seeking to discover, learn, and/or explore the potential answer to your research question.

So research projects usually start with a very narrow (not broad) research question that’s specific (not vague) and then work their way towards a tentative answer (the paper’s thesis). Yes, that’s right: You first develop a research question, then you set about trying to answer that question. The research essay’s thesis is the answer or possible answer to your research question.

Here’s where many students go wrong if the assignment requires they complete one or two smaller or partial steps (such as an annotated bibliography or literature review)  as part of a research project:

1) They select readings that seem easy and quick to read and/or analyze because the sources are simple and short.

2) They fail to select significant, important, and/or relevant sources to read.

3) They fail to solve the assignment’s puzzle before starting so they produce something that does not satisfy the assignment’s requirements.

These problems stem from never realizing the instructor most likely wants the student to engage in an intellectual activity and to demonstrate a particular type of intellectual engagement and/or thinking which cannot be done using shortcut methods.

Tip #1: For an assignment that wants you to start with a research question, start with a question that’s really a question, not a statement of position, opinion, or belief. Write an interrogative sentence such as “Does Dante think …?” or “Can democracy function in an environment that …?” If you have trouble crafting an interrogative sentence, start with a word such as how, what, why, when, or where.

Tip #2: Think small, not large. The world is full of large problems that need answers, but don’t try and solve one of them in a couple of weeks of research and writing.Think about some large problem, then break it down into smaller chunks. Which small chunk interests you the most? Pick that smaller problem. Papers that say a lot about something fairly small (small does not mean insignificant!) are far more interesting to teachers than papers that say almost nothing about something large. Get specific. Really specific!

Tip #3: Choose a relevant, significant, and/or important research question . Make sure it’s relevant to your class and assignment. (Asking a research question about macroeconomics may not work well in a literature class, but then again it might if you talk with the teacher and pose (frame) the question carefully so you show why it’s relevant to the class.) If you can, ask a question that’s significant or important to you (the research and paper will be more interesting to you!) or to some larger audience (maybe you want to understand why racial prejudice can be so entrenched in some people.)

Tip #4: Pose (frame) your research question carefully. It should be something smallish or limited (narrow), something people have explored a little (which makes it easier to research), interests you (hopefully), and will be something people should or do care about (or is important to them in some way.) Now that you have a tentative research question, you’re ready to start your research. (Just remember your research question is tentative since you’ve got to do some preliminary research to see if you have a researchable question and/or you need to narrow or expand your question.)

Tip#5: If you have a smaller or partial research assignment, make sure you understand the assignment. Ask questions: Is this assignment part of a larger assignment? What are the teacher’s expectations and goals for this assignment? For the larger assignment? What specific intellectual skills does the instructor want you to work on? If you don’t understand, ask for explanations and examples until you do understand.

Tip #6: Don’t avoid reading complicated and/or challenging sources. Many beginning students read short and easy texts, and then wonder why they have so little to say in a paper. Spend time looking for and reading relevant sources. If you read more complex sources, you’ll probably have lots to say and spend less time thinking up what to say!

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The critical steps for successful research: The research proposal and scientific writing: (A report on the pre-conference workshop held in conjunction with the 64 th annual conference of the Indian Pharmaceutical Congress-2012)

Pitchai balakumar.

Pharmacology Unit, Faculty of Pharmacy, AIMST University, Semeling, 08100 Bedong. Kedah Darul Aman, Malaysia

Mohammed Naseeruddin Inamdar

1 Department of Pharmacology, Al-Ameen College of Pharmacy, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

Gowraganahalli Jagadeesh

2 Division of Cardiovascular and Renal Products, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, US Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, USA

An interactive workshop on ‘The Critical Steps for Successful Research: The Research Proposal and Scientific Writing’ was conducted in conjunction with the 64 th Annual Conference of the Indian Pharmaceutical Congress-2012 at Chennai, India. In essence, research is performed to enlighten our understanding of a contemporary issue relevant to the needs of society. To accomplish this, a researcher begins search for a novel topic based on purpose, creativity, critical thinking, and logic. This leads to the fundamental pieces of the research endeavor: Question, objective, hypothesis, experimental tools to test the hypothesis, methodology, and data analysis. When correctly performed, research should produce new knowledge. The four cornerstones of good research are the well-formulated protocol or proposal that is well executed, analyzed, discussed and concluded. This recent workshop educated researchers in the critical steps involved in the development of a scientific idea to its successful execution and eventual publication.

INTRODUCTION

Creativity and critical thinking are of particular importance in scientific research. Basically, research is original investigation undertaken to gain knowledge and understand concepts in major subject areas of specialization, and includes the generation of ideas and information leading to new or substantially improved scientific insights with relevance to the needs of society. Hence, the primary objective of research is to produce new knowledge. Research is both theoretical and empirical. It is theoretical because the starting point of scientific research is the conceptualization of a research topic and development of a research question and hypothesis. Research is empirical (practical) because all of the planned studies involve a series of observations, measurements, and analyses of data that are all based on proper experimental design.[ 1 – 9 ]

The subject of this report is to inform readers of the proceedings from a recent workshop organized by the 64 th Annual conference of the ‘ Indian Pharmaceutical Congress ’ at SRM University, Chennai, India, from 05 to 06 December 2012. The objectives of the workshop titled ‘The Critical Steps for Successful Research: The Research Proposal and Scientific Writing,’ were to assist participants in developing a strong fundamental understanding of how best to develop a research or study protocol, and communicate those research findings in a conference setting or scientific journal. Completing any research project requires meticulous planning, experimental design and execution, and compilation and publication of findings in the form of a research paper. All of these are often unfamiliar to naïve researchers; thus, the purpose of this workshop was to teach participants to master the critical steps involved in the development of an idea to its execution and eventual publication of the results (See the last section for a list of learning objectives).

THE STRUCTURE OF THE WORKSHOP

The two-day workshop was formatted to include key lectures and interactive breakout sessions that focused on protocol development in six subject areas of the pharmaceutical sciences. This was followed by sessions on scientific writing. DAY 1 taught the basic concepts of scientific research, including: (1) how to formulate a topic for research and to describe the what, why , and how of the protocol, (2) biomedical literature search and review, (3) study designs, statistical concepts, and result analyses, and (4) publication ethics. DAY 2 educated the attendees on the basic elements and logistics of writing a scientific paper and thesis, and preparation of poster as well as oral presentations.

The final phase of the workshop was the ‘Panel Discussion,’ including ‘Feedback/Comments’ by participants. There were thirteen distinguished speakers from India and abroad. Approximately 120 post-graduate and pre-doctoral students, young faculty members, and scientists representing industries attended the workshop from different parts of the country. All participants received a printed copy of the workshop manual and supporting materials on statistical analyses of data.

THE BASIC CONCEPTS OF RESEARCH: THE KEY TO GETTING STARTED IN RESEARCH

A research project generally comprises four key components: (1) writing a protocol, (2) performing experiments, (3) tabulating and analyzing data, and (4) writing a thesis or manuscript for publication.

Fundamentals in the research process

A protocol, whether experimental or clinical, serves as a navigator that evolves from a basic outline of the study plan to become a qualified research or grant proposal. It provides the structural support for the research. Dr. G. Jagadeesh (US FDA), the first speaker of the session, spoke on ‘ Fundamentals in research process and cornerstones of a research project .’ He discussed at length the developmental and structural processes in preparing a research protocol. A systematic and step-by-step approach is necessary in planning a study. Without a well-designed protocol, there would be a little chance for successful completion of a research project or an experiment.

Research topic

The first and the foremost difficult task in research is to identify a topic for investigation. The research topic is the keystone of the entire scientific enterprise. It begins the project, drives the entire study, and is crucial for moving the project forward. It dictates the remaining elements of the study [ Table 1 ] and thus, it should not be too narrow or too broad or unfocused. Because of these potential pitfalls, it is essential that a good or novel scientific idea be based on a sound concept. Creativity, critical thinking, and logic are required to generate new concepts and ideas in solving a research problem. Creativity involves critical thinking and is associated with generating many ideas. Critical thinking is analytical, judgmental, and involves evaluating choices before making a decision.[ 4 ] Thus, critical thinking is convergent type thinking that narrows and refines those divergent ideas and finally settles to one idea for an in-depth study. The idea on which a research project is built should be novel, appropriate to achieve within the existing conditions, and useful to the society at large. Therefore, creativity and critical thinking assist biomedical scientists in research that results in funding support, novel discovery, and publication.[ 1 , 4 ]

Elements of a study protocol

Research question

The next most crucial aspect of a study protocol is identifying a research question. It should be a thought-provoking question. The question sets the framework. It emerges from the title, findings/results, and problems observed in previous studies. Thus, mastering the literature, attendance at conferences, and discussion in journal clubs/seminars are sources for developing research questions. Consider the following example in developing related research questions from the research topic.

Hepatoprotective activity of Terminalia arjuna and Apium graveolens on paracetamol-induced liver damage in albino rats.

How is paracetamol metabolized in the body? Does it involve P450 enzymes? How does paracetamol cause liver injury? What are the mechanisms by which drugs can alleviate liver damage? What biochemical parameters are indicative of liver injury? What major endogenous inflammatory molecules are involved in paracetamol-induced liver damage?

A research question is broken down into more precise objectives. The objectives lead to more precise methods and definition of key terms. The objectives should be SMART-Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-framed,[ 10 ] and should cover the entire breadth of the project. The objectives are sometimes organized into hierarchies: Primary, secondary, and exploratory; or simply general and specific. Study the following example:

To evaluate the safety and tolerability of single oral doses of compound X in normal volunteers.

To assess the pharmacokinetic profile of compound X following single oral doses.

To evaluate the incidence of peripheral edema reported as an adverse event.

The objectives and research questions are then formulated into a workable or testable hypothesis. The latter forces us to think carefully about what comparisons will be needed to answer the research question, and establishes the format for applying statistical tests to interpret the results. The hypothesis should link a process to an existing or postulated biologic pathway. A hypothesis is written in a form that can yield measurable results. Studies that utilize statistics to compare groups of data should have a hypothesis. Consider the following example:

• The hepatoprotective activity of Terminalia arjuna is superior to that of Apium graveolens against paracetamol-induced liver damage in albino rats.

All biological research, including discovery science, is hypothesis-driven. However, not all studies need be conducted with a hypothesis. For example, descriptive studies (e.g., describing characteristics of a plant, or a chemical compound) do not need a hypothesis.[ 1 ]

Relevance of the study

Another important section to be included in the protocol is ‘significance of the study.’ Its purpose is to justify the need for the research that is being proposed (e.g., development of a vaccine for a disease). In summary, the proposed study should demonstrate that it represents an advancement in understanding and that the eventual results will be meaningful, contribute to the field, and possibly even impact society.

Biomedical literature

A literature search may be defined as the process of examining published sources of information on a research or review topic, thesis, grant application, chemical, drug, disease, or clinical trial, etc. The quantity of information available in print or electronically (e.g., the internet) is immense and growing with time. A researcher should be familiar with the right kinds of databases and search engines to extract the needed information.[ 3 , 6 ]

Dr. P. Balakumar (Institute of Pharmacy, Rajendra Institute of Technology and Sciences, Sirsa, Haryana; currently, Faculty of Pharmacy, AIMST University, Malaysia) spoke on ‘ Biomedical literature: Searching, reviewing and referencing .’ He schematically explained the basis of scientific literature, designing a literature review, and searching literature. After an introduction to the genesis and diverse sources of scientific literature searches, the use of PubMed, one of the premier databases used for biomedical literature searches world-wide, was illustrated with examples and screenshots. Several companion databases and search engines are also used for finding information related to health sciences, and they include Embase, Web of Science, SciFinder, The Cochrane Library, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, Scopus, and Google Scholar.[ 3 ] Literature searches using alternative interfaces for PubMed such as GoPubMed, Quertle, PubFocus, Pubget, and BibliMed were discussed. The participants were additionally informed of databases on chemistry, drugs and drug targets, clinical trials, toxicology, and laboratory animals (reviewed in ref[ 3 ]).

Referencing and bibliography are essential in scientific writing and publication.[ 7 ] Referencing systems are broadly classified into two major types, such as Parenthetical and Notation systems. Parenthetical referencing is also known as Harvard style of referencing, while Vancouver referencing style and ‘Footnote’ or ‘Endnote’ are placed under Notation referencing systems. The participants were educated on each referencing system with examples.

Bibliography management

Dr. Raj Rajasekaran (University of California at San Diego, CA, USA) enlightened the audience on ‘ bibliography management ’ using reference management software programs such as Reference Manager ® , Endnote ® , and Zotero ® for creating and formatting bibliographies while writing a manuscript for publication. The discussion focused on the use of bibliography management software in avoiding common mistakes such as incomplete references. Important steps in bibliography management, such as creating reference libraries/databases, searching for references using PubMed/Google scholar, selecting and transferring selected references into a library, inserting citations into a research article and formatting bibliographies, were presented. A demonstration of Zotero®, a freely available reference management program, included the salient features of the software, adding references from PubMed using PubMed ID, inserting citations and formatting using different styles.

