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10 Free Research Plan Templates for Teams and Professionals

February 13, 2024

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Starting a new research project from scratch can feel overwhelming. Without the right tools and templates, you’re left with a blank page and no direction. With them, starting a new project or organizing an existing one feels like a breeze.

That’s why you need to build a library of the best research plan templates. And we’re here to help you do it.

Stick with us as we run through the benefits of using a research plan template and share some of our favorites—all designed to help make your research projects run like magic.

What is a Research Plan Template?

What makes a good research plan template, 1. clickup user research plan template, 2. clickup market research template, 3. clickup research whiteboard template, 4. clickup equity research report template, 5. clickup seo research & management template, 6. clickup research report template, 7. clickup data analysis findings template, 8. clickup personal swot analysis template, 9. clickup case study template, 10. clickup investigation report template, how to write a research plan.

A research plan template is a document that’s designed to help you build the best research management plan possible. Instead of starting from scratch with a blank screen, a research plan document gives you the building blocks to fill in—so you won’t miss anything important.

There are a lot of solid research plan documents out there—covering everything from UX research (user experience) to case study templates . These templates can be helpful for any team, whether you’re working on product development prototypes or research objectives for a marketing project. They’re especially helpful for product design , UX research, and project management teams.

Some of the most popular research plan templates include:

• UX research plan templates
• Usability testing research templates
• Data analysis findings templates
• Project proposal templates
• Case study templates
• Research process templates
• Market research templates
• Competitive analysis templates
• Request for proposal templates

Each is there to guide you towards collecting, reviewing, and reporting on your research in a more strategic and organized way. Think of the research plan as your helpful research buddy—there to make things easier, provide guidance, and help you ace your project execution .

We’re all looking for something different when it comes to project templates. You might favor simplicity and order, while another team might prefer a more creative approach with lots of color and prompts.

Even though your needs are unique, there are some elements that almost always make a research plan template stand out above all the rest.

The best research plan templates:

• Keep you and your product team organized
• Help you standardize the research process and research method you use 
• Keep you focused on the key project goals and deliverables
• Give you suggestions for metrics to record and analyze
• Help you keep your research questions in one place
• Help you stay on target with your project timeline
• Give you a defined place to store your thoughts and research findings

There’s no one perfect template for any individual or team. Consider what your purpose or goal is, what your project management workstreams look like, and which areas you need the most support or guidance in. This will help you choose which templates to feature and how you can use wiki software to build a collection of your go-to templates.

10 Research Plan Templates to Use in 2024

There are hundreds of research plan templates out there, but they’re not all alike. Some of them bring out the best of your project management skills , while others hinder them.

We’ve brought together the best of the best, to share with you the ultimate list of research plan templates to add to your workflow this year. Want to know what’s even better? You don’t need to get buy-in for an expensive pricing plan—these templates are all free!

One of the first things that comes to mind when you say “research plan template” is user research. For development and project teams, this is one step of the process where strategy and staying organized is essential.

The User Research Plan Template by ClickUp makes it easy for you to achieve that and more. There’s space to share your project overview and research goals, research objectives, hypotheses, and more—plus a bonus Interview Research Debrief doc.

This template acts as a central resource for all the stakeholders. Use it to bring your team together, reaffirm your goals and objectives, and stay on track as you execute your qualitative research project.

Bonus: UX design tools !

Planning your market research is a must-have if you want to get the best possible data. Give your team everything they need in one place and it helps your process run smoothly.

To help keep your team informed and ready to go, we developed the Market Research Template by ClickUp . It’s a Task template that brings you key information, all in one place.

Our Market Research Template features five custom fields—a research presentation link, market research type, report document link, data collection technique, and research stage. Add your clickable links, and use the dropdowns to assign the correct stage or type as you progress.

You can collect user research in so many ways. Questionnaires, user interviews, focus groups, user research sessions, or social media. Another super engaging way to do this is with a whiteboard.

Collaboration and user research feels interactive and fun with the Research Whiteboard Template by ClickUp . Encourage your team to share the insights they’ve collected in this highly visual template, with digital sticky notes instead of empty white boxes.

