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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?

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Do you analyze research data?

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• A Research Guide
• Research Paper Guide

How to Write a Research Plan

• Research plan definition
• Purpose of a research plan
• Research plan structure
• Step-by-step writing guide

Tips for creating a research plan

• Research plan examples

Research plan: definition and significance

What is the purpose of a research plan.

• Bridging gaps in the existing knowledge related to their subject.
• Reinforcing established research about their subject.
• Introducing insights that contribute to subject understanding.

Research plan structure & template

Introduction.

• What is the existing knowledge about the subject?
• What gaps remain unanswered?
• How will your research enrich understanding, practice, and policy?

Literature review

Expected results.

• Express how your research can challenge established theories in your field.
• Highlight how your work lays the groundwork for future research endeavors.
• Emphasize how your work can potentially address real-world problems.

5 Steps to crafting an effective research plan

Step 1: define the project purpose, step 2: select the research method, step 3: manage the task and timeline, step 4: write a summary, step 5: plan the result presentation.

• Brainstorm Collaboratively: Initiate a collective brainstorming session with peers or experts. Outline the essential questions that warrant exploration and answers within your research.
• Prioritize and Feasibility: Evaluate the list of questions and prioritize those that are achievable and important. Focus on questions that can realistically be addressed.
• Define Key Terminology: Define technical terms pertinent to your research, fostering a shared understanding. Ensure that terms like “church” or “unreached people group” are well-defined to prevent ambiguity.
• Organize your approach: Once well-acquainted with your institution’s regulations, organize each aspect of your research by these guidelines. Allocate appropriate word counts for different sections and components of your research paper.

Research plan example

• Writing a Research Paper
• Research Paper Title
• Research Paper Sources
• Research Paper Problem Statement
• Research Paper Thesis Statement
• Hypothesis for a Research Paper
• Research Question
• Research Paper Outline
• Research Paper Summary
• Research Paper Prospectus
• Research Paper Proposal
• Research Paper Format
• Research Paper Styles
• AMA Style Research Paper
• MLA Style Research Paper
• Chicago Style Research Paper
• APA Style Research Paper
• Research Paper Structure
• Research Paper Cover Page
• Research Paper Abstract
• Research Paper Introduction
• Research Paper Body Paragraph
• Research Paper Literature Review
• Research Paper Background
• Research Paper Methods Section
• Research Paper Results Section
• Research Paper Discussion Section
• Research Paper Conclusion
• Research Paper Appendix
• Research Paper Bibliography
• APA Reference Page
• Annotated Bibliography
• Bibliography vs Works Cited vs References Page
• Research Paper Types
• What is Qualitative Research

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Research Plan: What Is It & How To Write It [with Templates]

In today's fast-paced world, comprehensive data and analytics are crucial for businesses and institutions to streamline their decision-making processes. Therefore, to gather truly valuable insights, a meticulously designed research proposal is necessary. This is where many research teams fall short, focusing only on general research planning instead of creating a holistic research plan.Basic research planning encompasses only the initial stages of a research project, focusing on defining research questions, timelines, objectives, and methods. While crucial, it offers only a rudimentary outline of the research approach.

On the other hand, a well-executed research plan is a detailed, systematic, and structured document that outlines every aspect of the project. It ensures a focused, organized, and rigorous approach that maximizes the quality and reliability of the research findings.

What Is a Research Plan?

A research plan is a comprehensive document that outlines the entirety of your research project. It details the research process, from defining the problem statement and research objectives to selecting the research method and outlining the expected outcomes. This plan serves as a blueprint for your research activities, ensuring a focused and efficient approach.

The objective, methodology, and method depend on the context of your research. For instance, social media or UX research plans may focus on qualitative research methodologies , while a scientific research strategy might involve formulating hypotheses and conducting experiments.