Writing experimental protocols

The workshop systematically instructed the participants in writing ‘ experimental protocols ’ in six disciplines of Pharmaceutical Sciences.: (1) Pharmaceutical Chemistry (presented by Dr. P. V. Bharatam, NIPER, Mohali, Punjab); (2) Pharmacology (presented by Dr. G. Jagadeesh and Dr. P. Balakumar); (3) Pharmaceutics (presented by Dr. Jayant Khandare, Piramal Life Sciences, Mumbai); (4) Pharmacy Practice (presented by Dr. Shobha Hiremath, Al-Ameen College of Pharmacy, Bengaluru); (5) Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry (presented by Dr. Salma Khanam, Al-Ameen College of Pharmacy, Bengaluru); and (6) Pharmaceutical Analysis (presented by Dr. Saranjit Singh, NIPER, Mohali, Punjab). The purpose of the research plan is to describe the what (Specific Aims/Objectives), why (Background and Significance), and how (Design and Methods) of the proposal.

The research plan should answer the following questions: (a) what do you intend to do; (b) what has already been done in general, and what have other researchers done in the field; (c) why is this worth doing; (d) how is it innovative; (e) what will this new work add to existing knowledge; and (f) how will the research be accomplished?

In general, the format used by the faculty in all subjects is shown in Table 2 .

Elements of a research protocol

Biostatistics

Biostatistics is a key component of biomedical research. Highly reputed journals like The Lancet, BMJ, Journal of the American Medical Association, and many other biomedical journals include biostatisticians on their editorial board or reviewers list. This indicates that a great importance is given for learning and correctly employing appropriate statistical methods in biomedical research. The post-lunch session on day 1 of the workshop was largely committed to discussion on ‘ Basic biostatistics .’ Dr. R. Raveendran (JIPMER, Puducherry) and Dr. Avijit Hazra (PGIMER, Kolkata) reviewed, in parallel sessions, descriptive statistics, probability concepts, sample size calculation, choosing a statistical test, confidence intervals, hypothesis testing and ‘ P ’ values, parametric and non-parametric statistical tests, including analysis of variance (ANOVA), t tests, Chi-square test, type I and type II errors, correlation and regression, and summary statistics. This was followed by a practice and demonstration session. Statistics CD, compiled by Dr. Raveendran, was distributed to the participants before the session began and was demonstrated live. Both speakers worked on a variety of problems that involved both clinical and experimental data. They discussed through examples the experimental designs encountered in a variety of studies and statistical analyses performed for different types of data. For the benefit of readers, we have summarized statistical tests applied frequently for different experimental designs and post-hoc tests [ Figure 1 ].

Conceptual framework for statistical analyses of data. Of the two kinds of variables, qualitative (categorical) and quantitative (numerical), qualitative variables (nominal or ordinal) are not normally distributed. Numerical data that come from normal distributions are analyzed using parametric tests, if not; the data are analyzed using non-parametric tests. The most popularly used Student's t -test compares the means of two populations, data for this test could be paired or unpaired. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) is used to compare the means of three or more independent populations that are normally distributed. Applying t test repeatedly in pair (multiple comparison), to compare the means of more than two populations, will increase the probability of type I error (false positive). In this case, for proper interpretation, we need to adjust the P values. Repeated measures ANOVA is used to compare the population means if more than two observations coming from same subject over time. The null hypothesis is rejected with a ‘ P ’ value of less than 0.05, and the difference in population means is considered to be statistically significant. Subsequently, appropriate post-hoc tests are used for pairwise comparisons of population means. Two-way or three-way ANOVA are considered if two (diet, dose) or three (diet, dose, strain) independent factors, respectively, are analyzed in an experiment (not described in the Figure). Categorical nominal unmatched variables (counts or frequencies) are analyzed by Chi-square test (not shown in the Figure)

Research and publication ethics

The legitimate pursuit of scientific creativity is unfortunately being marred by a simultaneous increase in scientific misconduct. A disproportionate share of allegations involves scientists of many countries, and even from respected laboratories. Misconduct destroys faith in science and scientists and creates a hierarchy of fraudsters. Investigating misconduct also steals valuable time and resources. In spite of these facts, most researchers are not aware of publication ethics.

Day 1 of the workshop ended with a presentation on ‘ research and publication ethics ’ by Dr. M. K. Unnikrishnan (College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Manipal University, Manipal). He spoke on the essentials of publication ethics that included plagiarism (attempting to take credit of the work of others), self-plagiarism (multiple publications by an author on the same content of work with slightly different wordings), falsification (manipulation of research data and processes and omitting critical data or results), gift authorship (guest authorship), ghostwriting (someone other than the named author (s) makes a major contribution), salami publishing (publishing many papers, with minor differences, from the same study), and sabotage (distracting the research works of others to halt their research completion). Additionally, Dr. Unnikrishnan pointed out the ‘ Ingelfinger rule ’ of stipulating that a scientist must not submit the same original research in two different journals. He also advised the audience that authorship is not just credit for the work but also responsibility for scientific contents of a paper. Although some Indian Universities are instituting preventive measures (e.g., use of plagiarism detecting software, Shodhganga digital archiving of doctoral theses), Dr. Unnikrishnan argued for a great need to sensitize young researchers on the nature and implications of scientific misconduct. Finally, he discussed methods on how editors and peer reviewers should ethically conduct themselves while managing a manuscript for publication.

SCIENTIFIC COMMUNICATION: THE KEY TO SUCCESSFUL SELLING OF FINDINGS

Research outcomes are measured through quality publications. Scientists must not only ‘do’ science but must ‘write’ science. The story of the project must be told in a clear, simple language weaving in previous work done in the field, answering the research question, and addressing the hypothesis set forth at the beginning of the study. Scientific publication is an organic process of planning, researching, drafting, revising, and updating the current knowledge for future perspectives. Writing a research paper is no easier than the research itself. The lectures of Day 2 of the workshop dealt with the basic elements and logistics of writing a scientific paper.

An overview of paper structure and thesis writing

Dr. Amitabh Prakash (Adis, Auckland, New Zealand) spoke on ‘ Learning how to write a good scientific paper .’ His presentation described the essential components of an original research paper and thesis (e.g., introduction, methods, results, and discussion [IMRaD]) and provided guidance on the correct order, in which data should appear within these sections. The characteristics of a good abstract and title and the creation of appropriate key words were discussed. Dr. Prakash suggested that the ‘title of a paper’ might perhaps have a chance to make a good impression, and the title might be either indicative (title that gives the purpose of the study) or declarative (title that gives the study conclusion). He also suggested that an abstract is a succinct summary of a research paper, and it should be specific, clear, and concise, and should have IMRaD structure in brief, followed by key words. Selection of appropriate papers to be cited in the reference list was also discussed. Various unethical authorships were enumerated, and ‘The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) criteria for authorship’ was explained ( http://www.icmje.org/ethical_1author.html ; also see Table 1 in reference #9). The session highlighted the need for transparency in medical publication and provided a clear description of items that needed to be included in the ‘Disclosures’ section (e.g., sources of funding for the study and potential conflicts of interest of all authors, etc.) and ‘Acknowledgements’ section (e.g., writing assistance and input from all individuals who did not meet the authorship criteria). The final part of the presentation was devoted to thesis writing, and Dr. Prakash provided the audience with a list of common mistakes that are frequently encountered when writing a manuscript.

The backbone of a study is description of results through Text, Tables, and Figures. Dr. S. B. Deshpande (Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India) spoke on ‘ Effective Presentation of Results .’ The Results section deals with the observations made by the authors and thus, is not hypothetical. This section is subdivided into three segments, that is, descriptive form of the Text, providing numerical data in Tables, and visualizing the observations in Graphs or Figures. All these are arranged in a sequential order to address the question hypothesized in the Introduction. The description in Text provides clear content of the findings highlighting the observations. It should not be the repetition of facts in tables or graphs. Tables are used to summarize or emphasize descriptive content in the text or to present the numerical data that are unrelated. Illustrations should be used when the evidence bearing on the conclusions of a paper cannot be adequately presented in a written description or in a Table. Tables or Figures should relate to each other logically in sequence and should be clear by themselves. Furthermore, the discussion is based entirely on these observations. Additionally, how the results are applied to further research in the field to advance our understanding of research questions was discussed.

Dr. Peush Sahni (All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi) spoke on effectively ‘ structuring the Discussion ’ for a research paper. The Discussion section deals with a systematic interpretation of study results within the available knowledge. He said the section should begin with the most important point relating to the subject studied, focusing on key issues, providing link sentences between paragraphs, and ensuring the flow of text. Points were made to avoid history, not repeat all the results, and provide limitations of the study. The strengths and novel findings of the study should be provided in the discussion, and it should open avenues for future research and new questions. The Discussion section should end with a conclusion stating the summary of key findings. Dr. Sahni gave an example from a published paper for writing a Discussion. In another presentation titled ‘ Writing an effective title and the abstract ,’ Dr. Sahni described the important components of a good title, such as, it should be simple, concise, informative, interesting and eye-catching, accurate and specific about the paper's content, and should state the subject in full indicating study design and animal species. Dr. Sahni explained structured (IMRaD) and unstructured abstracts and discussed a few selected examples with the audience.

Language and style in publication

The next lecture of Dr. Amitabh Prakash on ‘ Language and style in scientific writing: Importance of terseness, shortness and clarity in writing ’ focused on the actual sentence construction, language, grammar and punctuation in scientific manuscripts. His presentation emphasized the importance of brevity and clarity in the writing of manuscripts describing biomedical research. Starting with a guide to the appropriate construction of sentences and paragraphs, attendees were given a brief overview of the correct use of punctuation with interactive examples. Dr. Prakash discussed common errors in grammar and proactively sought audience participation in correcting some examples. Additional discussion was centered on discouraging the use of redundant and expendable words, jargon, and the use of adjectives with incomparable words. The session ended with a discussion of words and phrases that are commonly misused (e.g., data vs . datum, affect vs . effect, among vs . between, dose vs . dosage, and efficacy/efficacious vs . effective/effectiveness) in biomedical research manuscripts.

Working with journals

The appropriateness in selecting the journal for submission and acceptance of the manuscript should be determined by the experience of an author. The corresponding author must have a rationale in choosing the appropriate journal, and this depends upon the scope of the study and the quality of work performed. Dr. Amitabh Prakash spoke on ‘ Working with journals: Selecting a journal, cover letter, peer review process and impact factor ’ by instructing the audience in assessing the true value of a journal, understanding principles involved in the peer review processes, providing tips on making an initial approach to the editorial office, and drafting an appropriate cover letter to accompany the submission. His presentation defined the metrics that are most commonly used to measure journal quality (e.g., impact factor™, Eigenfactor™ score, Article Influence™ score, SCOPUS 2-year citation data, SCImago Journal Rank, h-Index, etc.) and guided attendees on the relative advantages and disadvantages of using each metric. Factors to consider when assessing journal quality were discussed, and the audience was educated on the ‘green’ and ‘gold’ open access publication models. Various peer review models (e.g., double-blind, single-blind, non-blind) were described together with the role of the journal editor in assessing manuscripts and selecting suitable reviewers. A typical checklist sent to referees was shared with the attendees, and clear guidance was provided on the best way to address referee feedback. The session concluded with a discussion of the potential drawbacks of the current peer review system.

Poster and oral presentations at conferences

Posters have become an increasingly popular mode of presentation at conferences, as it can accommodate more papers per meeting, has no time constraint, provides a better presenter-audience interaction, and allows one to select and attend papers of interest. In Figure 2 , we provide instructions, design, and layout in preparing a scientific poster. In the final presentation, Dr. Sahni provided the audience with step-by-step instructions on how to write and format posters for layout, content, font size, color, and graphics. Attendees were given specific guidance on the format of text on slides, the use of color, font type and size, and the use of illustrations and multimedia effects. Moreover, the importance of practical tips while delivering oral or poster presentation was provided to the audience, such as speak slowly and clearly, be informative, maintain eye contact, and listen to the questions from judges/audience carefully before coming up with an answer.

Guidelines and design to scientific poster presentation. The objective of scientific posters is to present laboratory work in scientific meetings. A poster is an excellent means of communicating scientific work, because it is a graphic representation of data. Posters should have focus points, and the intended message should be clearly conveyed through simple sections: Text, Tables, and Graphs. Posters should be clear, succinct, striking, and eye-catching. Colors should be used only where necessary. Use one font (Arial or Times New Roman) throughout. Fancy fonts should be avoided. All headings should have font size of 44, and be in bold capital letters. Size of Title may be a bit larger; subheading: Font size of 36, bold and caps. References and Acknowledgments, if any, should have font size of 24. Text should have font size between 24 and 30, in order to be legible from a distance of 3 to 6 feet. Do not use lengthy notes

PANEL DISCUSSION: FEEDBACK AND COMMENTS BY PARTICIPANTS

After all the presentations were made, Dr. Jagadeesh began a panel discussion that included all speakers. The discussion was aimed at what we do currently and could do in the future with respect to ‘developing a research question and then writing an effective thesis proposal/protocol followed by publication.’ Dr. Jagadeesh asked the following questions to the panelists, while receiving questions/suggestions from the participants and panelists.