Use this ClickUp whiteboard template as a more engaging way to view your user research. You can also use this as a tool for internal research projects—invite your stakeholders by link and ask them to comment directly.

If you’re in the business of advising investors on what to do with their money, an equity report is a must-have. Instead of manually writing a new report every time, a research plan template can help you shortcut the process and get straight to the details.

Enter the Equity Research Report Template by ClickUp . It’s designed to help you share what you know in a more strategic way. Share an insight into the company overview, management team, performance, market valuation, and recommendations.

This research plan template has everything you need to present your findings to investors in an organized and effective way. Look like a pro to your investor clients and partners, and store all your data in a meaningful way to reflect on later.

Staying on top of your company’s SEO performance is no easy task. There are so many moving parts, tools, projects, goals, and team members that you need a way to stay organized and productive.

Luckily for you, the SEO Research & Management Template by ClickUp is here to help simplify the process—and make you look good to your boss. This Folder template gives you a dedicated place to work on your SEO goals, with SEO-related custom fields and plenty of custom task types to help your team communicate progress and see roadblocks in your research plan.

Use this template to see at a glance where your SEO projects are, so you can be more proactive about how your team is working. You can also dive in to details and understand time estimates, publish dates, and where your rankings are at.

Check out these AI SEO Tools !

There’s no need to start from scratch every time you’re asked to put a research report together—instead use a template to make all your research questions and study reports as impressive as the last one.

Shortcut your way to success with the Research Report Template by ClickUp . There are sections for your executive summary, introduction, research method and techniques, results & discussion, references, and appendices. Add a report author and contributors, so you can recognize everyone that contributed to the report.

Share your research methods, approach, and findings with stakeholders and clients with this impressive template. It’s a useful foundation to help your team get organized and find a better way to update stakeholders on progress.

The Data Analysis Findings Template by ClickUp helps you present your data to everyone in a more meaningful way. Instead of presenting numbers and graphs, this template can help you go deeper into the problem statement, scope, analysis and research method, findings, and conclusion.

Use this template to help you organize your thoughts and communicate the results of your study in a transparent and easy-to-read way. Explain the context and background information alongside your approach, so your stakeholders can fully understand what the data shows.

A personal SWOT analysis can help you understand your (or your team’s) strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. This information can not only help you work better, but it means you can be more intentional about your impact on the wider company.

The Personal SWOT Analysis Template by ClickUp can help you remember to work on your SWOT analysis. Find your strengths, weaknesses or pain points, opportunities, and threats. This Task template features several custom fields designed to help you monitor your progress—including your objective, timeline, and completion rate.

This template can be a helpful reminder to focus on your personal SWOT analysis, so you can be more intentional and aware of how you contribute to your team and company’s goals and objectives. Use your personal SWOT to help you set professional goals for work and make a bigger impact.

Case studies give you a powerful insight into what your brands, clients, or competitors are doing. They’re an in-depth look into a specific area of the business, based on your personal research and findings.

Simplify the process of building your case studies with the Case Study Template by ClickUp . This template gives you a strong foundation for presenting clear, insightful case studies with your team, stakeholders, or clients. Introduce the company, your case study objective, solutions and statistics, and your insights.

Use this template to help you create case studies at scale. Present your data in a clear and concise way, with all the context your team or stakeholders need to extract the most value from the case study as possible.

Often our research helps us understand the market, our competitors, or what our own company is doing. Sometimes, it’s to help us understand incidents and challenges instead.

That’s where the Investigation Report Template by ClickUp comes in. This template is designed to help you report on accidents, complaints, incidents, and violations. Explain the case details including a summary and evidence, then move into cross-examination with space for interview questions and answers, and your conclusion.

This template is a must-have for teams and companies that want to demonstrate how they overcome challenges or handle incidents. It’s great for transparency and trust-building, and serves as a useful way to document a trail of evidence for when you need it.

Now that you have a template for your research plan, let’s dive into the details of how to write one. Follow these steps to create an effective research plan that will guide your research and help you achieve your goals.