How To Write a Research Plan in 6 Steps

Crafting an effective research plan empowers you to conduct a focused and productive investigation. Here's a step-by-step guide to help you create a plan tailored to your specific needs:

Define the Purpose of Your Project

As a starting point for your research plan, you need to clearly articulate what you aim to achieve with your research. What questions are you seeking to answer? What problem are you trying to solve? Properly defining the project’s purpose ensures your research remains focused and avoids scope creep.

Identify Research Objectives

After you have defined what the main goal for the project is, you will have to identify the specific steps or objectives needed to achieve your goal. This will help you streamline your process in a more efficient way.

Noting down individual objectives can be especially helpful if a large group is working on the project, as they can allocate tasks more effectively according to each person’s expertise. Even if a single person is conducting the research, the identified steps can assist them in sorting tasks according to their priority.

Develop a Hypothesis

In some research projects, you might benefit from developing a hypothesis , which, in basic terms, is a tentative prediction about the outcome of your investigation. The research plan will then include the tests and methodologies to help accurately confirm or disprove the original hypothesis.

Choose a Suitable Research Method and Sample

Choose the research methods best suited to gather the kind of data you need. Qualitative methods like focus groups, user interviews, and usability testing provide rich, in-depth insights. Quantitative methods like close-ended questionnaires offer broader data points.

A combination of both quantitative and qualitative research methods can be used if you want to take a more holistic approach. Next, identify your research sample. Define the demographics of your ideal participant and the sample size you need to come to get relevant insights.

Recruit Participants and Distribute Tasks

If you’re the one leading the research study, recruiting participants can help simplify the tasks. You can divide all the work according to each person’s proficiency, allowing you to prioritize the managerial tasks of your plan, such as how you will display your results.

Set a Realistic Timeline

Establish a clear timeline for each stage of your research, allocating sufficient time for tasks like data collection, analysis, and reporting. It is best practice to allow for extra time when noting down each task’s deadline in case a team member isn’t able to meet it or in case of any unexpected developments. A timeline is crucial even if you’re working alone, as it allows you to organize your time accordingly.

Why Do You Need a Research Plan?

A research plan is more than just a document. It's a roadmap for all your research activities. A well-defined plan helps you stay organized and focused on achieving your objectives.

The plan serves as an effective tool for transparent communication among team members and stakeholders. It also makes it easier to track the progress of research goals, ensuring everyone is on the same page.

7 Marketing Plan Templates Built and Used by Leading Companies

Actual case studies of effective research planning processes can give you valuable insight. Here are seven plan templates with different use cases created and used by renowned companies:

1. Jobs To Be Done User Research Guide at Replit

Tabish Gilani, Director Head of Product at Replit, created a user research interview guide to teach employees how to conduct interviews efficiently using the Jobs to be Done (JTBD) Framework . It is an excellent resource for companies that need to generate large-scale interview campaigns where users are “difficult to find.”

The interviews were meant to help get a more comprehensive outlook on Replit users worldwide regarding who they are, what they do, and why. The framework especially helped them with effective segmentation, as Replit is used globally for several different reasons. Therefore, according to geography, unique patterns and behaviors would be found that basic usage data cannot provide insight into.

Through the JTBD framework, they were able to interview users to pinpoint product themes to help them better understand their Ideal User Profile. This included the four forces influencing the point of view of the product, two of which are pull forces that attract the user and two push forces that repel them. They also specified four broad segmentations of behavioral, geographical, psychographic, and demographic to help them find relevant interviewees.

2. Design Methods Research Planning for Facebook Audience Insights

Behzod Sirjani, the Senior User Experience Researcher at Facebook, took an unconventional research approach that successfully helped them redesign the Audience Insight tool, which didn’t get great feedback when it was launched.

When designing the research plan , they prioritized making it fun and qualitative to get a subjective view of what users would want the ad tool to look like and why. These answers would also give a good insight into what competitors are doing right without having to go through competitive analysis.