• Does a Post-Graduate or Ph.D. student receive adequate training, either through an institutional course, a workshop of the present nature, or from the guide?
• Are these Post-Graduates self-taught (like most of us who learnt the hard way)?
• How are these guides trained? How do we train them to become more efficient mentors?
• Does a Post-Graduate or Ph.D. student struggle to find a method (s) to carry out studies? To what extent do seniors/guides help a post graduate overcome technical difficulties? How difficult is it for a student to find chemicals, reagents, instruments, and technical help in conducting studies?
• Analyses of data and interpretation: Most students struggle without adequate guidance.
• Thesis and publications frequently feature inadequate/incorrect statistical analyses and representation of data in tables/graphs. The student, their guide, and the reviewers all share equal responsibility.
• Who initiates and drafts the research paper? The Post-Graduate or their guide?
• What kind of assistance does a Post-Graduate get from the guide in finalizing a paper for publication?
• Does the guide insist that each Post-Graduate thesis yield at least one paper, and each Ph.D. thesis more than two papers, plus a review article?

The panelists and audience expressed a variety of views, but were unable to arrive at a decisive conclusion.

WHAT HAVE THE PARTICIPANTS LEARNED?

At the end of this fast-moving two-day workshop, the participants had opportunities in learning the following topics:

• Sequential steps in developing a study protocol, from choosing a research topic to developing research questions and a hypothesis.
• Study protocols on different topics in their subject of specialization
• Searching and reviewing the literature
• Appropriate statistical analyses in biomedical research
• Scientific ethics in publication
• Writing and understanding the components of a research paper (IMRaD)
• Recognizing the value of good title, running title, abstract, key words, etc
• Importance of Tables and Figures in the Results section, and their importance in describing findings
• Evidence-based Discussion in a research paper
• Language and style in writing a paper and expert tips on getting it published
• Presentation of research findings at a conference (oral and poster).

Overall, the workshop was deemed very helpful to participants. The participants rated the quality of workshop from “ satisfied ” to “ very satisfied .” A significant number of participants were of the opinion that the time allotted for each presentation was short and thus, be extended from the present two days to four days with adequate time to ask questions. In addition, a ‘hands-on’ session should be introduced for writing a proposal and manuscript. A large number of attendees expressed their desire to attend a similar workshop, if conducted, in the near future.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

We gratefully express our gratitude to the Organizing Committee, especially Professors K. Chinnasamy, B. G. Shivananda, N. Udupa, Jerad Suresh, Padma Parekh, A. P. Basavarajappa, Mr. S. V. Veerramani, Mr. J. Jayaseelan, and all volunteers of the SRM University. We thank Dr. Thomas Papoian (US FDA) for helpful comments on the manuscript.

The opinions expressed herein are those of Gowraganahalli Jagadeesh and do not necessarily reflect those of the US Food and Drug Administration

Source of Support: Nil

Conflict of Interest: None declared.

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Research Process Steps: What they are + How To Follow

There are various approaches to conducting basic and applied research. This article explains the research process steps you should know. Whether you are doing basic research or applied research, there are many ways of doing it. In some ways, each research study is unique since it is conducted at a different time and place.

Conducting research might be difficult, but there are clear processes to follow. The research process starts with a broad idea for a topic. This article will assist you through the research process steps, helping you focus and develop your topic.

Research Process Steps

The research process consists of a series of systematic procedures that a researcher must go through in order to generate knowledge that will be considered valuable by the project and focus on the relevant topic.

To conduct effective research, you must understand the research process steps and follow them. Here are a few steps in the research process to make it easier for you:

Step 1: Identify the Problem

Finding an issue or formulating a research question is the first step. A well-defined research problem will guide the researcher through all stages of the research process, from setting objectives to choosing a technique. There are a number of approaches to get insight into a topic and gain a better understanding of it. Such as:

• A preliminary survey
• Case studies
• Interviews with a small group of people
• Observational survey

Step 2: Evaluate the Literature

A thorough examination of the relevant studies is essential to the research process . It enables the researcher to identify the precise aspects of the problem. Once a problem has been found, the investigator or researcher needs to find out more about it.

This stage gives problem-zone background. It teaches the investigator about previous research, how they were conducted, and its conclusions. The researcher can build consistency between his work and others through a literature review. Such a review exposes the researcher to a more significant body of knowledge and helps him follow the research process efficiently.

Step 3: Create Hypotheses

Formulating an original hypothesis is the next logical step after narrowing down the research topic and defining it. A belief solves logical relationships between variables. In order to establish a hypothesis, a researcher must have a certain amount of expertise in the field. 

It is important for researchers to keep in mind while formulating a hypothesis that it must be based on the research topic. Researchers are able to concentrate their efforts and stay committed to their objectives when they develop theories to guide their work.

Step 4: The Research Design

Research design is the plan for achieving objectives and answering research questions. It outlines how to get the relevant information. Its goal is to design research to test hypotheses, address the research questions, and provide decision-making insights.

The research design aims to minimize the time, money, and effort required to acquire meaningful evidence. This plan fits into four categories:

• Exploration and Surveys
• Data Analysis
• Observation

Step 5: Describe Population

Research projects usually look at a specific group of people, facilities, or how technology is used in the business. In research, the term population refers to this study group. The research topic and purpose help determine the study group.

Suppose a researcher wishes to investigate a certain group of people in the community. In that case, the research could target a specific age group, males or females, a geographic location, or an ethnic group. A final step in a study’s design is to specify its sample or population so that the results may be generalized.

Step 6: Data Collection

Data collection is important in obtaining the knowledge or information required to answer the research issue. Every research collected data, either from the literature or the people being studied. Data must be collected from the two categories of researchers. These sources may provide primary data.

• Questionnaire

Secondary data categories are:

• Literature survey
• Official, unofficial reports
• An approach based on library resources

Step 7: Data Analysis

During research design, the researcher plans data analysis. After collecting data, the researcher analyzes it. The data is examined based on the approach in this step. The research findings are reviewed and reported.

Data analysis involves a number of closely related stages, such as setting up categories, applying these categories to raw data through coding and tabulation, and then drawing statistical conclusions. The researcher can examine the acquired data using a variety of statistical methods.

Step 8: The Report-writing

After completing these steps, the researcher must prepare a report detailing his findings. The report must be carefully composed with the following in mind:

• The Layout: On the first page, the title, date, acknowledgments, and preface should be on the report. A table of contents should be followed by a list of tables, graphs, and charts if any.
• Introduction: It should state the research’s purpose and methods. This section should include the study’s scope and limits.
• Summary of Findings: A non-technical summary of findings and recommendations will follow the introduction. The findings should be summarized if they’re lengthy.
• Principal Report: The main body of the report should make sense and be broken up into sections that are easy to understand.
• Conclusion: The researcher should restate his findings at the end of the main text. It’s the final result.

LEARN ABOUT: 12 Best Tools for Researchers

The research process involves several steps that make it easy to complete the research successfully. The steps in the research process described above depend on each other, and the order must be kept. So, if we want to do a research project, we should follow the research process steps.

QuestionPro’s enterprise-grade research platform can collect survey and qualitative observation data. The tool’s nature allows for data processing and essential decisions. The platform lets you store and process data. Start immediately!

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Fact-checking warnings from Democrats about Project 2025 and Donald Trump

This fact check originally appeared on PolitiFact .

Project 2025 has a starring role in this week’s Democratic National Convention.

And it was front and center on Night 1.

WATCH: Hauling large copy of Project 2025, Michigan state Sen. McMorrow speaks at 2024 DNC

“This is Project 2025,” Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, D-Royal Oak, said as she laid a hardbound copy of the 900-page document on the lectern. “Over the next four nights, you are going to hear a lot about what is in this 900-page document. Why? Because this is the Republican blueprint for a second Trump term.”

Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, has warned Americans about “Trump’s Project 2025” agenda — even though former President Donald Trump doesn’t claim the conservative presidential transition document.

“Donald Trump wants to take our country backward,” Harris said July 23 in Milwaukee. “He and his extreme Project 2025 agenda will weaken the middle class. Like, we know we got to take this seriously, and can you believe they put that thing in writing?”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris’ running mate, has joined in on the talking point.

“Don’t believe (Trump) when he’s playing dumb about this Project 2025. He knows exactly what it’ll do,” Walz said Aug. 9 in Glendale, Arizona.

Trump’s campaign has worked to build distance from the project, which the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, led with contributions from dozens of conservative groups.

Much of the plan calls for extensive executive-branch overhauls and draws on both long-standing conservative principles, such as tax cuts, and more recent culture war issues. It lays out recommendations for disbanding the Commerce and Education departments, eliminating certain climate protections and consolidating more power to the president.

Project 2025 offers a sweeping vision for a Republican-led executive branch, and some of its policies mirror Trump’s 2024 agenda, But Harris and her presidential campaign have at times gone too far in describing what the project calls for and how closely the plans overlap with Trump’s campaign.

PolitiFact researched Harris’ warnings about how the plan would affect reproductive rights, federal entitlement programs and education, just as we did for President Joe Biden’s Project 2025 rhetoric. Here’s what the project does and doesn’t call for, and how it squares with Trump’s positions.

Are Trump and Project 2025 connected?

To distance himself from Project 2025 amid the Democratic attacks, Trump wrote on Truth Social that he “knows nothing” about it and has “no idea” who is in charge of it. (CNN identified at least 140 former advisers from the Trump administration who have been involved.)

The Heritage Foundation sought contributions from more than 100 conservative organizations for its policy vision for the next Republican presidency, which was published in 2023.

Project 2025 is now winding down some of its policy operations, and director Paul Dans, a former Trump administration official, is stepping down, The Washington Post reported July 30. Trump campaign managers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita denounced the document.

WATCH: A look at the Project 2025 plan to reshape government and Trump’s links to its authors

However, Project 2025 contributors include a number of high-ranking officials from Trump’s first administration, including former White House adviser Peter Navarro and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson.

A recently released recording of Russell Vought, a Project 2025 author and the former director of Trump’s Office of Management and Budget, showed Vought saying Trump’s “very supportive of what we do.” He said Trump was only distancing himself because Democrats were making a bogeyman out of the document.

Project 2025 wouldn’t ban abortion outright, but would curtail access

The Harris campaign shared a graphic on X that claimed “Trump’s Project 2025 plan for workers” would “go after birth control and ban abortion nationwide.”

The plan doesn’t call to ban abortion nationwide, though its recommendations could curtail some contraceptives and limit abortion access.

What’s known about Trump’s abortion agenda neither lines up with Harris’ description nor Project 2025’s wish list.

Project 2025 says the Department of Health and Human Services Department should “return to being known as the Department of Life by explicitly rejecting the notion that abortion is health care.”

It recommends that the Food and Drug Administration reverse its 2000 approval of mifepristone, the first pill taken in a two-drug regimen for a medication abortion. Medication is the most common form of abortion in the U.S. — accounting for around 63 percent in 2023.

If mifepristone were to remain approved, Project 2025 recommends new rules, such as cutting its use from 10 weeks into pregnancy to seven. It would have to be provided to patients in person — part of the group’s efforts to limit access to the drug by mail. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a legal challenge to mifepristone’s FDA approval over procedural grounds.

WATCH: Trump’s plans for health care and reproductive rights if he returns to White House The manual also calls for the Justice Department to enforce the 1873 Comstock Act on mifepristone, which bans the mailing of “obscene” materials. Abortion access supporters fear that a strict interpretation of the law could go further to ban mailing the materials used in procedural abortions, such as surgical instruments and equipment.

The plan proposes withholding federal money from states that don’t report to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention how many abortions take place within their borders. The plan also would prohibit abortion providers, such as Planned Parenthood, from receiving Medicaid funds. It also calls for the Department of Health and Human Services to ensure that the training of medical professionals, including doctors and nurses, omits abortion training.

The document says some forms of emergency contraception — particularly Ella, a pill that can be taken within five days of unprotected sex to prevent pregnancy — should be excluded from no-cost coverage. The Affordable Care Act requires most private health insurers to cover recommended preventive services, which involves a range of birth control methods, including emergency contraception.

Trump has recently said states should decide abortion regulations and that he wouldn’t block access to contraceptives. Trump said during his June 27 debate with Biden that he wouldn’t ban mifepristone after the Supreme Court “approved” it. But the court rejected the lawsuit based on standing, not the case’s merits. He has not weighed in on the Comstock Act or said whether he supports it being used to block abortion medication, or other kinds of abortions.

Project 2025 doesn’t call for cutting Social Security, but proposes some changes to Medicare

“When you read (Project 2025),” Harris told a crowd July 23 in Wisconsin, “you will see, Donald Trump intends to cut Social Security and Medicare.”

The Project 2025 document does not call for Social Security cuts. None of its 10 references to Social Security addresses plans for cutting the program.

Harris also misleads about Trump’s Social Security views.

In his earlier campaigns and before he was a politician, Trump said about a half-dozen times that he’s open to major overhauls of Social Security, including cuts and privatization. More recently, in a March 2024 CNBC interview, Trump said of entitlement programs such as Social Security, “There’s a lot you can do in terms of entitlements, in terms of cutting.” However, he quickly walked that statement back, and his CNBC comment stands at odds with essentially everything else Trump has said during the 2024 presidential campaign.

