Research plan template

About this template: A research plan is a living document. Sections can be added and removed as needed, and details added as you have them.

Title of research plan — [Name of effort] [method of research] [target participants]

In the title: A good descriptive title includes the thing you're studying, the method you're using, and if appropriate, the target audience. Example: GSA.gov redesign readability interviews with senior citizens.

Authors/stakeholders

In this section: List the names and any other relevant information (organization, titles, contact information) for people designing your research. If you're getting stakeholders' buy-in for the plan, add their details as well. Remember, a diverse research team leads to better research outcomes.

[Name], [title/org]

Context

In this section: A maximum five lines description of relevant helpful context — this could be what led to the study, the history of the project, any details about the partner or stakeholders.

Past research

In this section: If there were past research efforts, provide a summary and links to any available assets.

Research goals and questions

In this section: Document why you are doing research, and the questions the research will answer.

Research methods

In this section: Note the method or methods of research you'll be using. If this document is going to be shared outside the research team, consider including a description or links to a 18F Methods card.

Roles and responsibilities

In this section: These typical roles and descriptions should be adjusted to fit your research effort. An activity can be assigned to an individual, or led by an individual with team participation.

Activities	Description	Who
Before sessions		---
Research design	Formulating an overall research plan and plans for individual sessions, including interview guides
Screening and recruiting	Determining who we want to learn from, and inviting them to participate
Coordinating and scheduling	Managing research logistics (times, places, tools, people)
During sessions
Interviewing and moderating	Facilitating the interview or activity, generally use pre-prepared guides; joins debrief afterwards
Note taking and recording	Documenting what happens during the research; joins debriefs afterwards
Observing	Listening to interviews, observing usability tests, etc.; joins debriefs afterwards
Subject matter expert
After sessions
Synthesis	Analyzing, finding patterns and themes across research activities
Clean-up/ de-identifying	Making sure our notes reflect anonymity and PII standards, and can be understood by people who didn't join the interview
Reporting	Communicating progress and findings from research to teammates, partners, and stakeholders

Timeline

In this section: A rough-estimate timeline helps manage expectations around the study execution. Remember to give more time than you think you need for analysis and synthesis (a safe estimate is twice as long as you give to data collection).

Activity	Estimated time to complete	Dates
Research study design and planning	[# days]	[A reasonable date range]
Recruiting	[# days]	[A reasonable date range]
Data collection
When the team will perform the individual research sessions or interviews.	[# days]	[A reasonable date range]
Analysis and synthesis	[# days]	[A reasonable date range]
Report delivery		[specific date]

Participants and recruiting

In this section: Document who you're hoping to talk to during the research. This can include information about the participants, how you're planning to recruit, logistical considerations, etc.

Issues for awareness

In this section: Note if there are particular legal, ethical, accessibility, bias, or power concerns raised in the research plan how the team will mitigate them.

Important links

In this section: Keep a running list of links to key research documents, like your interview roster and any shared folders or assets.