Behzod didn’t just rely on interviews to get customer feedback. They took the approach of giving the user a blank page and marker to draw what they think will be useful for them. Then, they can ask why that will help them and delve into deeper conversations. This is great if you do not want to restrict answers.

They also kept rolling recruitment to reach higher-value customers and not spend excessive time with each. This approach worked as the team did not want empirical research but points that could help them learn and adapt to user preferences.

3. Enterprise App Management Research - Discussion Guide at Slack

Head of Research Operations at Slack, Behzod Sirjani, created an effective discussion guide used when conducting interviews with Slack Enterprise App Admin customers. This is especially helpful for B2B contexts, which was the case here.

The first part of the discussion focuses on warm-up questions to orient the participant and build a rapport. This allows the interviewer to gauge the answering style and adapt their questions accordingly for higher effectiveness.

The second part is designed to get context regarding the company and processes. The third section consists of the core questions, which are meant to take the most amount of time. This part of the discussion is where the interviewer delves deeper into how the product is managed and used and any challenges faced. At the end, the guide gives prompts on how to wrap up the discussion and get any information that may have been missed or could be discussed further.

4. Research Plan - Concept Testing at Niagahoster

Muhammad Aditya Ardiansyah, UX Researcher at Niagahoster, curated a research plan that is incredibly useful for people who want to gain insight into a feature. The plan focused mainly on getting insights about the concept and conducting usability testing.

The team first created hypotheses to validate if their feature is easy to use and useful. Their research plan also highlighted the in-depth process of creating two profile types that would include three participants each. The methods will involve in-depth interviews and moderated usability testing research to get a holistic idea of the attitudes and behaviors of users towards the product.

To incentivize participation, the research team gave a reward in the form of a discount voucher for their product, company merchandise, or money.

5. Automatic Outreach Research Process and Tracker at Coda

Coda Product Manager Matt Woods used the latest management software to help automate the process of reaching out to participants and tracking their feedback. This makes the guide particularly useful for those who want to schedule calls on scale.

This innovative method allowed for a streamlined interviewing process. It has proven to help the Coda product team get valuable insights regarding customer pains and improved user intuition.

6. Automatically Scheduling Customer Interviews at VEED

Thomas Christensen, Senior Product Manager, Growth at VEED.IO created a system that allowed them to conduct continuous interview research sessions . This was to improve user intuition and reveal the pains, desires, and unmet needs of their target market.

They segmented users into three groups:

• “Habit users” who make videos every week
• “Aha users” who just created their first video
• New users who did not make a video at all.

This allowed them to cater their outreach methods accordingly. For example, the first two types of users were sent recruitment emails. The third type was reached out via the app itself.

This approach also helped personalize the email and messages to get more responses. This guide is excellent if you want to scale your outreach process in a convenient way.

7. Qualitative and Quantitative Design Research Approach at Reforge

Lead Product Designer at Reforge, Ali Riehle, created a diagram to help guide their cross-functional research project . This spectacular guide can help you create a research plan that uses both quantitative and qualitative methods.

The structured approach using the diagram allowed each stage and task to be distinguished, which helped streamline communication and collaboration across the three different pods. The research outcomes heavily and positively contributed to the creation of Reforge’s strategy for 2024.

Click here to discover more of our Research Plan artifacts.

How To Customize a Research Plan Template

When selecting a template to customize for your research project, make sure it covers all essential components, such as:

• Introduction: Briefly introduce the research topic and target audience.
• Background: Define the problem or opportunity you're addressing.
• Objectives: Clearly outline your specific research goals.
• Methodology: Explain how you'll collect and analyze data.
• Timeline: Set realistic deadlines for each research stage.
• Expected Outcomes: Describe the anticipated results of your research.
• Communication Plan: Outline how you'll present your research findings.

Explore Artifacts of All Kinds

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4 New Ad Opportunities to Test Before Your Competition

By Andrew Krebs-Smith

Is growth getting harder?

Many existing channels have extended past their golden age and are reaching saturation points in their lifecycles for a variety of reasons.