Trump’s campaign website says that not “a single penny” should be cut from Social Security. We rated Harris’ claim that Trump intends to cut Social Security Mostly False.

Project 2025 does propose changes to Medicare, including making Medicare Advantage, the private insurance offering in Medicare, the “default” enrollment option. Unlike Original Medicare, Medicare Advantage plans have provider networks and can also require prior authorization, meaning that the plan can approve or deny certain services. Original Medicare plans don’t have prior authorization requirements.

The manual also calls for repealing health policies enacted under Biden, such as the Inflation Reduction Act. The law enabled Medicare to negotiate with drugmakers for the first time in history, and recently resulted in an agreement with drug companies to lower the prices of 10 expensive prescriptions for Medicare enrollees.

Trump, however, has said repeatedly during the 2024 presidential campaign that he will not cut Medicare.

Project 2025 would eliminate the Education Department, which Trump supports

The Harris campaign said Project 2025 would “eliminate the U.S. Department of Education” — and that’s accurate. Project 2025 says federal education policy “should be limited and, ultimately, the federal Department of Education should be eliminated.” The plan scales back the federal government’s role in education policy and devolves the functions that remain to other agencies.

Aside from eliminating the department, the project also proposes scrapping the Biden administration’s Title IX revision, which prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. It also would let states opt out of federal education programs and calls for passing a federal parents’ bill of rights similar to ones passed in some Republican-led state legislatures.

Republicans, including Trump, have pledged to close the department, which gained its status in 1979 within Democratic President Jimmy Carter’s presidential Cabinet.

In one of his Agenda 47 policy videos, Trump promised to close the department and “to send all education work and needs back to the states.” Eliminating the department would have to go through Congress.

What Project 2025, Trump would do on overtime pay

In the graphic, the Harris campaign says Project 2025 allows “employers to stop paying workers for overtime work.”

The plan doesn’t call for banning overtime wages. It recommends changes to some Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, regulations and to overtime rules. Some changes, if enacted, could result in some people losing overtime protections, experts told us.

The document proposes that the Labor Department maintain an overtime threshold “that does not punish businesses in lower-cost regions (e.g., the southeast United States).” This threshold is the amount of money executive, administrative or professional employees need to make for an employer to exempt them from overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

In 2019, the Trump’s administration finalized a rule that expanded overtime pay eligibility to most salaried workers earning less than about $35,568, which it said made about 1.3 million more workers eligible for overtime pay. The Trump-era threshold is high enough to cover most line workers in lower-cost regions, Project 2025 said.

The Biden administration raised that threshold to $43,888 beginning July 1, and that will rise to $58,656 on Jan. 1, 2025. That would grant overtime eligibility to about 4 million workers, the Labor Department said.

It’s unclear how many workers Project 2025’s proposal to return to the Trump-era overtime threshold in some parts of the country would affect, but experts said some would presumably lose the right to overtime wages.

Other overtime proposals in Project 2025’s plan include allowing some workers to choose to accumulate paid time off instead of overtime pay, or to work more hours in one week and fewer in the next, rather than receive overtime.

Trump’s past with overtime pay is complicated. In 2016, the Obama administration said it would raise the overtime to salaried workers earning less than $47,476 a year, about double the exemption level set in 2004 of $23,660 a year.

But when a judge blocked the Obama rule, the Trump administration didn’t challenge the court ruling. Instead it set its own overtime threshold, which raised the amount, but by less than Obama.

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User Research and the Paperwork Reduction Act

Highlighting case studies across the government.

In 2021, the Biden-Harris Administration issued an Executive Order to improve customer experience and make service delivery simple, seamless, and secure for Americans. Since then, government agencies have been hard at work making their services, tools, and content more effective in addressing the needs of the people they serve.

User research is at the heart of transforming customer experience. The best way to ensure services are effective, efficient, easy to use, fair, and safe is to include the people they are intended for when building it.

In this piece, we’ll demonstrate:

The importance of user research and how it helps mitigate risk in agency projects.

How and when to integrate user research into a project.

Examples of agencies successfully incorporating and conducting certain types of user research without needing Paperwork Reduction Act approval.

The basics of a customer-centered approach

Before we dive into the examples, let’s discuss the basics of a customer-centered approach, and why it’s important to ensure an agency is meeting the needs of the people using its products or services.

Creating a new digital tool or making changes to a website or service can affect the experience of millions. If working in isolation, agencies can miss important details that could slow down or prevent people from using your services.

The key to any successful project is to observe how real people interact with a government service or product . Failing to prioritize user research is risky and can lead to poorly designed products and services that are difficult to access.

Conducting user research by the rules

The Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) ensures that the Federal Government collects information in a way that reduces unnecessary burden on the public. The PRA process generally involves notifying the public about each information collection and giving them a chance to provide feedback. It also includes review of a proposed information collection by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Management (OIRA) within the Office of Management and Budget. However, as discussed in regulation 5 CFR 1320.3(h) , information collection does not include items in categories that are common during user research. Agencies might not need PRA approval for most user research done on projects, depending on how the project is structured.

Specifically, there are activities common in user research that do not require PRA clearance because they do not qualify as an information collection under PRA regulations (5 C.F.R. § 1320.3). Those activities include:

Directly observing someone using a product (i.e., observing someone filling out a form or finding information on a website) or

Asking people non-standardized questions as part of a one-on-one research session (i.e., asking people questions orally, in an unstructured way, about navigating government benefits or signing up for an appointment). “Non-standardized,” in this context, means the questions asked vary from person to person, and are not drawn from a list of identical questions posed in every research session.

Unlike methods that constitute information collection and require PRA clearance (for example, surveys or large focus groups with a set of the same questions or tasks), these types of research conversations (direct observations or one-on-one sessions with non-standardized questions) do not require PRA approval, regardless of the number of users ultimately involved in the research.

Direct observations and one-on-one feedback sessions can be more valuable than focus groups or surveys , since they may provide a deeper understanding of people’s behavior rather than feelings and opinions and showcase what’s working well, what isn’t, and why. You can learn more about talking to people with tips from the Department of Homeland Security.

Incorporating user research into your project

Incorporating user research results in a better product and reduces risks. It helps address usability concerns, reduces the potential for major backlogs on call centers, increases customer satisfaction, and ensures agencies are prioritizing the right changes. Research is a continuous process, and certain project stages benefit from research, including:

Before a project

Look at comparable systems and services to learn lessons.

Gain a better understanding of the pain points people experience with this system or service.

Get to know stakeholders’ business needs or concerns, possibly using methods suggested by 18F, the digital services agency within the General Services Administration.

Do desk research, such as reading threads on social media websites and discussions on online forums. Find out where people are talking about the topic, go there, and read as much as you can.

Test high-level ideas or potential future solutions.

Start of a project

Observe people using the existing system or service.

Work with local groups, advocates, or nonprofits to identify people to talk to.

Review any comments or letters submitted by the public.

See what people who use the system or service are saying publicly online about their experience.

Read research conducted on this topic.

Middle of a project

Place the thing that your agency team is building in front of someone who will use it, and observe them using it.

• Create a few different product versions and solutions to each problem.
• Gather feedback on what people found easiest to use.

In operations

Conduct content testing to understand what people think the message means and make updates until it’s in plain language. (For example, the agency can write improvements to system messages and try to understand what people think the messages mean until the messages are plain, understandable, and straightforward. This approach could be used for emails, text messages, policy guidance, or webpage updates.)

Hold one-on-one listening sessions with people to learn about existing pain points and then prioritize new features based on feedback.

Now let’s take a look at seven government projects that have successfully incorporated user research and improved the customer experience without conducting an information collection requiring PRA clearance.

By exploring these projects, you can start thinking of ways to conduct more research or advocate for more research to enhance the customer experience. This list can generate new ideas and help you find ways to integrate user research more effectively.

Highlighting seven government projects

Case study 1: conducting user research for an informative website launch.

Reporting Unemployment Identity Theft, Department of Labor (DOL)- March 2021

In 2022, thousands of Americans received a fraudulent unemployment insurance tax form (government Form 1099-G) in the mail despite never applying for unemployment insurance (UI). These individuals were victims of unemployment identity theft, and fraudsters used their information to illegally receive unemployment benefits. For most victims, understanding what steps to take next was confusing.

The DOL met with victims of UI theft and developed a website to guide them through reporting the fraud. After the site went live, the DOL collaborated with other government agencies and organizations to incorporate the same tested language for reporting UI fraud on their sites. This created a consistent and reliable standard across all websites, fostering trustworthiness among victims.

User research

Ten unstructured, one-on-one user research sessions with victims helped the DOL learn more about the current process and what victims did when they received the fraudulent unemployment insurance form. Participants walked through their unique scenarios and researchers took detailed notes.

During the second round of research, the main focus was observing individuals as they navigated through the newly drafted website content. Participants were instructed to vocalize their thoughts as they started at the top of the page and explained what they saw. Any aspects of the website that people found confusing were revised and improved following the sessions.

Why did the PRA not cover this research?

In this project, the DOL directly observed the experiences of program applicants and participants and asked non-standardized questions on a particular process, theme, or issue without any specification of the information being sought. See 5 CFR 1320.3(h)(3).

Case study 2: Conducting user research for a new application launch

A New Digital Application for VA Health Care, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) - July 2016

Many Veterans found the health care application process at the VA frustrating. Most weren’t able to open the fillable PDF online application because it required a certain software that wasn’t common in most browsers. As a result, over 70 percent of visitors had trouble accessing the health care application, according to USDS research.

The team developed a new, user-friendly online application that doesn’t require a certain software to use. For more details, check out the USDS blog post , “Introducing a new digital application for healthcare at VA.”

The team observed Veterans using the existing application to identify pain points and then worked on a new version. Then, they did user research sessions with the new form again to ensure it was easy and removed any previous pain points. Watch a real-life user research session, conducted by a VA employee with a Veteran at this video link .

In this project, the VA directly observed the experiences of program applicants and participants and engaged in unstructured one-on-one interactions. They asked non-standardized questions on a particular process, theme, or issue without any specification of the information being sought. See 5 CFR 1320.3(h)(3).

Case study 3: Conducting user research to inform policy and strategy

Welcome Corps, Department of State - February 2024

The Department of State launched a new program to allow Americans to sponsor refugees. The Welcome Corps program involves forming a sponsor group, completing pre-application steps, and then submitting an application. The process was burdensome to Americans seeking to sponsor a refugee, causing frustration and incomplete applications.

The team did user research to inform which steps in the process could be improved in order to reduce unnecessary burden on sponsors and increase successful application submissions. This research helped ensure any policy changes under consideration would actually support program goals. It also helped inform the agency’s roadmap.

The team met one-on-one with current sponsors to learn about their experience and met one-on-one with potential sponsors to understand what steps of the process were challenging. These research sessions used non-standardized questions. The research findings were presented to program leadership, and policy, tech, and operations teams to inform improvements to the application process.

Why the PRA did not cover this research?

In this project, the team observed the experiences of sponsors and potential sponsors and engaged in unstructured one-on-one interactions. They asked non-standardized questions on a particular process, theme, or issue without any specification of the information being sought. See 5 CFR 1320.3(h)(3).

Case study 4: Conducting user research to streamline digital experiences

My VA Dashboard for Veterans, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) - November 2020

Many services are available to Veterans on the VA websites but it can be challenging to locate them and take action. Veterans asked for a centralized location that was relevant to their needs.

The team worked with a vendor to create My VA, a personalized dashboard for Veterans to access tools and information.

A vendor conducted user research to identify the information that Veterans expect to find in the My VA Dashboard tool and the best way to navigate it.

The contract required vendors to conduct user research to determine people’s goals, needs, and behaviors. The vendor conducted one-on-one, non-structured conversations with Veterans to inform how the agency should build the dashboard.

The contractor collected information and observed program applicants and participants by asking non-standardized questions on a particular process, theme, or issue without any specification of the information being sought. See 5 CFR 1320.3(h)(3), (h)(6).

Case study 5: Conducting user research to inform outreach strategies via text messages

Child Tax Credit Outreach, Department of Treasury and the White House - June 2021

When the American Rescue Plan Act became law in March 2021, millions of Americans were suddenly eligible for unprecedented tax relief by expanding both earned income and child tax credits. Americans who don’t make enough income to require a tax filing would benefit most from the expansion, but first, they needed to know about the credits and include them when they filed a tax return.

Outreach was key to reaching families in most need. The team learned throughout the year that:

Messages from official government entities work well, specifically, government benefits agencies.

Emails and text messages have worked when encouraging state and local governments to send messages directly to beneficiaries.

The team performed user research throughout the year by working with non-profits on the ground to identify research participants and understand what was working and not working. They partnered with Code for America to test several text messages to ensure clear language. They also joined research sessions to observe SNAP applicants engaging with a third-party app that helps them manage their SNAP benefits electronically.

In this project, the groups directly observed the experiences of program applicants and participants. They asked non-standardized questions on a particular process, theme, or issue without any specification of the information being sought. See 5 CFR 1320.3(h)(3).

