Write the key research questions your study will try to answer. Articulating your research questions provides a structure for your plan and the study itself. Summarize the existing knowledge pertaining to the issues you will explore. Describe what previous researchers have found and how your study will advance knowledge on this subject.
Describe the focus and design of your study. If your study is on an education topic, state whether you will focus on individual students, classrooms or entire schools. Then describe the design of your study. Typical research designs for qualitative work include case studies, content analyses, ethnography and grounded theory work. Some studies involve a combination of two or more designs.
Describe the data collection process, including the amount of time you will need to complete field work, observations, interviews and other activities. Setting a deadline helps focus your data collection. Qualitative data collection is often a fascinating process in which researchers uncover extensive interesting information as they explore a subject in greater depth. However, this fascination can cause undisciplined researchers to spend so much time collecting information that they lose sight of the study. In addition to a time frame, describe what data collection resources you will need. If you are using a sample, describe how you will choose that sample of subjects.
Describe the methods you will use for analyzing the data. In qualitative research, data collection and analysis often overlap as researchers read and summarize field notes and other information, looking for patterns and recurring themes, which might prompt additional questions, requiring further data collection.
Explain how you will report your findings. You might use written description that includes direct quotations from subjects or matrices that present summaries, quotes and other important data in rows and columns.
State the limitations of your study. For example, if you are conducting a case study that focuses on only a few selected subjects, state that the small sample might limit the extent to which your research findings can be generalized to a larger population.