Additionally, everyone's getting smarter about growth, including consumers. Now, most invite systems no longer have the same novelty value or efficacy today as they did 10 years ago, and consumers’ “banner blindness” extends far beyond actual display advertising to encompass referral systems and virality programs.

Finally, the proliferation of robust off-the-shelf tools like Mixpanel, Optimizely, and many others is closing the gap on being data-driven at companies, and makes all of us (including our peers and competitors) smarter and faster.

But, growth is not finished; it’s just changing. Today, increased competition has led more companies to emphasize paid acquisition as a core driver of growth.

Retention is Hard, and Getting Harder — Here’s Why

By Brian Balfour, Shaun Clowes & Casey Winters

In this essay, we will examine how 3 market dynamics have created the perfect storm - making retention much harder than it used to be: Increased competition, Channel fatigue, and The rise of monopolies in tech. Then we’ll dig into each of these factors individually to understand more deeply how they affect retention throughout the three stages of the user lifecycle.

How I Went from Entry-Level Sales to SVP Marketing at SurveyMonkey in 8 Years

By Ada Rekhi

In her early and mid-20s, Ada Chen Rekhi achieved "hockey stick" growth within her own career, eventually leading growth and marketing as the SVP of Marketing at SurveyMonkey after starting out just 8 years earlier as a new college grad in an entry level sales job at Microsoft.

In this post, Ada shares a few frameworks that anyone can use to trigger a high growth inflection point in their career.

How to Leverage User Psychology to Trigger Growth and Adoption, with James Currier

Marketplaces are important, and the success stories are well known: Etsy gives makers a global reach, Upwork connects Web developers in Vietnam with graphic designers in Romania, eBay has spawned legions of niche entrepreneurs in the 21 years since it was first founded as an auction site.

But James Currier, managing partner at NFX Guild and member of the Reforge Collective, says it’s their sister category “market networks” that will drive the next wave of innovation, and unicorns.

Currier is a four-time CEO and co-founder of multiple venture-backed companies, including self-assessment testing company Tickle, and Ooga Labs, which spun out casual games company WonderHill, Jiff, a secure network and marketplace for connecting the mobile health ecosystem to the healthcare industry, and Iron Pearl, which was purchased by PayPal before it had a chance to officially launch.

In 2015, Currier and his partners created NFX Guild as a programmatic, invitation-only venture firm that rapidly accelerates the growth of networks and marketplaces. The company’s name stands for “Network Effects,” as the firm’s singular focus is on building businesses that become more useful and valuable with each additional user.

We talked to Currier about the universal triggers he’s identified that shape user psychology, the emergence of market networks, and proven ways for growing these platforms.

How to Grow By Stealing Market Share

By Brianne Kimmel

Growth is getting harder and competition more fierce as technology markets mature - which is why ignoring competition is no longer an option.

Growth leader at Zendesk and Reforge alum, Brianne Kimmel, walks us through using her OODA Loop framework to build a competitive marketing program and systematically steal market share from competitors.

How to Detect and Fight Back Against Ad Fatigue

Paid acquisition in Facebook's news feed, on Instagram, or on Google is one of the fastest ways to grow — but it's also one of the fastest ways to hit audience saturation with your target audience because it's that much faster and easier to scale up than organic alternatives.

The good thing about user acquisition on advertising platforms, however, is that you can get a good idea of where your ceiling is simply by doing “burst” tests. In a burst test, you increase spend to your ad campaigns in a specific audience and channel for a single (or few days) to understand how the variables in your growth strategy perform at that spend level.

Makes sense, right? In the rest of this post, I'll go over two different ways to think about the audience saturation problem — and why burst testing may not always be the best way to go.

Where Are You on the Growth Marketer's Hierarchy of Skills?

By Scott Tousley

How can I develop my career on this awesome company's Growth team?”

When I joined HubSpot’s growth team in 2014, led by Brian Balfour, I felt wildly unqualified. I had one skill. I (sort of) understood content marketing. That was it.