Case study 6: Conducting user research with internal users of a system

Updates to the Unaccompanied Children Case Management System, Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), Administration for Children and Families, Department of Health and Human Services – August 2022

Case managers were updating both paper and digital forms when assessing a potential sponsor. Many duplications existed across the two forms, and filling out both caused inefficiencies.

The team changed the online form, eliminating the need for the paper form and transferred them to the digital experience, reducing burden for the sponsor and case manager. The updated digital form also included design improvements to enhance the flow of the questions.

ORR contacted case workers nationwide and observed them filling out both versions of the form to identify pain points. Another round of research was conducted later on, once they had an updated digital form. These were one-on-one conversations to confirm that the form was easy to use. Any areas where the case managers had questions or trouble were good indicators that the digital form needed tweaking. Finally, they arrived at a version that was easy to use and improved the previous safety and efficiency concerns.

In this project, the ORR directly observed case workers (not federal employees) using a form via one-on-one interviews to understand any usability concerns. They asked non-standardized questions on a particular process, theme, or issue without any specification of the information being sought. See 5 CFR 1320.3(h)(3).

Case study 7: Conducting user research with students and families

College Scorecard, Department of Education - August 2015

Deciding on a college can be an overwhelming task with limited access to reliable information on student outcomes like student earnings, graduates’ student debt, and borrowers’ repayment rates.

In September 2015, the Department of Education launched the College Scorecard, which made data transparent for the public about colleges by leveraging existing data on costs, graduation, etc. and providing new data points on earnings after attendance, student debt, and borrower repayment rates. As these data sets were published through an open application programming interface (API), researchers, policymakers, and the public could customize their analysis of college performance easily. For more information on this project, check out the Obama White House blog post , “Under the Hood: Building a College Scorecard with Students.”

The team conducted user research at every single step in the project. This user research involved one-on-one conversations with high school students in Washington, D.C.’s Anacostia neighborhood, guidance counselors, 4-H kids, parents, college advisors, and data journalists. They also conducted research and met one-on-one with a diverse set of stakeholders across the higher education community to learn about their concerns, ideas, and hopes for how they could help students and families make a more informed decision.

Based on this research, the team developed a College Scorecard prototype and then turned it into a website. The prototype was put in front of students during one-on-one sessions, to observe if the tool was easy to use. The research revealed that students were unlikely to use a mobile app and were hesitant to use government websites, so the team ensured other sites that were actually frequented by students had access to the same data.

Why did the PRA not cover this research ?

In this project, the Department of Education directly observed the program applicants and participants engaging with the College Scorecard. The Department of Education also asked non-standardized questions on a particular process, theme, or issue without any specification of the information being sought. See 5 CFR 1320.3(h)(3).

Ready to conduct user research?

Throughout this piece, we emphasized the significance of user research and described some ways to incorporate it into agency projects without conducting a PRA information collection. These examples showcase how an agency can successfully conduct user research to improve delivery of services.

Agencies should incorporate user research into their work to make well-informed decisions, minimize risk, and save time and money. These case studies are a reminder that by applying user research best practices, agencies can build trust in government and improve customer experience for all Americans.

If you’d like to work on projects like this, consider joining USDS! We’re hiring mission-driven engineers, product managers, designers, bureaucracy hackers, procurement specialists, and operations experts who want to make an impact on the lives of their fellow Americans.

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Aggie Research Programs

Texas A&M University

Fall 2024: Developing Semantic Interoperability Technology for Construction Projects leveraging LLMs

Affiliations:

STEM Research Leadership

Project Leader:

Chan Young Park Construction Science Student will be considered for co-authors on publications. Depending on performance, students will have the opportunity to be a member of our research group with appropriate compensation. We are seeking students familiar with NLP and LLMs. Familiarity with P&ID diagrams is preferred. Privacy Policy Home » Research Methodology – Types, Examples and writing Guide Research Methodology – Types, Examples and writing Guide Table of Contents Research Methodology Definition: Research Methodology refers to the systematic and scientific approach used to conduct research, investigate problems, and gather data and information for a specific purpose. It involves the techniques and procedures used to identify, collect , analyze , and interpret data to answer research questions or solve research problems . Moreover, They are philosophical and theoretical frameworks that guide the research process. Structure of Research Methodology Research methodology formats can vary depending on the specific requirements of the research project, but the following is a basic example of a structure for a research methodology section: I. Introduction Provide an overview of the research problem and the need for a research methodology section Outline the main research questions and objectives II. Research Design Explain the research design chosen and why it is appropriate for the research question(s) and objectives Discuss any alternative research designs considered and why they were not chosen Describe the research setting and participants (if applicable) III. Data Collection Methods Describe the methods used to collect data (e.g., surveys, interviews, observations) Explain how the data collection methods were chosen and why they are appropriate for the research question(s) and objectives Detail any procedures or instruments used for data collection IV. Data Analysis Methods Describe the methods used to analyze the data (e.g., statistical analysis, content analysis ) Explain how the data analysis methods were chosen and why they are appropriate for the research question(s) and objectives Detail any procedures or software used for data analysis V. Ethical Considerations Discuss any ethical issues that may arise from the research and how they were addressed Explain how informed consent was obtained (if applicable) Detail any measures taken to ensure confidentiality and anonymity VI. Limitations Identify any potential limitations of the research methodology and how they may impact the results and conclusions VII. Conclusion Summarize the key aspects of the research methodology section Explain how the research methodology addresses the research question(s) and objectives Research Methodology Types Types of Research Methodology are as follows: Quantitative Research Methodology This is a research methodology that involves the collection and analysis of numerical data using statistical methods. This type of research is often used to study cause-and-effect relationships and to make predictions. Qualitative Research Methodology This is a research methodology that involves the collection and analysis of non-numerical data such as words, images, and observations. This type of research is often used to explore complex phenomena, to gain an in-depth understanding of a particular topic, and to generate hypotheses. Mixed-Methods Research Methodology This is a research methodology that combines elements of both quantitative and qualitative research. This approach can be particularly useful for studies that aim to explore complex phenomena and to provide a more comprehensive understanding of a particular topic. Case Study Research Methodology This is a research methodology that involves in-depth examination of a single case or a small number of cases. Case studies are often used in psychology, sociology, and anthropology to gain a detailed understanding of a particular individual or group. Action Research Methodology This is a research methodology that involves a collaborative process between researchers and practitioners to identify and solve real-world problems. Action research is often used in education, healthcare, and social work. Experimental Research Methodology This is a research methodology that involves the manipulation of one or more independent variables to observe their effects on a dependent variable. Experimental research is often used to study cause-and-effect relationships and to make predictions. Survey Research Methodology This is a research methodology that involves the collection of data from a sample of individuals using questionnaires or interviews. Survey research is often used to study attitudes, opinions, and behaviors. Grounded Theory Research Methodology This is a research methodology that involves the development of theories based on the data collected during the research process. Grounded theory is often used in sociology and anthropology to generate theories about social phenomena. Research Methodology Example An Example of Research Methodology could be the following: Research Methodology for Investigating the Effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Reducing Symptoms of Depression in Adults Introduction: The aim of this research is to investigate the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) in reducing symptoms of depression in adults. To achieve this objective, a randomized controlled trial (RCT) will be conducted using a mixed-methods approach. Research Design: The study will follow a pre-test and post-test design with two groups: an experimental group receiving CBT and a control group receiving no intervention. The study will also include a qualitative component, in which semi-structured interviews will be conducted with a subset of participants to explore their experiences of receiving CBT. Participants: Participants will be recruited from community mental health clinics in the local area. The sample will consist of 100 adults aged 18-65 years old who meet the diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder. Participants will be randomly assigned to either the experimental group or the control group. Intervention : The experimental group will receive 12 weekly sessions of CBT, each lasting 60 minutes. The intervention will be delivered by licensed mental health professionals who have been trained in CBT. The control group will receive no intervention during the study period. Data Collection: Quantitative data will be collected through the use of standardized measures such as the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7). Data will be collected at baseline, immediately after the intervention, and at a 3-month follow-up. Qualitative data will be collected through semi-structured interviews with a subset of participants from the experimental group. The interviews will be conducted at the end of the intervention period, and will explore participants’ experiences of receiving CBT. Data Analysis: Quantitative data will be analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-tests, and mixed-model analyses of variance (ANOVA) to assess the effectiveness of the intervention. Qualitative data will be analyzed using thematic analysis to identify common themes and patterns in participants’ experiences of receiving CBT. Ethical Considerations: This study will comply with ethical guidelines for research involving human subjects. Participants will provide informed consent before participating in the study, and their privacy and confidentiality will be protected throughout the study. Any adverse events or reactions will be reported and managed appropriately. Data Management: All data collected will be kept confidential and stored securely using password-protected databases. Identifying information will be removed from qualitative data transcripts to ensure participants’ anonymity. Limitations: One potential limitation of this study is that it only focuses on one type of psychotherapy, CBT, and may not generalize to other types of therapy or interventions. Another limitation is that the study will only include participants from community mental health clinics, which may not be representative of the general population. Conclusion: This research aims to investigate the effectiveness of CBT in reducing symptoms of depression in adults. By using a randomized controlled trial and a mixed-methods approach, the study will provide valuable insights into the mechanisms underlying the relationship between CBT and depression. The results of this study will have important implications for the development of effective treatments for depression in clinical settings. How to Write Research Methodology Writing a research methodology involves explaining the methods and techniques you used to conduct research, collect data, and analyze results. It’s an essential section of any research paper or thesis, as it helps readers understand the validity and reliability of your findings. Here are the steps to write a research methodology: Start by explaining your research question: Begin the methodology section by restating your research question and explaining why it’s important. This helps readers understand the purpose of your research and the rationale behind your methods. Describe your research design: Explain the overall approach you used to conduct research. This could be a qualitative or quantitative research design, experimental or non-experimental, case study or survey, etc. Discuss the advantages and limitations of the chosen design. Discuss your sample: Describe the participants or subjects you included in your study. Include details such as their demographics, sampling method, sample size, and any exclusion criteria used. Describe your data collection methods : Explain how you collected data from your participants. This could include surveys, interviews, observations, questionnaires, or experiments. Include details on how you obtained informed consent, how you administered the tools, and how you minimized the risk of bias. Explain your data analysis techniques: Describe the methods you used to analyze the data you collected. This could include statistical analysis, content analysis, thematic analysis, or discourse analysis. Explain how you dealt with missing data, outliers, and any other issues that arose during the analysis. Discuss the validity and reliability of your research : Explain how you ensured the validity and reliability of your study. This could include measures such as triangulation, member checking, peer review, or inter-coder reliability. Acknowledge any limitations of your research: Discuss any limitations of your study, including any potential threats to validity or generalizability. This helps readers understand the scope of your findings and how they might apply to other contexts. Provide a summary: End the methodology section by summarizing the methods and techniques you used to conduct your research. This provides a clear overview of your research methodology and helps readers understand the process you followed to arrive at your findings. When to Write Research Methodology Research methodology is typically written after the research proposal has been approved and before the actual research is conducted. It should be written prior to data collection and analysis, as it provides a clear roadmap for the research project. The research methodology is an important section of any research paper or thesis, as it describes the methods and procedures that will be used to conduct the research. It should include details about the research design, data collection methods, data analysis techniques, and any ethical considerations. The methodology should be written in a clear and concise manner, and it should be based on established research practices and standards. It is important to provide enough detail so that the reader can understand how the research was conducted and evaluate the validity of the results. Applications of Research Methodology Here are some of the applications of research methodology: To identify the research problem: Research methodology is used to identify the research problem, which is the first step in conducting any research. To design the research: Research methodology helps in designing the research by selecting the appropriate research method, research design, and sampling technique. To collect data: Research methodology provides a systematic approach to collect data from primary and secondary sources. To analyze data: Research methodology helps in analyzing the collected data using various statistical and non-statistical techniques. To test hypotheses: Research methodology provides a framework for testing hypotheses and drawing conclusions based on the analysis of data. To generalize findings: Research methodology helps in generalizing the findings of the research to the target population. To develop theories : Research methodology is used to develop new theories and modify existing theories based on the findings of the research. To evaluate programs and policies : Research methodology is used to evaluate the effectiveness of programs and policies by collecting data and analyzing it. To improve decision-making: Research methodology helps in making informed decisions by providing reliable and valid data. Purpose of Research Methodology Research methodology serves several important purposes, including: To guide the research process: Research methodology provides a systematic framework for conducting research. It helps researchers to plan their research, define their research questions, and select appropriate methods and techniques for collecting and analyzing data. To ensure research quality: Research methodology helps researchers to ensure that their research is rigorous, reliable, and valid. It provides guidelines for minimizing bias and error in data collection and analysis, and for ensuring that research findings are accurate and trustworthy. To replicate research: Research methodology provides a clear and detailed account of the research process, making it possible for other researchers to replicate the study and verify its findings. To advance knowledge: Research methodology enables researchers to generate new knowledge and to contribute to the body of knowledge in their field. It provides a means for testing hypotheses, exploring new ideas, and discovering new insights. To inform decision-making: Research methodology provides evidence-based information that can inform policy and decision-making in a variety of fields, including medicine, public health, education, and business. Advantages of Research Methodology Research methodology has several advantages that make it a valuable tool for conducting research in various fields. Here are some of the key advantages of research methodology: Systematic and structured approach : Research methodology provides a systematic and structured approach to conducting research, which ensures that the research is conducted in a rigorous and comprehensive manner. Objectivity : Research methodology aims to ensure objectivity in the research process, which means that the research findings are based on evidence and not influenced by personal bias or subjective opinions. Replicability : Research methodology ensures that research can be replicated by other researchers, which is essential for validating research findings and ensuring their accuracy. Reliability : Research methodology aims to ensure that the research findings are reliable, which means that they are consistent and can be depended upon. Validity : Research methodology ensures that the research findings are valid, which means that they accurately reflect the research question or hypothesis being tested. Efficiency : Research methodology provides a structured and efficient way of conducting research, which helps to save time and resources. Flexibility : Research methodology allows researchers to choose the most appropriate research methods and techniques based on the research question, data availability, and other relevant factors. Scope for innovation: Research methodology provides scope for innovation and creativity in designing research studies and developing new research techniques. Research Methodology Vs Research Methods Research Methodology Research Methods Research methodology refers to the philosophical and theoretical frameworks that guide the research process. refer to the techniques and procedures used to collect and analyze data. It is concerned with the underlying principles and assumptions of research. It is concerned with the practical aspects of research. It provides a rationale for why certain research methods are used. It determines the specific steps that will be taken to conduct research. It is broader in scope and involves understanding the overall approach to research. It is narrower in scope and focuses on specific techniques and tools used in research. It is concerned with identifying research questions, defining the research problem, and formulating hypotheses. It is concerned with collecting data, analyzing data, and interpreting results. It is concerned with the validity and reliability of research. It is concerned with the accuracy and precision of data. It is concerned with the ethical considerations of research. It is concerned with the practical considerations of research. About the author Muhammad Hassan Researcher, Academic Writer, Web developer You may also like Significance of the Study – Examples and Writing... Institutional Review Board – Application Sample... Data Verification – Process, Types and Examples What is a Hypothesis – Types, Examples and... APA Research Paper Format – Example, Sample and... Future Research – Thesis Guide Research Specialist Madison, Wisconsin SCHOOL OF EDUCATION/WIS CENTER FOR EDUCATION RESCH-GEN Staff-Full Time Opening at: Aug 26 2024 at 16:25 CDT Closing at: Sep 9 2024 at 23:55 CDT Job Summary: The project BioGames investigates how simple card games can be used to promote young children's learning about biological variability. The games focus on understanding of the life cycle (insects and other animals), with focus on understanding variability, both within and across species. The research involves studying how parents and children talk about biological concepts in the context of game play and how features of the games influence parent-child interaction and learning. The person hired for this position will serve as project manager and will organize the day-to-day operations of the project under the supervision of the Principal Investigator (PI). This includes recruiting participants, scheduling and participating in data collection, helping to design data collection scripts and coding manuals, overseeing the work of undergraduate research assistants, managing and maintaining project and participant databases and records, assisting with literature reviews, creating materials for conference presentations and manuscripts, and maintaining communication with team members at other sites. The position will include some evening and weekend work to allow data collection with children and their caregivers. There is some flexibility with the start date of this position. This is a 100% terminal Academic Staff position and is expected to last one year from the start date. There is a possibility of this position being extended for another year at a reduced FTE of 50%. Responsibilities: 40% Conducts research experiments according to established research protocols with moderate impact to the project(s). Collects data and monitors test results 5% Operates, cleans, and maintains organization of research equipment and research area. Tracks inventory levels and places replenishment orders 15% Reviews, analyzes, and interprets data and/or documents results for presentations and/or reporting to internal and external audiences 15% Participates in the development, interpretation, and implementation of research methodology and materials 10% Provides operational guidance on day-to-day activities of unit or program staff and/or student workers 5% Performs literature reviews and writes reports 5% Maintains communication with team members at other sites; manages record-keeping 5% Supervises student hourly workers Institutional Statement on Diversity: Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals. The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background - people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world. For more information on diversity and inclusion on campus, please visit: Diversity and Inclusion Required Bachelor's Degree Bachelor's Degree in Psychology, Education, STEM, or related field is preferred. Additional course work in Biology is highly desirable. Qualifications: Required qualifications: *At least one year of behavioral research experience *Experience working with children and families *Experience with supervision in professional setting *Familiarity with basic office software (word processing, spreadsheets) Preferred qualifications *Background and interest in cognitive development research *Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail *Ability to work independently *Good oral and written communication skills Full or Part Time: 50% - 100% It is anticipated this position requires work be performed in-person, onsite, at a designated campus work location. Appointment Type, Duration: Terminal, 12 month appointment. This position has the possibility to be extended or converted to an ongoing appointment based on need and/or funding Minimum $44,543 ANNUAL (12 months) Depending on Qualifications Additional Information: The Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER), established in 1964, is one of the first, most productive, and largest university-based education research and development centers in the world. WCER's researchers and staff work to make teaching and learning as effective as possible for all ages and all people. WCER's mission is to improve educational outcomes for diverse student populations, impact education practice positively and foster collaborations among academic disciplines and practitioners. To this end, our center helps scholars and practitioners develop, submit, conduct, and share grant-funded education research. At WCER, all employees share five fundamental organization values to guide the purpose and quality of our work and interactions within ourselves and our outside stakeholders. The values that the work and people of WCER strive to uphold are: - Innovation and Excellence. Continuous improvement is a driver for excellence. We innovate and improve in our work to advance education through leading research and development. - Equitable Education. Equitable education is