Planning the process

• For dissertation, consultancy, etc. forward planning helps in managing the research process
• The research plan indicates the various stages of the research to be undertaken

• Manage expectations - provide a realistic schedule for completion of the research, indicate when you expect to achieve specific milestones or complete important tasks
• Includes establishing the format and frequency for meetings with supervisor/business

• Build in contingencies - if one task lags, how will you ensure that this does not adversely affect project completion?

• Are there any other constraints you need to consider - e.g. time constraints due to personal/professional commitments?

Purpose of planning research activities
1. Clarify the aims and objectives of the research;

2. Define the activities required to attain these aims and the order in which they take place;

3. Identify various critical points or "milestones" in the research at which progress can be reviewed and the research plan reassessed;

4. Produce estimates of times at which the various milestones will be reached so that progress can be clearly measured;

5. Ensure that effective use is made of key resources (resources include stakeholders such as your supervisor, the business, students in your consultancy group);

6. Define priorities once the research is under way;

7. Serve as a guide for increasing the likelihood of successful completion on time

Developing a research project plan
1. Outline the research objectives
• Research objectives have been defined

2. List the activities
• List all the expected activities/tasks to be completed and the estimated duration of the activity/task
• Example of a list of some of the activities for a consultancy project is shown in table below (of course, the list depends on the type of research project):

Activities will overlap

Discuss proposed activities with supervisor/client - particularly in estimating time duration

Ensure tasks are achievable during time frame suggested

Milestones may be identified i.e. the time point when a series of related tasks are to be completed

Developing a research project plan
3. Order the activities
• What activities need to occur first?
• Are there activities that are dependent on the completion of other activities?
• What activities overlap?

4. Assign resources to activities
• Be realistic on available resources
• How will activities be divided (e.g. in a consultancy project)?
• When will you have access to persons in the organisation?
• (resource scheduling will require discussions with stakeholders)

Developing a research project plan
5. Establish resources and scheduling
• A Gantt chart is an effective tool for presenting schedules (this can be done in EXCEL - see link under Resources folder)
• The chart should visually show the sequence of activities to be followed until the end of the research project.

Developing a research project plan

• When developing the research plan, you may also need to consider any costs involved
• The project should be financially feasible
• Are there costs to attending meetings at the business?
• Data collection? e.g. printing, distribution of surveys?

Planning for change
• Few research projects go exactly to plan

• Planning for the research project should avoid or anticipate any major problems

• Unexpected events may occur e.g. required persons are no longer available for an interview; in a consultancy group a student may have to travel unexpectedly; a business may decide to deny access to important data or information; surveys are not returned

• Therefore planning is an iterative process that is conducted throughout the project

• Consider whether original objectives are still appropriate, then revise according to the
constraints you are faced with
• Ideally they constraints should have been considered during your original planning

Some practical considerations
• When planning a project, risk assessment is one of the considerations

• Loss of information is a risk - a researcher is responsible for having back- up copies of research and data

• Computer storage - for data, literature reviews, dissertation chapters, etc.
- is not 100% reliable; important files can be accidently deleted or destroyed

• Data can be backed up to another location e.g. your NTU student drive; update your back-up copy regularly.

Summary

1. Draw up specific goals and put them in writing

2. Make sure your activities are achievable, especially in the given time frame and within the limited resources available

3. Prioritize your activities so that those that are most urgent or important are given the highest priority. Note that some activities may be a prerequisite for other activities and thus need to have higher priority.

4. Make a commitment to your group and/or the plan and to the completion of the research project with a clear
timetable

5. Keep the project moving and keep writing, even if it is rewriting the literature review while waiting for the primary research to be completed

6. Be flexible-even the best plans may have to be varied to take account of unexpected changes and replanning may be necessary