Decide what your research topic will be. All research begins with a research question. What is the problem you will address and what will your intervention be? An intervention is a way of approaching a problem or topic that has not been considered in the academic literature yet.
Select the methodological approach your project will take. Depending on the discipline and the topic, it will be a qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods approach. If quantitative, you will likely engage in an experimental design or a survey. If qualitative, you will need to decide if you will be conducting an ethnographic study or a case study. A qualitative work can also make use of a phenomenological approach, a narrative method, or a grounded theory approach. A mixed methods strategy can be sequential, concurrent or transformative in terms of approach. Ask yourself how you will collect your data and how you will analyze it.
Define major terms and concepts. In addition, identify the significance of the study. Ask and then answer why the study is necessary and how it will contribute to the field.
Explain the theoretical framework that you will be utilizing and why it's important. Describe who the participants are and where the research will be conducted -- if applicable. You will also need to situate yourself within the project as an insider, outsider, or participant observer.
Write a review of the literature. Always use academic journal articles or books and use at least six to eight sources. A good review of the literature will help you to articulate what your intended intervention will be.
Construct a timeline for the phases you expect your study will follow. This will be especially necessary for certain kinds of projects that involve quantitative methods of data collection and analysis.
Find out if you will have to obtain Institutional Review Board permission. IRBs are institutions within a university that typically must be consulted whenever you are working with human populations. If you are working with an Indian tribe you may have to go through an additional tribal IRB process as well. Remember that IRBs must be an early part of your timeline because they can take weeks or months to process.