PhD learners complete a Research Plan as part of Residency and Dissertation Milestone requirements.  Visit the PhD program page on iGuide to locate the Research Plan form for your school and for information about the dissertation milestones.

The Research Plan provides a structure for researchers to describe their study design as well as their plan for conducting research.  Within the Research Plan, researchers document their research topic, purpose, questions, methodology, sampling and data collection strategy, plans for analysis, and so forth.  By documenting this information within a structured plan, researchers ensure the alignment of their topic, research problem, research questions, methodology and data analysis.  This structure provides a roadmap for the research process.  The Research Plan also helps identify gaps and limitations that could prevent success later in the research process.  

Within the dissertation process, learners complete a research plan and obtain approval from their mentor and committee.  The research plan is then submitted for scientific merit review.  The Research plan is the document that is completed.  Scientific Merit Review is a process to ensure that the plan meets expectations and that the research will contribute to the literature in the discipline or field.