Step 1: Identify Your Research Question

The first step in writing a research plan is to clearly define your research question or topic. This will serve as the foundation for all of your research and help guide your methods and analysis. Make sure your question is specific, relevant, and achievable within the scope of your project.

Step 2: Outline Your Objectives

Next, you should outline the specific objectives or goals of your research. These objectives should be aligned with your research question and provide a clear roadmap for your project. Be sure to make them measurable and achievable.

Step 3: Choose Your Research Methods

Based on your research question and objectives, you can now determine the appropriate methods for gathering data and conducting analysis. This may include surveys, experiments, interviews, or literature reviews. It’s important to choose methods that are suitable for your research topic and will provide reliable and accurate results.

Step 4: Create a Timeline

A research plan should include a detailed timeline for each stage of the project. This will help you stay on track and ensure that you have enough time to complete each task. Be realistic with your timeline and build in some buffer time for unexpected delays or challenges.

Step 5: Consider Ethical Implications

When conducting research, it’s important to consider any potential ethical implications. This may include obtaining consent from participants, ensuring privacy and confidentiality, or following ethical guidelines set by your institution or governing body.

Step 6: Anticipate Potential Outcomes

As with any research project, there are always potential outcomes that can arise. These could be both positive and negative, and it’s important to anticipate and plan for them. This will help you be prepared for any potential challenges or changes that may occur during your research.

Step 7: Revise and Refine Your Plan

Once you have completed the previous steps, it’s essential to review and revise your research plan as needed. It’s common for plans to change as the project progresses, so be open to making adjustments and tweaking your methods or timeline as needed.

Stay Organized with the Best Research Plan Templates

Nobody likes a disorganized project—especially a research project. Let your team breathe a sigh of relief and make your stakeholders smile when they realize you’ve got it all under control.

Use these free research plan templates to help you get organized, streamline your workflows, and keep everyone informed. Build a collection of templates that work for your projects, and make them a central part of the way you work as a team. Standardize, simplify, and get productive.

All of these research plan templates are available right now, for free, inside our template library . Get access to these user-friendly templates, 100MB of storage, 1,000+ integrations, and more with ClickUp—free now, and forever!

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Welcome to global health trials' tools and templates library. please note that this page has been updated for 2015 following a quality check and review of the templates, and many new ones have been added. please click on the orange text to download each template., the templates below have been shared by other groups, and are free to use and adapt for your researchstudies. please ensure that you read and adapt them carefully for your own setting, and that you reference global health trials and the global health network when you use them. to share your own templates and sops, or comment on these, please email [email protected]. we look forward to hearing from you.

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This is Degena Bahrey Tadesse from Tigray, Ethiopia. I am new for this web I am assistant professor in Adult Health Nursing Could you share me the sample/templet research proposal for Global Research Nurses Pump-priming Grants 2023: Research Project Award

I have learned lot..Thanks..

i was wondering why there is no SOP on laboratory procedures ?

Hi, Can you provide me the SOP for electronic signatures in Clinical trial

Do you have an "SOP for Telephonic site selection visit". Kindly Share on my registered mail ID

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Hi These tolls are very useful! Thank you

Do you have a task and responsability matrix template for clinical trial managment ? Best

I am very much happy to find myself here as a clinician

Dear Getrude

We have a free 14-module course on research ethics on our training centre; you'll receive a certificate if you complete all the modules and quizzes. You can take it in your own time. Just visit 'Training centre' in the tabs above, then 'short courses'.

Kind regards The Editorial Team

need modules on free online gcp course on research ethics

Estimados: me parece excelente el aporte que han hecho dado que aporta. por un lado a mejorar la transparencia del trabajo como a facilitar el seguimiento y supervisión de los mismos. Muchas gracias por ello

We also have an up to date list of global health events available here: https://globalhealthtrials.tghn.org/community/training-events/

Dear Nazish

Thank you, I am glad you found the seminars and the training courses useful. We list many training events (all relevant to Global Health, and as many of them as possible are either free or subsidised) on the 'community' web pages above. Keep an eye on those for events and activities which you can get involved with. Also, if you post an 'introduction' on the introduction group stating where you are from and your research interests, we can keep you updated of relevant local events.

