PROBLEM STATEMENT, PURPOSES, BENEFITS

What exactly do I want to find out?

What is a researchable problem?

What are the obstacles in terms of knowledge, data availability, time, or resources?

Do the benefits outweigh the costs?

THEORY, ASSUMPTIONS, BACKGROUND LITERATURE

What does the relevant literature in the field indicate about this problem?

Which theory or conceptual framework does the work fit within?

What are the criticisms of this approach, or how does it constrain the research process?

What do I know for certain about this area?

What is the background to the problem that needs to be made available in reporting the work?

VARIABLES AND HYPOTHESES

What will I take as given in the environment ie what is the starting point?

Which are the independent and which are the dependent variables?

Are there control variables?

Is the hypothesis specific enough to be researchable yet still meaningful?

How certain am I of the relationship(s) between variables?

OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS AND MEASUREMENT

Does the problem need scoping/simplifying to make it achievable?

What and how will the variables be measured?

What degree of error in the findings is tolerable?

Is the approach defendable?

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY

What is my overall strategy for doing this research?

Will this design permit me to answer the research question?

What constraints will the approach place on the work?

INSTRUMENTATION/SAMPLING

How will I get the data I need to test my hypothesis?

What tools or devices will I use to make or record observations?

Are valid and reliable instruments available, or must I construct my own?

How will I choose the sample?

Am I interested in representativeness?

If so, of whom or what, and with what degree of accuracy or level of confidence?

DATA ANALYSIS

What combinations of analytical and statistical process will be applied to the data?

Which of these will allow me to accept or reject my hypotheses?

Do the findings show numerical differences, and are those differences important?

CONCLUSIONS, INTERPRETATIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS

Was my initial hypothesis supported?

What if my findings are negative?

What are the implications of my findings for the theory base, for the background assumptions, or relevant literature?

What recommendations result from the work?

What suggestions can I make for further research on this topic?