essential to a healthy society. We aim to reverse imbalances and injustices in education through our work. - Affirming and Increasing Diversity. Individual differences and group diversity inspire creative and equitable outcomes. We actively affirm and seek to increase such diversity in our center. - Healthy Workplace. The well-being of our workplace enhances success for all. We commit to a workplace based on mutual respect and transparency - Partnering Across Differences. Diverse backgrounds and expertise improve the quality of our work. We collaborate across disciplines, methodologies, organizations, and communities to strengthen our research and development outcomes. If you need to request an accommodation because of a disability during the recruitment process, please email [email protected]  and one of our Division Disability Representatives will contact you. More information can also be found at https://employeedisabilities.wisc.edu/disability-accommodation-information-for-applicants/ . How to Apply: Please click on the "Apply Now" button to start the application process. As part of the application process, you will be required to submit: - A cover letter describing how your experience and qualifications meet the requirements of this position addressed to Martha Alibali. - A current resume or CV. - A list of at least three professional references, including contact information. Laura Hankes [email protected] 608-890-4461 Relay Access (WTRS): 7-1-1. See RELAY_SERVICE for further information. Official Title: Research Specialist(RE047) Department(s): A17-SCHOOL OF EDUCATION/WCER Employment Class: Academic Staff-Terminal Job Number: The university of wisconsin-madison is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer.. You will be redirected to the application to launch your career momentarily. Thank you! Frequently Asked Questions Applicant Tutorial Disability Accommodations Pay Transparency Policy Statement Refer a Friend You've sent this job to a friend! Website feedback, questions or accessibility issues: [email protected] . Learn more about accessibility at UW–Madison . © 2016–2024 Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System • Privacy Statement Before You Go.. Would you like to sign-up for job alerts. Thank you for subscribing to UW–Madison job alerts! People & Community Research & Impact Career Services Note 1: Chicago “we’re not going back” to dubious carbon offsets: the dnc’s forward-looking approach to reducing its emissions. August 23, 2024 by Barbara Haya & Stephen Lezak  Welcome to the Berkeley Carbon Trading Project’s inaugural blog post. Our research to date has documented persistent problems with the effectiveness and quality of the carbon credit market; that’s why this first post is inspired by a noteworthy example of an alternative to offsetting-based carbon neutrality claims. We were thrilled to learn that this week’s Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago has chosen a best practice approach to managing its carbon footprint. Globally, conferences and major events could be responsible for a significant share of GHG emissions. This is largely due to the high carbon footprint of air travel, but food, ground transportation, and energy use at the event spaces also contribute significantly to events’ environmental impact. Often, organizers commit to carbon neutrality and try to meet that pledge through purchasing carbon offset credits. But as research from the Berkeley Carbon Trading Project has repeatedly shown, identifying quality credits is challenging, and most carbon offsets, across many   project   types , routinely overestimate their impact many times over. This year’s DNC offers an excellent example of how to reduce the climate impact from a major event. While the Convention’s sustainability team has yet to release data about the scale of its actions and estimated impact, the organizers’ approach was broadly in-line with what we understand to be best practice: Focus on directly reducing emissions from the event itself: The DNC is taking a suite of actions to directly lower its carbon footprint, including encouraging cleaner modes of transportation to and within the city, replacing diesel generators with electricity from Chicago’s low-carbon grid, promoting plant-based meals, reducing food waste and diverting it from landfills, and significantly expanding the venue’s recycling capacity. Encourage travelers to donate directly to a sustainability organization: Rather than prompting attendees to purchase carbon offsets, event organizers asked travelers to donate to a highly regarded local nonprofit – Growing Home – an urban farm and workforce development organization focused on benefiting disadvantaged communities in Chicago. These direct donations have many advantages over purchasing offsets. By directly supporting a known organization, donors can have greater confidence in the impact of their dollars, and they can support an organization whose work is closely aligned with environmental, social, and economic justice. Also, all of the funds go directly to the organization and its mission, instead of to carbon market consultants and brokers. We have written about the many benefits of direct donations, also called “contributions,” as an alternative to carbon offsets here and here . Avoid offsetting claims: The DNC avoids claims about being carbon-neutral, net-zero, or offsetting. Because of the poor quality of most credits on the offset market, those claims have rarely been true. Moreover, making such claims obfuscates the actual emissions from the event itself, leading to a classic “ moral hazard ” problem that leaves people less motivated to pursue direct decarbonization. Be transparent: Was the DNC’s sustainability program ultimately successful? The event organizers have pledged to collect data about actual behavior. We’re looking forward to seeing the results of their surveys. This sort of transparency can also help future organizers set goals, track performance, and ratchet up ambition to directly decarbonize as much as possible. At the close of convention week, the DNC seems to have done an impressive job navigating the complex space of reducing its climate impacts with an excellent approach that other event organizers should emulate. We promise to share more Berkeley Carbon Trading Notes about effective action on the road to deep decarbonization. Barbara Haya , Phd, Director, Berkeley Carbon Trading Project , Goldman School of Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley  Stephen Lezak , PhD, Research Fellow, Berkeley Carbon Trading Project , Goldman School of Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley Sources cited: DNC Sustainability webpage: https://demconvention.com/sustainability/ WBEZ Chicago, August 16, 2024. DNC organizers say convention will be the ‘most sustainable’ in history. https://www.wbez.org/government-politics/dnc-2024/2024/08/16/dnc-organizers-say-convention-will-be-the-most-sustainable-in-history Chicago Tribune, August 18, 2024, Organizers strive for ‘the most sustainable’ Democratic National Convention yet.  https://www.chicagotribune.com/2024/08/18/dnc-sustainability/ Grist, August 20, 2024, How do you reduce the carbon footprint of a political convention? One donation at a time. https://grist.org/politics/how-do-you-reduce-the-carbon-footprint-of-a-political-convention-one-donation-at-a-time/ Skip to main content Skip to FDA Search Skip to in this section menu Skip to footer links The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site. The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely. U.S. Food and Drug Administration   Search   Menu News & Events FDA Newsroom Press Announcements FDA Approves and Authorizes Updated mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines to Better Protect Against Currently Circulating Variants FDA News Release Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved and granted emergency use authorization (EUA) for updated mRNA COVID-19 vaccines (2024-2025 formula) to include a monovalent (single) component that corresponds to the Omicron variant KP.2 strain of SARS-CoV-2. The mRNA COVID-19 vaccines have been updated with this formula to more closely target currently circulating variants and provide better protection against serious consequences of COVID-19, including hospitalization and death. Today’s actions relate to updated mRNA COVID-19 vaccines manufactured by ModernaTX Inc. and Pfizer Inc. In early June, the FDA advised manufacturers of licensed and authorized COVID-19 vaccines that the COVID-19 vaccines (2024-2025 formula) should be monovalent JN.1 vaccines. Based on the further evolution of SARS-CoV-2 and a rise in cases of COVID-19, the agency subsequently determined and advised manufacturers that the preferred JN.1-lineage for the COVID-19 vaccines (2024-2025 formula) is the KP.2 strain, if feasible. “Vaccination continues to be the cornerstone of COVID-19 prevention,” said Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. “These updated vaccines meet the agency’s rigorous, scientific standards for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality. Given waning immunity of the population from previous exposure to the virus and from prior vaccination, we strongly encourage those who are eligible to consider receiving an updated COVID-19 vaccine to provide better protection against currently circulating variants.” The updated mRNA COVID-19 vaccines include Comirnaty and Spikevax, both of which are approved for individuals 12 years of age and older, and the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, both of which are authorized for emergency use for individuals 6 months through 11 years of age. What You Need to Know Unvaccinated individuals 6 months through 4 years of age are eligible to receive three doses of the updated, authorized Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine or two doses of the updated, authorized Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine. Individuals 6 months through 4 years of age who have previously been vaccinated against COVID-19 are eligible to receive one or two doses of the updated, authorized Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines (timing and number of doses to administer depends on the previous COVID-19 vaccine received). Individuals 5 years through 11 years of age regardless of previous vaccination are eligible to receive a single dose of the updated, authorized Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines; if previously vaccinated, the dose is administered at least 2 months after the last dose of any COVID-19 vaccine. Individuals 12 years of age and older are eligible to receive a single dose of the updated, approved Comirnaty or the updated, approved Spikevax; if previously vaccinated, the dose is administered at least 2 months since the last dose of any COVID-19 vaccine. Additional doses are authorized for certain immunocompromised individuals ages 6 months through 11 years of age as described in the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine fact sheets. Individuals who receive an updated mRNA COVID-19 vaccine may experience similar side effects as those reported by individuals who previously received mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and as described in the respective prescribing information or fact sheets. The updated vaccines are expected to provide protection against COVID-19 caused by the currently circulating variants. Barring the emergence of a markedly more infectious variant of SARS-CoV-2, the FDA anticipates that the composition of COVID-19 vaccines will need to be assessed annually, as occurs for seasonal influenza vaccines. For today’s approvals and authorizations of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, the FDA assessed manufacturing and nonclinical data to support the change to include the 2024-2025 formula in the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. The updated mRNA vaccines are manufactured using a similar process as previous formulas of these vaccines. The mRNA COVID-19 vaccines have been administered to hundreds of millions of people in the U.S., and the benefits of these vaccines continue to outweigh their risks. On an ongoing basis, the FDA will review any additional COVID-19 vaccine applications submitted to the agency and take appropriate regulatory action. The approval of Comirnaty (COVID-19 Vaccine, mRNA) (2024-2025 Formula) was granted to BioNTech Manufacturing GmbH. The EUA amendment for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine (2024-2025 Formula) was issued to Pfizer Inc. The approval of Spikevax (COVID-19 Vaccine, mRNA) (2024-2025 Formula) was granted to ModernaTX Inc. and the EUA amendment for the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine (2024-2025 Formula) was issued to ModernaTX Inc. Related Information Comirnaty (COVID-19 Vaccine, mRNA) (2024-2025 Formula) Spikevax (COVID-19 Vaccine, mRNA) (2024-2025 Formula) Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine (2024-2025 Formula) Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine (2024-2025 Formula) FDA Resources for the Fall Respiratory Illness Season Updated COVID-19 Vaccines for Use in the United States Beginning in Fall 2024 June 5, 2024, Meeting of the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee The FDA, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, protects the public health by assuring the safety, effectiveness, and security of human and veterinary drugs, vaccines and other biological products for human use, and medical devices. The agency also is responsible for the safety and security of our nation’s food supply, cosmetics, dietary supplements, radiation-emitting electronic products, and for regulating tobacco products. Have a language expert improve your writing Run a free plagiarism check in 10 minutes, generate accurate citations for free. Knowledge Base Starting the research process Research Objectives | Definition & Examples Research Objectives | Definition & Examples Published on July 12, 2022 by Eoghan Ryan . Revised on November 20, 2023. Research objectives describe what your research is trying to achieve and explain why you are pursuing it. They summarize the approach and purpose of your project and help to focus your research. Your objectives should appear in the introduction of your research paper , at the end of your problem statement . They should: Establish the scope and depth of your project Contribute to your research design Indicate how your project will contribute to existing knowledge Table of contents What is a research objective, why are research objectives important, how to write research aims and objectives, smart research objectives, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about research objectives. Research objectives describe what your research project intends to accomplish. They should guide every step of the research process , including how you collect data , build your argument , and develop your conclusions . Your research objectives may evolve slightly as your research progresses, but they should always line up with the research carried out and the actual content of your paper. Research aims A distinction is often made between research objectives and research aims. A research aim typically refers to a broad statement indicating the general purpose of your research project. It should appear at the end of your problem statement, before your research objectives. Your research objectives are more specific than your research aim and indicate the particular focus and approach of your project. Though you will only have one research aim, you will likely have several research objectives. Here's why students love Scribbr's proofreading services Discover proofreading & editing Research objectives are important because they: Establish the scope and depth of your project: This helps you avoid unnecessary research. It also means that your research methods and conclusions can easily be evaluated . Contribute to your research design: When you know what your objectives are, you have a clearer idea of what methods are most appropriate for your research. Indicate how your project will contribute to extant research: They allow you to display your knowledge of up-to-date research, employ or build on current research methods, and attempt to contribute to recent debates. Once you’ve established a research problem you want to address, you need to decide how you will address it. This is where your research aim and objectives come in. Step 1: Decide on a general aim Your research aim should reflect your research problem and should be relatively broad. Step 2: Decide on specific objectives Break down your aim into a limited number of steps that will help you resolve your research problem. What specific aspects of the problem do you want to examine or understand? Step 3: Formulate your aims and objectives Once you’ve established your research aim and objectives, you need to explain them clearly and concisely to the reader. You’ll lay out your aims and objectives at the end of your problem statement, which appears in your introduction. Frame them as clear declarative statements, and use appropriate verbs to accurately characterize the work that you will carry out. The acronym “SMART” is commonly used in relation to research objectives. It states that your objectives should be: Specific: Make sure your objectives aren’t overly vague. Your research needs to be clearly defined in order to get useful results. Measurable: Know how you’ll measure whether your objectives have been achieved. Achievable: Your objectives may be challenging, but they should be feasible. Make sure that relevant groundwork has been done on your topic or that relevant primary or secondary sources exist. Also ensure that you have access to relevant research facilities (labs, library resources , research databases , etc.). Relevant: Make sure that they directly address the research problem you want to work on and that they contribute to the current state of research in your field. Time-based: Set clear deadlines for objectives to ensure that the project stays on track. Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check. 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 Research objectives describe what you intend your research project to accomplish. They summarize the approach and purpose of the project and help to focus your research. Your objectives should appear in the introduction of your research paper , at the end of your problem statement . Your research objectives indicate how you’ll try to address your research problem and should be specific: 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. Scope of research is determined at the beginning of your research process , prior to the data collection stage. Sometimes called “scope of study,” your scope delineates what will and will not be covered in your project. It helps you focus your work and your time, ensuring that you’ll be able to achieve your goals and outcomes. Defining a scope can be very useful in any research project, from a research proposal to a thesis or dissertation . A scope is needed for all types of research: quantitative , qualitative , and mixed methods . To define your scope of research, consider the following: Budget constraints or any specifics of grant funding Your proposed timeline and duration Specifics about your population of study, your proposed sample size , and the research methodology you’ll pursue Any inclusion and exclusion criteria Any anticipated control , extraneous , or confounding variables that could bias your research if not accounted for properly. Cite this Scribbr article If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator. Ryan, E. (2023, November 20). Research Objectives | Definition & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved August 27, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/research-process/research-objectives/ Is this article helpful? Eoghan Ryan Other students also liked, writing strong research questions | criteria & examples, how to write a problem statement | guide & examples, "i thought ai proofreading was useless but..". I've been using Scribbr for years now and I know it's a service that won't disappoint. It does a good job spotting mistakes” Project 2025 Explained: Democrats Assail Controversial Right-Wing Policy Map For Trump At DNC Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Democrats blasted Project 2025 on Monday at the start of the Democratic National Convention—marking the latest round of criticism against the wide-ranging blueprint for a potential second Trump term that even Trump has tried to distance himself from, despite his ex-staffers helping assemble it. Then-President Donald Trump gives a speech at the Heritage Foundation's President's Club Meeting on ... [+] October 17, 2017, in Washington D.C. Project 2025, spearheaded by conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation with help from more than 100 other conservative groups , is a multi-part plan for the next conservative administration—namely a Trump presidency—which includes a LinkedIn-style database for presidential personnel hopefuls, training programs for executive branch positions and an as-yet-unreleased “playbook” laying out what Trump should do in his first 180 days. Though the project is led by the Heritage Foundation and other private third-party groups and is not formally tied to Trump, who has tried to distance himself from the operation, its proposals were developed in part by former members of his administration and other Trump allies, and the ex-president has previously praised Heritage for its policy work. The project has drawn the most attention for its “Mandate for Leadership,” a 900-page proposed policy agenda that describes itself as a “plan to unite the conservative movement and the American people against elite rule and woke culture warriors,” laying out plans for all aspects of the executive branch. Personnel: Project 2025 broadly proposes to insert far more political appointees who are ideologically aligned with the president into the executive branch—replacing many of the nonpartisan career civil servants who serve in it now—proposing an executive order that would put political appointees into any “confidential, policy-determining, policymaking, or policy-advocating positions” (which Trump previously did at the end of his presidency, but President Joe Biden then overturned it). Federal Agencies: It proposes a scaled-down federal government, including the abolishment of multiple agencies—including the Department of Education, Department