Thanks so much. These are very helpful seminars. Please let me know any other websites/links that provide free or inexpensive lectures on clinical Research. Appreciate your help.

Hi Nazish, and welcome to the Network. The items here are downloadable templates for you to use; it sounds like you may be seeking lectures and eLearning courses? If so - no problem! You can find free seminars with sound and slides here: https://globalhealthtrainingcentre.tghn.org/webinars/ , and you can find free, certified eLearning courses here: https://globalhealthtrials.tghn.org/elearning . Certificates are awarded for the eLearning courses for those scoring over 80% in the quiz at the end of each course. If you need anything else, do ask! Kind regards The Editorial Team

Hi, I am new to this website and also to the Clinical Research Industry for that matter I only am able to see the PDF of these courses, just wanted to know are these audio lectures and also happen to have audio clips that go with the pdf?

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

Last updated

30 January 2024

Reviewed by

Short on time? Get an AI generated summary of this article instead

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?

Start for free today, add your research, and get to key insights faster

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Research Plan

Explore real examples of Research Plans

Learn how the best operators in tech think about research plans. explore 38 examples of research plans so you never have to start from scratch..

Updated September 27, 2024

What is a research plan?

A research plan outlines the objectives, methodology, timeline, and resources needed for a research project, acting as a roadmap for systematic investigation. Reforge can enhance the development and execution of research plans with tools and strategies that streamline each phase, from data collection to analysis and interpretation. Our resources help researchers define clear scopes and approaches, improve efficiency, and effectively communicate with stakeholders.

Popular Research Plan examples

Explore 10 most popular Research Plans from top companies.

Jobs to be Done User Research Guide at Replit

by Tabish Gilani , Created as Head of Product (Director) @ Replit

I created this to teach others how we conducted user interviews at Replit using a Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) framework. It covers everything from how to source, prep, and conduct user interviews to get the most learnings.

• Tabish created this User Research Guide to teach others at Replit how to conduct interviews using a Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) framework.
• It covers everything from how to source, prep, and conduct user interviews to get the most learnings.
• Segmenting users by behavior, demographics, geography, and psychographics is important for targeted research.
• The interview process involves active listening, open-ended questions, and avoiding leading questions.

Automated user feedback collection at Reforge

by Dan Wolchonok , Created as Head of Data @ Reforge

This feedback collection process for analyzing customer input helped me get the people's attention, re-prioritize roadmaps, and rally the team around how to allocate resources for work on a payments page.

• Dan used a feedback collection process to analyze customer input and improve metrics.
• The process involved emailing targeted users, responding to feedback, and aggregating it in a spreadsheet.
• The feedback helped Dan and his team understand why conversion metrics were weakening and make improvements to their product.

Customer Discovery Interview Log at Chegg

by Jack McDermott , Created as Senior Manager, Growth @ Chegg

I used this interview log to get a better sense of our target users, their motivations, and their willingness to pay.

• Jack describes how he communicates the goals of research to participants and internal team members.
• He emphasizes the importance of identifying key business questions and avoiding spreading oneself too thin.
• Jack recommends using visual mediums to display customer insights and elevating representative quotes to drive points home.

Design Methods Research Planning for Facebook Audience Insights

by Behzod Sirjani , Created as Senior User Experience Researcher @ Facebook

I used this framework to design a creative research approach that would get us the evidence we needed to redesign the Audience Insights tool.

• Behzod redesigned the Audience Insights tool, which was underloved and needed a redesign.
• They used a qualitative and fun approach to understand how and why people wanted to use the tool.
• Rolling recruitment was used to reach out to high-value customers and learn in as many directions as possible.

User Research Brief at Clover

by Monil Shah , Created as Lead Product Manager - Subscription Growth and Monetization @ Clover

At Clover the PM uses this template to provide details to their Designer or User Researcher and then design their study based on input they gather here.

