Project Initiation Checklist

Why

• Why are you doing the research (background)?
• What are the arguments you would like to be able to make (aims)?
• What exact questions do you want to be able to answer (what hypothesis are you disproving)?
• Is it actually possible to do well?

What

• What research method(s) are you planning to use?
• How are you going to collect/structure the data?
• What analysis is required from the data (will it be robust enough)?
• What end products do you hope to produce?
• Have you thought through the ethics of doing the research (ethics approval required)?

Who

• Who is undertaking the research (do you have all skills/knowledge required)?
• What is your population/target group?
• How are you going to sample that population (access)?
• How representative will that sample be (are there biases/selection issues)?
• Do you need a control group for comparison?
• How willing will sample be to share data/opinions (response rates)?

When

• What are the deadlines for publication (timeline)?
• Do you need trend data (if so are there changes in methods/legislation that impact this)?
• How long does this give for field research?
• Are there any issues around timing in terms of access to people/data/etc (e.g. financial records)?
• Are the timelines realistic or do you need to rethink above?