I couldn’t read a retention chart. I thought “copywriting” meant filing a trademark. And the countless acronyms (CPA, LTV, CPC, CAC, etc…) made the process seem even more complex.

I was squeezed between Harvard MBA graduates, innovative product managers, and entrepreneurs who sold previous companies for millions. So I asked myself a question:

“How can I develop my career on HubSpot’s Growth Team?”

Unfortunately, there was no clear answer. A “growth marketer” role had never existed at HubSpot previously, so there was no rubric. There was no career path, there was no framework. This was unexplored terrain.

Now, let’s fast-forward two years later. The problem still persists at HubSpot. I would argue it persists in the industry as a whole. There is still no clear framework or roadmap for career progression in growth marketing (other than Reforge).

That’s why, after many hours of deliberating this topic, and fine-tuning feedback from other intelligent growth marketers, I’m happy to share the internal career progression framework we use at HubSpot.

RealtyShares' Marketplace Efficiencies and Network Effects

RealtyShares recently announced that it had closed a $28M Series C that the company plans to use to expand its crowdfunding platform to better cater to high net worth individuals and institutions looking to access new tiers of the real estate investment market.

Founded in 2013, RealtyShares connects accredited investors looking to put money into commercial or residential real estate, with real estate developers looking to raise capital. The company says it has 120,000 users on its platform, who have invested $500 million since the company's inception.

Zello's Explosive Growth by Design, and Freemium to Enterprise Ladder

While many in America are hearing about Zello for the first time only now, the app has quietly accumulated over 100 million registered users and $10M a year in revenue, all while remaining completely bootstrapped with a staff of 20 people.

This week, we’ll look how Zello's unique, growth-oriented product design has enabled it to take advantage of unfortunate but massive linear growth opportunities and to ladder up from a freemium SaaS into an enterprise model.

Dropbox’s Playbook for International Expansion, with ChenLi Wang

There have been two pillars to growth at Dropbox. The first, Dropbox’ freemium model based on word-of-mouth referrals, is something that most of us have experienced if we count ourselves among the company’s 500 million users. The second driver behind Dropbox’s growth to hit the 500 million user milestone is something that’s less visible many of its core users.

As of this year, 75% of Dropbox’s users are now outside of the U.S. In the past year and a half, Dropbox finalized key distribution partnerships with Softbank, Vodafone, Telmex and other partners that help carry it into new geo-linguistic markets (as well as onto different platforms).

We recently spoke to ChenLi Wang, who oversaw international expansion as head of the company’s product and business operations teams, about frameworks for international growth, which countries and what timing, deciding on your first international outpost, some unexpected benefits of international, and its biggest risks.

How an $800M Company Grows through Influencers and Content

Ipsy is a vertically integrated beauty company, covering all ends of the consumer funnel from discovery through its media properties and creator relationships, to sampling with its monthly subscription beauty bag to commerce through its site and app. The company is valued upward of $800 million based on last year's series B and the growth the business has seen since then.

Ipsy’s a fascinating case study because the company seeded its growth with influencers and content. When I spoke with Ipsy’s EVP of media and partnerships, Spencer McClung, at a 500 Startups event in Los Angeles, we dug into how Ipsy (which is part of the 500 Startups portfolio) has scaled its influencer-driven content marketing -- and kept it affordable and defensible -- in the hyper competitive space of makeup and beauty.

Casey Winters On Pinterest's Retention Wins & Why 90% of SEO Advice Is Wrong

By Casey Winters

Pinterest recently announced that they hit 150 million monthly active users sharing over 75 billion “ideas.” This represents a 50% increase in their top line metric, and was accompanied by growth in new demographics.

Casey Winters is the former growth product lead at Pinterest where he helped the service to crack international growth and surpass its 150 million MAU mark. Winters previously led growth at GrubHub where he helped that company grow from three cities to over 500. We sat down with Winters to unpack the metrics that really matter at Pinterest (and any other business), the right way to run experiments and deal with failures and why 90% of everything that’s written about SEO out there is wrong.

