Research Plans: Organize, Document, Inform

Why Plans Matter

As the popular saying goes, failing to plan is planning to fail. All UX-research studies should start with a plan. Without a plan, key considerations can get missed and stakeholders may misunderstand what the research is about or will find.

A research plan is a document that outlines the goals, methods, and logistical details of a research study. (When planning a usability test, the research plan is often referred to as a test plan.)

The act of creating a research plan helps to structure your thinking. However, research plans have many more benefits, including:

• Keeping track of the many documents (e.g., consent forms, recruitment documentation, and facilitator guides) generated for a research study
• Keeping team members and stakeholders informed about the purpose and scope of the research and about when they might be able to watch sessions or consume study outputs
• Documenting your method and approach for record keeping, so that you and others in the organization can later remember who you recruited or how you did the research (Research plans are often included in research repositories.)

Typically, a research plan is constructed for each study. However, sometimes, a research plan could include numerous studies or phases of research, especially if multiple research methods will be used in one project (such as interviews and a diary study).

Components of a Research Plan

A research plan can come in many forms and formats. However, all plans should cover the following:

• Purpose and goals of the research study
• Participants
• Method and procedure
• Relevant documents such as consent form, screener, study protocol

Purpose and Goals

Include the following information in your plan:

• What product or topic the research will focus on
• What needs to be learned
• Why the study is conducted

Usually, research plans will have a section that lists the relevant research questions, research goals, or hypotheses.

Participants

The research plan should describe the characteristics of the people who will participate in the research, as well as the number (i.e., the sample size) and blend of desired characteristics.

 For some studies, participants must have specific characteristics or engage in certain behaviors to participate. These are known as inclusion criteria.

Additionally, certain people may need to be excluded from participating because including them could jeopardize the goals or validity of the study. These user characteristics would be specified under the exclusion criteria. The information in this section will form the basis of the screener. Screener questionnaires can be included in a research plan or linked from it.

Method and Procedure

A research plan should list the user-research method(s) employed in the study and how the study will be conducted. This section might include the:

• Length of any moderated sessions
• Tools used to conduct the research
• Study incentive if there is one
• Tasks, prompts, or interview questions that will be provided to participants

If study stimuli (e.g., prototypes or live designs) will be used, they will be linked or described in the research plan. The method and procedure section should be detailed enough that the research study could be replicated in the future.

Logistics

Research plans often include information to keep researchers and teams organized.

For example, if the research is moderated, research plans might include the date and time of each session and who the facilitator will be (if there are multiple).

If the research is in person, there may be information about where the research will take place and which equipment or supplies will be needed. Sometimes research plans can include checklists for facilitators or observers.

Relevant Documents

The research plan is often the place to store or provide links to relevant documents needed for the study such as:

Tips for Creating a Research Plan

• Share your research plan with relevant stakeholders to get buy-in. Research plans help stakeholders understand what’s in scope and why the research is being performed. They also set expectations on what will be learned. You can ask stakeholders to provide input on draft research plans. Involving stakeholders in the planning process can ensure that the outcomes are understood and accepted when reporting the study findings.
• Provide tips for observers. If the research is moderated and will be observed, include guidance for observers on what to expect and how best to participate without interrupting. You may provide some basic observer guidelines on good behavior. If team members will be taking notes during the session, include advice on how to take good notes, with some concrete examples.
• Avoid including participants’ names and identifying information in your research plans so you won’t need to remove it after the research is over; instead, use codes (P1, P2, etc.,) to preserve anonymity. You can also include recruited user characteristics to help stakeholders understand who will be researched (e.g., P1: 42-year-old male, novice user).
• Update the plan after the research study is over. In moderated studies, it’s common to make adjustments during the study to get better data. For example, tasks or interview questions may be removed, changed, or added. Update anything that changed so that the research plan accurately reflects what you did.

Free Research-Plan Template

If you are scaling user research in your organization, it can be helpful to construct a template research plan that teams can easily adopt and complete. You might even include advice in your research-plan template (such as how to find target users or how many participants you’d recommend to recruit for specific methods).

You can find a research-plan template attached to this article or you can make a copy of this Google Docs version.

Conclusion

A research plan ensures that no important information is missed in the planning process, creates transparency, fosters trust in the research, and is crucial for future reference and study-replication purposes. Since each research study is a little different, your research plans can differ in structure, content, and format from one study to the next. To save time and ensure consistency, create and use a research-plan template.