• Monil's team used this template to guide their user research for a new subscription product.
• The research helped inform product decisions and influence stakeholders.
• Monil discusses how the team made tradeoff decisions about how to conduct research studies and aimed to move towards continuous discovery.

Enterprise App Management Research - Discussion Guide at Slack

by Behzod Sirjani , Created as Head of Research Operations @ Slack

In order to better understand how to improve the experience of managing Slack at scale, I created this discussion guide to conducted interviews with Slack Admins at our largest customers.

• Behzod created a discussion guide to conduct interviews with Slack Admins at large customers.
• The guide includes warm-up questions, context questions, and core questions about managing Slack.
• The guide emphasizes the importance of building rapport, getting consent to record, and asking open-ended questions.

Power Users Research at Lemon.io

by Lisa Dziuba , Created as Head of Growth Product Marketing @ Lemon.io

When I started the power user research at Lemon.io, my first action was to create a well-structured research project. The research project (research plan) is a must-have PMM document that focuses all the research efforts on the business outcomes. The beauty of this document lies in its ability to keep research on track and be a repository of all docs and tasks, as well as one source of truth.

• Lisa defined objectives for Power Users Research tailored to Lemon.io's company OKRs and gathered input from the founders and team.
• User research relies on collaboration across customer-facing teams and requires a well-structured research project to keep research on track.
• The Power Users Research project involved gathering insights from customer-facing teams on user data since 2015, searching 56 data points, and forming meaningful insights to drive revenue growth.

Feedback River Process at Toptal

by Paul Timmermann , Created as Senior Director of Product @ Toptal

This artifact outlines how we actively use feedback rivers at Toptal to continue to deliver the best experience for our talent and clients.

• This artifact outlines how Paul's team actively uses feedback rivers at Toptal to continue to deliver the best experience for both talent and clients.
• The Feedback River process involves consistently reviewing customer feedback and adding structured insights using tools like Slack and Google Sheets.
• The Feedback River provides a consistent pulse on user sentiments, captures valuable insights, and seamlessly integrates workflows to inform future decision-making processes.

Audience strategy research sprint at Heap

by Shelly Eisen-Livneh , Created as Sr. Product Marketing Manager - Solutions & Audience Strategy @ Heap

At Heap we conducted this lean research approach to help inform GTM/product roadmap iterations.

• Shelly conducted lean research to inform GTM/product roadmap iterations at Heap.
• The research included short-term and long-term GTM recommendations for two personas.
• The research also analyzed org structures, buying committee roles, and updated messaging for the personas.

Automatically scheduling customer interviews at VEED

by Thomas Christensen , Created as Senior Product Manager, Growth @ VEED.IO

At Veed we book customer interview sessions based on user behavior by automatically filtering to a set of users, emailing them, and booking time across the team's shared availability.

• Thomas and the activation team at Veed.io conducted continuous user interviews to improve the initial experience with Veed.
• They aimed to speak with three types of users: habit users, "aha" users, and new users who didn't make their first video.
• They used existing tools like Amplitude, customer.io, Calendly, Zapier, and Notion to automate the process of booking and documenting user research sessions.

View all 38 examples of Research Plans.

Other popular Research Plans

Explore the full catalog of Research Plan resources to get inspired

Behzod Sirjani, Created as Head of Research Operations @ Slack

Lisa Dziuba, Created as Head of Growth Product Marketing @ Lemon.io

Paul Timmermann, Created as Senior Director of Product @ Toptal

Shelly Eisen-Livneh, Created as Sr. Product Marketing Manager - Solutions & Audience Strategy @ Heap

Thomas Christensen, Created as Senior Product Manager, Growth @ VEED.IO

Daniel Andor, Created as Product Design and Strategy Specialist | Founder @ Durran

This is the framework I use to walk clients through a thorough product discovery process, setting up the entire remaining development of the product.

Olena Avramenko, Created as Head of Product (Interim) @ Sitly

I created this research plan to understand how parents in different markets search and select babysitters on Sitly.