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FLEET LIBRARY | Research Guides

Rhode island school of design, create a research plan: research plan.

• Research Plan
• Literature Review This link opens in a new window
• Related Guides

A research plan is a framework that shows how you intend to approach your topic. The plan can take many forms: a written outline, a narrative, a visual/concept map or timeline. It's a document that will change and develop as you conduct your research. Components of a research plan

1. Research conceptualization - introduces your research question

2. Research methodology - describes your approach to the research question

3. Literature review, critical evaluation and synthesis - systematic approach to locating,

    reviewing and evaluating the work (text, exhibitions, critiques, etc) relating to your topic

4. Communication - geared toward an intended audience, shows evidence of your inquiry

Research conceptualization refers to the ability to identify specific research questions, problems or opportunities that are worthy of inquiry. Research conceptualization also includes the skills and discipline that go beyond the initial moment of conception, and which enable the researcher to formulate and develop an idea into something researchable ( Newbury 373).

Research methodology refers to the knowledge and skills required to select and apply appropriate methods to carry through the research project ( Newbury 374) .

Method describes a single mode of proceeding; methodology describes the overall process.

Method - a way of doing anything especially according to a defined and regular plan; a mode of procedure in any activity

Methodology - the study of the direction and implications of empirical research, or the sustainability of techniques employed in it; a method or body of methods used in a particular field of study or activity *Browse a list of research methodology books  or this guide on Art & Design Research

Literature Review, critical evaluation & synthesis

A literature review is a systematic approach to locating, reviewing, and evaluating the published work and work in progress of scholars, researchers, and practitioners on a given topic.

Critical evaluation and synthesis is the ability to handle (or process) existing sources. It includes knowledge of the sources of literature and contextual research field within which the person is working ( Newbury 373).

Literature reviews are done for many reasons and situations. Here's a short list:

Sources to consult while conducting a literature review:

Online catalogs of local, regional, national, and special libraries

meta-catalogs such as worldcat , Art Discovery Group , europeana , world digital library or RIBA

subject-specific online article databases (such as the Avery Index, JSTOR, Project Muse)

digital institutional repositories such as Digital Commons @RISD ; see Registry of Open Access Repositories

Open Access Resources recommended by RISD Research LIbrarians

works cited in scholarly books and articles

print bibliographies

the internet-locate major nonprofit, research institutes, museum, university, and government websites

search google scholar to locate grey literature & referenced citations

trade and scholarly publishers

fellow scholars and peers

Communication                              

Communication refers to the ability to

• structure a coherent line of inquiry
• communicate your findings to your intended audience
• make skilled use of visual material to express ideas for presentations, writing, and the creation of exhibitions ( Newbury 374)

Research plan framework: Newbury, Darren. "Research Training in the Creative Arts and Design." The Routledge Companion to Research in the Arts . Ed. Michael Biggs and Henrik Karlsson. New York: Routledge, 2010. 368-87. Print.

About the author

Except where otherwise noted, this guide is subject to a Creative Commons Attribution license

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  Routledge Companion to Research in the Arts

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• Last Updated: Sep 24, 2024 12:12 PM
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How to Write a Research Plan

Your answers to these questions form your research strategy. Most likely, you’ve addressed some of these issues in your proposal. But you are further along now, and you can flesh out your answers. With your instructor’s help, you should make some basic decisions about what information to collect and what methods to use in analyzing it. You will probably develop this research strategy gradually and, if you are like the rest of us, you will make some changes, large and small, along the way. Still, it is useful to devise a general plan early, even though you will modify it as you progress. Develop a tentative research plan early in the project. Write it down and share it with your instructor. The more concrete and detailed the plan, the better the feedback you’ll get.

