Research Protocol Checklist
CHECKLIST FOR RESEARCH PROJECT AND PROTOCOL
Project Title
- Is the title concise and ‘snappy’?
- Does the title adequately reflect the research topic?
Project Aims / Research Question
- Does the Aims contain brief information about:
- Have I clearly stated the question or hypothesis I am hoping to answer in my research project?
- Are the Aims and objectives clear?
- What is the justification for doing the study?
Background to the Project
- Literature Review
- Is the literature I have used up to date and relevant to my topic?
- Does the literature justify my choice of topic?
- Problem statement
- Have I clearly stated what the ‘problem’ is that I am looking at in my project and why? (this is likely to be a summary of the conclusions you have drawn from your literature review
- Population
- Have I said who the results of my project might be generalised to?
- Assumptions
- Have I clearly stated what assumptions I am making in my project?
- Limitations
- Have I highlighted the limitations there might be in my project?
Plan of Investigation (Materials & Methods)
- Research design
- Have I stated the type of research design my project is based on?
- Data
- Have I stated clearly what I am measuring / collecting information about?
- Method/ device for collecting data
- Have I stated how/what I am going to use to collect data? (e.g. type of equipment, questionnaire, interview schedule, observation schedule)
- Have I given a description of my method/device for collecting data?
- Have I explained why I am using that particular method/device?
- Sample selection and recruitment
- Have I stated clearly who my subjects (sample) will be?
- Have I stated how they will be selected i.e. inclusion and exclusion criteria)?
- Have I stated how subjects will be invited to take part in my study?
- Have I stated how many subjects I hope to recruit?
- Procedure for collecting data
- Have I explained the process I will go through to collect data?
- Data analysis
- Have I stated how I intend to analyse the data I collect?
- Time scale
- Have I given an outline of the timetable for the project?
- Ethics Approval
- Will Ethics Approval be required and why / why not?
- Have Ethics Forms been completed?
- Have I prepared a Patient Consent Questionnaire?
- Costings and Resources
- Have I outlined all the resources I will be using and what these might cost me?
- Are the costings realistic and within our budget?
References
- Have I referenced all the literature I have cited in the protocol?
- Have I used the referencing style of either JBJS or JSES or other?
Glossary of terms
- Have I defined all the unusual or ‘technical’ terms that relate to my project?
Declaration
- Have I signed the protocol?
- Has my supervisor signed the protocol ?
KEY QUESTIONS TO ASK ABOUT MY PROJECT/PROTOCOL
- Is there sufficient scope for my project?
- Can I justify why I am looking at my chosen topic?
- Is my project practical and achievable within the time I have available?
- Is the method I have chosen appropriate to my research question?
- Is the method of data analysis appropriate to the data I will be collecting?
- Will the data I collect and method of data analysis allow me to answer my research question?
