A document that outlines the purpose, questions, methodology, participant criteria, timeline, and deliverables for a planned research effort. A clear research plan aligns stakeholders on what will be studied and why, prevents scope creep during fieldwork, and ensures the method chosen is appropriate for the questions being asked.
Common contexts
- Writing a one-page research plan to get stakeholder sign-off before recruiting participants for a usability study
- Using a research plan to push back on a request to 'just ask users what they want' by clarifying what evaluative versus generative methods can and cannot answer
- Documenting participant criteria and session structure before handing recruitment to an external agency
Use when
Write a research plan whenever a study involves external participants, budget, or stakeholder expectations — specifically when there's any risk that someone will redirect the study mid-stream based on opinions rather than research objectives.
Avoid when
Don't spend days producing a formal research plan for informal guerrilla testing or quick hallway interviews — over-documenting low-stakes exploratory conversations creates process theatre that slows the learning you actually need.
A research plan is as much a negotiating document as a methodological one — its real function is protecting the integrity of the study against stakeholders who want it to answer questions it was never designed to address.
Real-world examples
- Google's UX research team requires a one-page research plan for every study, covering research questions, methodology, participant criteria, and success metrics — a practice that reduces post-study disputes about what was actually learned.
- Atlassian publishes their internal research plan template openly, including a 'parking lot' section for questions that fall out of scope, modelling how to maintain focus while capturing tangential insights.
- Airbnb's research operations team uses research plans to match study type to business decision timeline: a 2-week deadline gets guerrilla testing, a 6-week window gets a diary study.