of Homeland Security, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau—whose remaining departments would be folded into other agencies or privatized, including the Transportation Security Administration. Transgender Rights: Transgender rights and gender identity beyond biological sex are roundly rejected, with such steps as reinstating the ban on transgender Americans serving in the military, prohibiting public school educators from referring to students by anything other than their birth name and pronouns without parental permission, and ensuring no federal funds are used to provide gender-affirming care. DEI and LGBTQ Rights: Project 2025 seeks to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs from throughout the federal government and in universities, and while it doesn’t outlaw same-sex marriage, it supports “nuclear families” that include a “married mother, father, and their children,” and calls for restricting laws that bar discrimination on the basis of sex to exclude sexual orientation and gender identity. Climate Change: The proposal would undo much of the federal government’s climate work, including by leaving the Paris Climate Agreement, overhauling the Department of Energy to promote oil and natural gas and deemphasize green energy sources, removing the Department of Agriculture’s focus on sustainability and curtailing climate research. Abortion: While Project 2025 doesn’t explicitly call for an abortion ban, it would take many steps to restrict the procedure, including directing the Food and Drug Administration to revoke its approval of abortion drug mifepristone, using the Comstock Act to block any abortion equipment or medication from being mailed—which abortion rights advocates have said would be a “backdoor” way to ban abortion—barring federal funds being used to provide healthcare coverage for abortion and requiring states to report all abortions that take place there to the federal government. Education: Project 2025 emphasizes a “school choice” policy that directs public funds to be used for students to attend private or religious schools, bars “critical race theory” from being taught in federally funded schools and advocates for legislation that would allow parents to sue schools they feel have acted improperly—such as by teaching controversial subjects or requiring students to disclose information about their religious beliefs. Student Loans: Student loan relief efforts would come to an end—including the public service loan forgiveness program and income-driven repayment plans—as the proposal states “borrowers should be expected to repay their loans.” Big Tech: TikTok would be banned, and the proposal calls for reforming Section 230 —which shields tech companies and social media networks from being sued over content on their platforms—and allowing laws like those passed in Florida and Texas that seek to punish social media companies who ban or suspend users based on their “viewpoints.” Justice Department: Project 2025 calls for a “top-to-bottom overhaul” of the DOJ and FBI that gets rid of what it calls an “unaccountable bureaucratic managerial class and radical Left ideologues,” proposing an agency that would be more focused on violent crime and filing litigation that’s “consistent with the President’s agenda” and filled with far more political appointees; it also proposes prohibiting the FBI from investigating misinformation or making “politically motivated” moves against U.S. citizens. Taxes: Project 2025 would seek to get rid of current tax rates and most deductions and credits, instead proposing a 15% rate for anyone under the Social Security wage base ( $168,000 in 2024) and 30% for taxpayers earning more than that—which means the lowest-income taxpayers will now pay more and some higher earners will pay less, and it would also lower the corporate income tax rate to 18%. Federal Reserve: The project seeks to reform the Federal Reserve by “tak[ing] the monetary steering wheel out of [its] hands and return[ing] it to the people,” which the authors propose could be done by getting rid of the government’s control over the nation’s money entirely—instead leaving it up to banks—or returning to the gold standard, in which the dollar’s value would be tied to a specific weight of gold. Foreign Relations: Project 2025 emphasizes opposing China, which it describes as “a totalitarian enemy of the United States,” and directs the U.S. to pull out of international organizations when they don’t serve the administration’s interests, including the World Health Organization and various United Nations agencies. Healthcare: Project 2025 does not seek to overturn the Affordable Care Act, but would make significant cuts to Medicaid and impose work requirements to receive coverage, as well as reform Medicare—including by making Medicare Advantage, a paid supplement to Medicare, the default option for patients. Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We’re launching text message alerts so you'll always know the biggest stories shaping the day’s headlines. Text “Alerts” to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here . The proposal was a common point of attack for Democrats against Trump during Monday’s opening night of the Democratic National Convention. State Sen. Mallory McMorrow, D-Mich., called it “a plan to turn Donald Trump into a dictator,” while highlighting the portion of the plan that calls for replacing many of the nonpartisan career civil servants in the executive branch with political appointees. The DNC also aired an ad that featured undercover footage of one of the Project 2025 authors and former Trump administration official Russell Vought, saying Trump has “blessed” the organization. Is Trump Involved With Project 2025? Trump has denied any connection to Project 2025, claiming on Truth Social last week that he has “nothing to do with them,” has “no idea” who’s behind the plan and finds some of its ideas “absolutely ridiculous and abysmal.” His campaign advisor Chris LaCivita has also denounced it, calling the effort a “pain in the ass.” But many aren’t buying the ex-president’s claims: The team behind Project 2025 includes 140 people who worked for Trump in his administration, according to CNN , including six former Cabinet secretaries and four people he nominated as ambassadors. Trump has also seemingly endorsed Heritage’s policy work in the past, saying at a 2022 dinner for the Heritage Foundation that the group was “going to lay the groundwork and detail plans for exactly what our movement will do … when the American people give us a colossal mandate.” What Impact Could Project 2025’s Policies Have? Experts have warned Project 2025’s proposals could have seismic impacts on how the federal government operates if carried out. In an article for Justia , criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor John May suggested Project 2025’s language endorsing the executive branch being able to “restrain the excesses” of the judicial branch and Congress means “if the President wants to, the President can defy any decision of the Supreme Court, any legislation by Congress, maybe even the act of impeachment and removal from office.” Who’s Behind Project 2025? The main team behind Project 2025 includes Heritage Foundation director Paul Gans and former Trump White House personnel leaders Spencer Chretien (who also served as Trump’s special assistant) and Troup Hemenway, according to the project’s website. Other groups listed as participating in the project include ex-Trump adviser Stephen Miller’s America First Legal, legal group Alliance Defending Freedom, Liberty University, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America and Turning Point USA. The 900-page policy agenda was co-authored by a series of conservative figures, with chapters penned by such Trump allies as former Housing Secretary Dr. Ben Carson, former Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Ken Cuccinelli, former HHS Civil Rights Director Roger Severino and former Trump advisor Peter Navarro, who went to prison in March for contempt of Congress. The Heritage Foundation confirmed July 30 that Dans is stepping down and leaving the organization, saying in a statement he was “moving up to the front where the fight remains.” The Daily Beast reports Dans resigned amid pressure from the Trump campaign, though the Heritage Foundation said only that it had always intended its “policy drafting” work to only last through the party conventions, “and we are sticking to that timeline.” The Heritage Foundation denied reports Project 2025 is shutting down, and said its personnel efforts would continue. Will Trump Have To Follow Project 2025’s Plans? Trump will not be under any obligation to follow Project 2025’s proposals if he wins the presidency, though history suggests he’ll listen to at least some of them. The Heritage Foundation made a similar policy proposal for Trump ahead of his presidency in 2016, and boasted two years into his tenure that Trump had already followed 64% of its recommendations, CBS News notes . Would Project 2025 Change Social Security? One area that Project 2025 doesn’t touch on is Social Security benefits and any potential cuts to the program, even as proposals outline changes to numerous other government “entitlements.” Changing Social Security and making cuts to its spending has been a priority for the GOP for decades, though the American public has long opposed slashing benefits. Republicans’ efforts have waned under Trump, however, and the ex-president publicly claimed in March he “will never do anything that will jeopardize or hurt Social Security or Medicare,” after he came under fire for suggesting otherwise in an interview with CNBC. Surprising Fact While much of Project 2025’s policy agenda concerns federal agencies, the proposal has also gotten attention for its call to outlaw all pornography, which it claims is tied to “the omnipresent propagation of transgender ideology and sexualization of children” and is not protected under the First Amendment. Project 2025 calls not only for pornography to be made illegal, but also for anyone involved with its production and distribution to be imprisoned, for any librarians or educators who “purvey it” to be registered as sex offenders and for telecommunications and technology firms that facilitate its distribution to be shut down. Key Background The Heritage Foundation’s practice of laying out a policy roadmap for a future Republican administration actually dates back to the Reagan era, founder Edwin J. Feulner noted in the afterword of the 2025 edition. The organization first laid out a blueprint in 1981 that President Ronald Reagan ultimately adopted, fulfilling half of its recommendations by the end of his first year in office. The Heritage Foundation has continued to come out with blueprints for potential conservative presidents each election since, it notes, and its 2025 Mandate for Leadership was published in 2023. While it came out last year, Project 2025 gained new attention in the past week since Trump disavowed it—sparking a wave of reports highlighting his ties to the figures behind the project that debunk his claims. Democrats have also used the controversial proposal as a key talking point and argument for why the left should unite behind President Joe Biden and focus on defeating Trump, particularly as Biden’s candidacy has come under widespread scrutiny in the wake of the president’s poor debate performance in June. Further Reading Editorial Standards Reprints & Permissions Join The Conversation One Community. Many Voices. Create a free account to share your thoughts.  Forbes Community Guidelines Our community is about connecting people through open and thoughtful conversations. We want our readers to share their views and exchange ideas and facts in a safe space. In order to do so, please follow the posting rules in our site's  Terms of Service.   We've summarized some of those key rules below. Simply put, keep it civil. 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Please read the full list of posting rules found in our site's  Terms of Service. 390 IMAGES Research Project 3 3rd Grade PBL Science Research Project How to Do a Research Project: Step-by-Step Process |Leverage Edu Project++3 The Essential Guide to Doing Your Research Project 3rd edition eBook Conducting Your Pharmacy Practice Research Project Third Edition COMMENTS Research Project Definition: Research Project is a planned and systematic investigation into a specific area of interest or problem, with the goal of generating new knowledge, insights, or solutions. It typically involves identifying a research question or hypothesis, designing a study to test it, collecting and analyzing data, and drawing conclusions based on ... Examples of Student Research Projects The Essential Guide to Doing Your Research Project. Third Edition. by Zina O'Leary. Toggle nav . Student Resources . Videos. Research Proposals including Research Plans ; Coming Up With a Research Question; Getting Ethics Approval; Struggling with a Literature Review; How to Write a Research Proposal Research questions give your project a clear focus. They should be specific and feasible, but complex enough to merit a detailed answer. 2628. How to Write a Literature Review | Guide, Examples, & Templates A literature review is a survey of scholarly knowledge on a topic. Our guide with examples, video, and templates can help you write yours. A Beginner's Guide to Starting the Research Process This article takes you through the first steps of the research process, helping you narrow down your ideas and build up a strong foundation for your research project. Table of contents. Step 1: Choose your topic. Step 2: Identify a problem. Step 3: Formulate research questions. Step 4: Create a research design. Step 5: Write a research proposal. 10 Research Question Examples to Guide your Research Project 10 Research Question Examples to Guide your Research Project. Published on October 30, 2022 by Shona McCombes.Revised on October 19, 2023. The research question is one of the most important parts of your research paper, thesis or dissertation.It's important to spend some time assessing and refining your question before you get started. How to Do Your Research Project: A Guide for Students Work your way through interactive exercises for each stage of the research project roadmap and watch videos from your pocket supervisor, Gary Thomas. Explore real-world practice through case studies and journal articles. Reflect, revise, and take your learning on the go with worksheets and get to grips with key terms and concepts using digital ... Research Questions, Objectives & Aims (+ Examples) For most biomedical research projects, including 'real research', 1-3 research questions will suffice (numbers may differ by discipline). Reply. Abdella on January 27, 2024 at 1:51 pm Awesome! Very important resources and presented in an informative way to easily understand the golden thread. Writing Chapter 3 of Your Research Project WRITING CHAPTER 3 OF YOUR RESEARCH PROJECT. Chapter three of your research project is to provide an experienced researcher with enough details to repeat the study, some supervisors fail to grasp this and demand that students produce what is essentially a textbook, a research design is used to organize the research and demonstrate how all of the ... How to plan a research project 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. How to Write a Research Plan: A Step by Step Guide 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. How To Write A Research Proposal Here is an explanation of each step: 1. Title and Abstract. Choose a concise and descriptive title that reflects the essence of your research. Write an abstract summarizing your research question, objectives, methodology, and expected outcomes. It should provide a brief overview of your proposal. 2. Research Projects: 3 1) They select readings that seem easy and quick to read and/or analyze because the sources are simple and short. 2) They fail to select significant, important, and/or relevant sources to read. 3) They fail to solve the assignment's puzzle before starting so they produce something that does not satisfy the assignment's requirements. The critical steps for successful research: The research proposal and Completing any research project requires meticulous planning, experimental design and execution, and compilation and publication of findings in the form of a research paper. All of these are often unfamiliar to naïve researchers; thus, the purpose of this workshop was to teach participants to master the critical steps involved in the ... Research Process Steps: What they are + How To Follow Step 1: Identify the Problem. Finding an issue or formulating a research question is the first step. A well-defined research problem will guide the researcher through all stages of the research process, from setting objectives to choosing a technique. There are a number of approaches to get insight into a topic and gain a better understanding ... What Is a Research Design 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. Other interesting articles. Research Process Step 3: Design the Study Design a study to test the hypothesis. Decide on the study population, sample size, and research methods. ... Start with a clear research question: A well-defined research question is the foundation of a successful research project. It should be specific, relevant, and achievable within the given time frame and resources. Research Project 3 Research Project Part 3 Jaye Brockington FINC 330 7383 Dr. Jennifer Harris April 29, 2024. Introduction This report is to conduct a comprehensive financial analysis of Microsoft Corporation, focusing on its stock performance. This analysis aims to provide valuable insights for stakeholders, including the chairman (CEO) of Microsoft, and ... FINC330 Research Project Part3 Research Part 3 Costco FINC 330 6980. Introduction. ... FINC330 Research Project 2; BMGT 495 - Research; BMGT 495 7388 Project 1 - Research; BMGT 495 Research 2; BMGT 495 Research 4; Bstat ASS 5 - business statistics with R; Related documents. Federal TAX Outline; QR EBP articles Final 1; Fact-checking warnings from Democrats about Project 2025 and ... This fact check originally appeared on PolitiFact. Project 2025 has a starring role in this week's Democratic National Convention. And it was front and center on Night 1. WATCH: Hauling large ... User Research and the Paperwork Reduction Act Agencies might not need PRA approval for most user research done on projects, depending on how the project is structured. Specifically, there are activities common in user research that do not require PRA clearance because they do not qualify as an information collection under PRA regulations (5 C.F.R. § 1320.3). Those activities include: Kentucky State University and the Appalachian Renewal Project Renew Dr. Koffi C. Akakpo, Kentucky State University President, and Clifford Smith, CEO of Appalachian Renewal Project (ARP) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) renewing their partnership to continue collaborative research and education on the effects of both mining and restoration interventions on the ecosystem. KSU and ARP first entered into the MOU in 2021 to research Appalachia's ... Fall 2024: Developing Semantic Interoperability Technology for Affiliations: STEM Research Leadership Project Leader: Chan Young Park [email protected] Construction Science Meeting Times: TBA Team Size: 3 Open Spots: 3 Special Opportunities: Student will be considered for co-authors on publications. Depending on performance, students will have the opportunity to be a member of our research group with appropriate compensation. Team Needs: We are seeking […] Research Methodology Research methodology formats can vary depending on the specific requirements of the research project, but the following is a basic example of a structure for a research methodology section: I. Introduction. Provide an overview of the research problem and the need for a research methodology section; Outline the main research questions and ... What is a research project? What is a research project? A research project is an academic, scientific, or professional undertaking to answer a research question.Research projects can take many forms, such as qualitative or quantitative, descriptive, longitudinal, experimental, or correlational.What kind of research approach you choose will depend on your topic. Research Specialist Job Summary: The project BioGames investigates how simple card games can be used to promote young children's learning about biological variability. The games focus on understanding of the life cycle (insects and other animals), with focus on understanding variability, both within and across species. The research involves studying how parents and children talk about biological concepts in the ... Note 1: Chicago Often, organizers commit to carbon neutrality and try to meet that pledge through purchasing carbon offset credits. But as research from the Berkeley Carbon Trading Project has repeatedly shown, identifying quality credits is challenging, and most carbon offsets, across many project types, routinely overestimate their impact many times over. FDA Approves and Authorizes Updated mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines to Better FDA approved and authorized for emergency use updated mRNA COVID-19 vaccines (2024-2025 formula) to more closely target currently circulating variants to prevent COVID-19 and to provide better ... Personalizing education with ChatGPT Arizona State University (opens in a new window) (ASU) is one of the largest public universities in the United States, serving 181,000 students in a given year and offering over 800 degree options. For nine straight years, U.S. News and World Report has named ASU the most innovative university in America. Today, ASU is enhancing educational outcomes by integrating ChatGPT Edu into projects ... Research Objectives Research objectives describe what your research project intends to accomplish. They should guide every step of the research process, including how you collect data, build your argument, and develop your conclusions. Your research objectives may evolve slightly as your research progresses, but they should always line up with the research carried ... What Is Project 2025? Trump's Potential Policy Agenda ... Project 2025 would severely restrict abortion pills, abolish federal agencies, block climate change research, end student loan forgiveness and more. assignment essay homework phd report resume review speech thesis