Ali Riehle, Created as Lead Product Designer @ Reforge

I created this diagram to help communicate and visualize our team’s cross-functional research approach across about two weeks.

Kanika Tibrewala, Created as UX Design and Research Lead @ Swiggy

We used this framework to launch our platform in just 9 days! It helped us clearly see where we were succeeding, failing, and what we needed to do next.

Behzod Sirjani, Created as Founder @ Yet Another Studio

I created this discussion guide and email copy for an early stage company who wanted to better understand developer workflows to inform a tool they were building.

View all 38 examples of Research Plans

Reforge has everything you need to get more done, faster

Explore artifacts of all kinds

Browse other popular categories to get ideas for your own work

Conduct user interviews to refine user value

Build your user research plan

Summarize and synthesize what you heard

Recruit the right research participants

Determine conversation logistics

Create a conversation guide, topics related to research plan.

Generations Genealogy

Helping you research your family history

How to create a research plan in Excel

Research plans help you organise your research and focus on priorities, so that you can achieve more with your research. You could create a simple research plan in Word, but Excel offers more features to deal with the complexity of family history research and the huge volumes of data.

My first three posts about using Excel for family history contained simple examples to demonstrate the basic concepts and techniques. Now we move onto a more complex example, which you will be able to customise based on your own circumstances and needs.

Step 1 Choose your planning unit

To create a research plan you first need to choose the research planning unit. By that I mean – Are you going to produce a plan for each:

• research question
• family group
• surname, or

The example I have used here is for a family group, which is the unit that I find most useful in my own research.

Step 2 Set up your worksheets

You can have multiple worksheets in a spreadsheet and this is very useful for a research plan, because each worksheet can have a different function and format, but they are still kept within a single file.

For this demonstration we will use three worksheets:

• a summary of information about the family
• a plan and log, and
• a search plan.

At the bottom of each worksheet there is a tab. Double click on Tab 1 and rename it Family Group. Use this sheet to summarise key information about the family, such as their names, name variants, birth date and location, marriage date and location, death date and location, and their literacy levels.

Double click on Tab 2 and rename it Research Plan. This is your main worksheet.

On worksheet no. 3, create a Search Plan for this family group (follow the instructions in my blog post Using Excel to Manage Searches ) and rename the Tab.

Step 3 Set up your columns

A key benefit of creating a research plan in Excel is that you can include a lot of information in a single plan, then manipulate the information into manageable subsets using filters.

Where possible, set up columns on worksheet 2 (Research Plan) that can utilise the filter feature. To do this, you need to standardise how you enter data in the column – for example, Column I below has just two answers, Open or Closed.

Here are the columns that I use:

Column A – Research question or hypothesis . List all of your research questions and hypotheses for this family group.

Column B – Information needed . List the information needed to answer each question or hypothesis. You will need more than one row per question/hypothesis.

Column C – Source . List the sources you intend to search for the information. You should have more than one source for each piece of information.

Column D – Repository . List the repositories you intend to search for the sources. You may have more than one repository for each source.

Column E – Source citation . When you find the source, add the source citation here.

Column F – Analysis . Analyse the source and the information and summarise key points here.

Column G – Notes . Has the question has been satisfactorily answered, has the hypothesis been supported or refuted? Is more research required?

Column H – Tree updated . Update your family tree and mark it off here.

Column I – Status . This allows you to track whether the research task has been completed or whether it still needs work. Open = still being researched, Closed = research on this question or hypothesis is complete

Step 4 Add your data and filters

Start filling in the columns, then add filters.

To add filter buttons to each column: Click in Cell A1, click on the Data Tab, then click on the Filter button. This adds a little drop-down arrow to each column.

You can use the drop-down arrows to filter the data using any column. This is particularly useful if you end up with a large plan and you want to focus in on just a subset of the data for planning or printing purposes.

Here are just a couple of filtering examples:

For more articles and information about using Excel in family history, head to the Excel page . You can also download your free copies of my Excel guides on my Free Stuff page .

Post updated 1 June 2024

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Published by generationsgenealogyaus

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6 thoughts on “How to create a research plan in Excel”

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