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This research plan does not need to be elaborate or time-consuming. Like your working bibliography, it is provisional, a work in progress. Still, it is helpful to write it down since it will clarify a number of issues for you and your professor.

Writing a Research Plan

To write out your research plan, begin by restating your main thesis question and any secondary ones. They may have changed a bit since your original proposal. If these questions bear on a particular theory or analytic perspective, state that briefly. In the social sciences, for example, two or three prominent theories might offer different predictions about your subject. If so, then you might want to explore these differences in your thesis and explain why some theories work better (or worse) in this particular case. Likewise, in the humanities, you might consider how different theories offer different insights and contrasting perspectives on the particular novel or film you are studying. If you intend to explore these differences, state your goal clearly in the research plan so you can discuss it later with your professor. Next, turn to the heart of this exercise, your proposed research strategy. Try to explain your basic approach, the materials you will use, and your method of analysis. You may not know all of these elements yet, but do the best you can. Briefly say how and why you think they will help answer your main questions.

Be concrete. What data will you collect? Which poems will you read? Which paintings will you compare? Which historical cases will you examine? If you plan to use case studies, say whether you have already selected them or settled on the criteria for choosing them. Have you decided which documents and secondary sources are most important? Do you have easy access to the data, documents, or other materials you need? Are they reliable sources—the best information you can get on the subject? Give the answers if you have them, or say plainly that you don’t know so your instructor can help. You should also discuss whether your research requires any special skills and, of course, whether you have them. You can—and should—tailor your work to fit your skills.

If you expect to challenge other approaches—an important element of some theses—which ones will you take on, and why? This last point can be put another way: Your project will be informed by some theoretical traditions and research perspectives and not others. Your research will be stronger if you clarify your own perspective and show how it usefully informs your work. Later, you may also enter the jousts and explain why your approach is superior to the alternatives, in this particular study and perhaps more generally. Your research plan should state these issues clearly so you can discuss them candidly and think them through.

If you plan to conduct tests, experiments, or surveys, discuss them, too. They are common research tools in many fields, from psychology and education to public health. Now is the time to spell out the details—the ones you have nailed down tight and the ones that are still rattling around, unresolved. It’s important to bring up the right questions here, even if you don’t have all the answers yet. Raising these questions directly is the best way to get the answers. What kinds of tests or experiments do you plan, and how will you measure the results? How will you recruit your test subjects, and how many will be included in your sample? What test instruments or observational techniques will you use? How reliable and valid are they? Your instructor can be a great source of feedback here.

Your research plan should say:

• What materials you will use
• What methods you will use to investigate them
• Whether your work follow a particular approach or theory

There are also ethical issues to consider. They crop up in any research involving humans or animals. You need to think carefully about them, underscore potential problems, and discuss them with your professor. You also need to clear this research in advance with the appropriate authorities at your school, such as the committee that reviews proposals for research on human subjects.

Not all these issues and questions will bear on your particular project. But some do, and you should wrestle with them as you begin research. Even if your answers are tentative, you will still gain from writing them down and sharing them with your instructor. That’s how you will get the most comprehensive advice, the most pointed recommendations. If some of these issues puzzle you, or if you have already encountered some obstacles, share them, too, so you can either resolve the problems or find ways to work around them.

Remember, your research plan is simply a working product, designed to guide your ongoing inquiry. It’s not a final paper for a grade; it’s a step toward your final paper. Your goal in sketching it out now is to understand these issues better and get feedback from faculty early in the project. It may be a pain to write it out, but it’s a minor sting compared to major surgery later.

Checklist for Conducting Research

• Familiarize yourself with major questions and debates about your topic.
• Is appropriate to your topic;
• Addresses the main questions you propose in your thesis;
• Relies on materials to which you have access;
• Can be accomplished within the time available;
• Uses skills you have or can acquire.
• Divide your topic into smaller projects and do research on each in turn.
• Write informally as you do research; do not postpone this prewriting until all your research is complete.

Back to How To Write A Research Paper .

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