Starting a new research project from scratch can feel overwhelming. Without the right tools and templates, you’re left with a blank page and no direction. With them, starting a new project or organizing an existing one feels like a breeze.
That’s why you need to build a library of the best research plan templates. And we’re here to help you do it.
Stick with us as we run through the benefits of using a research plan template and share some of our favorites—all designed to help make your research projects run like magic.
10 Free Research Plan Templates for Teams and Professionals
- What is a Research Plan Template?
- What Makes a Good Research Plan Template?
- 10 Research Plan Templates to Use in 2024
- 1. ClickUp User Research Plan Template
- 2. ClickUp Market Research Template
- 3. ClickUp Research Whiteboard Template
- 4. ClickUp Equity Research Report Template
- 5. ClickUp SEO Research & Management Template
- 6. ClickUp Research Report Template
- 7. ClickUp Data Analysis Findings Template
- 8. ClickUp Personal SWOT Analysis Template
- 9. ClickUp Case Study Template
- 10. ClickUp Investigation Report Template
- How to Write a Research Plan
Summarize this article for me pleaseWhat is a Research Plan Template?
A research plan template is a document that’s designed to help you build the best research management plan possible. Instead of starting from scratch with a blank screen, a research plan document gives you the building blocks to fill in—so you won’t miss anything important.
There are a lot of solid research plan documents out there—covering everything from UX research (user experience) to case study templates. These templates can be helpful for any team, whether you’re working on product development prototypes or research objectives for a marketing project. They’re especially helpful for product design, UX research, and project management teams.
Some of the most popular research plan templates include:
- UX research plan templates
- Usability testing research templates
- Data analysis findings templates
- Project proposal templates
- Case study templates
- Research process templates
- Market research templates
- Competitive analysis templates
- Request for proposal templates
Each is there to guide you towards collecting, reviewing, and reporting on your research in a more strategic and organized way. Think of the research plan as your helpful research buddy—there to make things easier, provide guidance, and help you ace your project execution.
Summarize this article for me pleaseWhat Makes a Good Research Plan Template?
We’re all looking for something different when it comes to project templates. You might favor simplicity and order, while another team might prefer a more creative approach with lots of color and prompts.
Even though your needs are unique, there are some elements that almost always make a research plan template stand out above all the rest.
The best research plan templates:
- Keep you and your product team organized
- Help you standardize the research process and research method you use
- Keep you focused on the key project goals and deliverables
- Give you suggestions for metrics to record and analyze
- Help you keep your research questions in one place
- Help you stay on target with your project timeline
- Give you a defined place to store your thoughts and research findings
There’s no one perfect template for any individual or team. Consider what your purpose or goal is, what your project management workstreams look like, and which areas you need the most support or guidance in. This will help you choose which templates to feature and how you can use wiki software to build a collection of your go-to templates.
Summarize this article for me please10 Research Plan Templates to Use in 2024
There are hundreds of research plan templates out there, but they’re not all alike. Some of them bring out the best of your project management skills, while others hinder them.
We’ve brought together the best of the best, to share with you the ultimate list of research plan templates to add to your workflow this year. Want to know what’s even better? You don’t need to get buy-in for an expensive pricing plan—these templates are all free!
1. ClickUp User Research Plan Template
One of the first things that comes to mind when you say “research plan template” is user research. For development and project teams, this is one step of the process where strategy and staying organized is essential.
The User Research Plan Template by ClickUp makes it easy for you to achieve that and more. There’s space to share your project overview and research goals, research objectives, hypotheses, and more—plus a bonus Interview Research Debrief doc.
This template acts as a central resource for all the stakeholders. Use it to bring your team together, reaffirm your goals and objectives, and stay on track as you execute your qualitative research project.
Bonus: UX design tools!
2. ClickUp Market Research Template
Planning your market research is a must-have if you want to get the best possible data. Give your team everything they need in one place and it helps your process run smoothly.
To help keep your team informed and ready to go, we developed the Market Research Template by ClickUp. It’s a Task template that brings you key information, all in one place.
Our Market Research Template features five custom fields—a research presentation link, market research type, report document link, data collection technique, and research stage. Add your clickable links, and use the dropdowns to assign the correct stage or type as you progress.
3. ClickUp Research Whiteboard Template
You can collect user research in so many ways. Questionnaires, user interviews, focus groups, user research sessions, or social media. Another super engaging way to do this is with a whiteboard.
Collaboration and user research feels interactive and fun with the Research Whiteboard Template by ClickUp. Encourage your team to share the insights they’ve collected in this highly visual template, with digital sticky notes instead of empty white boxes.
Use this ClickUp whiteboard template as a more engaging way to view your user research. You can also use this as a tool for internal research projects—invite your stakeholders by link and ask them to comment directly.
4. ClickUp Equity Research Report Template
If you’re in the business of advising investors on what to do with their money, an equity report is a must-have. Instead of manually writing a new report every time, a research plan template can help you shortcut the process and get straight to the details.
Enter the Equity Research Report Template by ClickUp. It’s designed to help you share what you know in a more strategic way. Share an insight into the company overview, management team, performance, market valuation, and recommendations.
This research plan template has everything you need to present your findings to investors in an organized and effective way. Look like a pro to your investor clients and partners, and store all your data in a meaningful way to reflect on later.
5. ClickUp SEO Research & Management Template
Staying on top of your company’s SEO performance is no easy task. There are so many moving parts, tools, projects, goals, and team members that you need a way to stay organized and productive.
Luckily for you, the SEO Research & Management Template by ClickUp is here to help simplify the process—and make you look good to your boss. This Folder template gives you a dedicated place to work on your SEO goals, with SEO-related custom fields and plenty of custom task types to help your team communicate progress and see roadblocks in your research plan.
Use this template to see at a glance where your SEO projects are, so you can be more proactive about how your team is working. You can also dive in to details and understand time estimates, publish dates, and where your rankings are at.
6. ClickUp Research Report Template
There’s no need to start from scratch every time you’re asked to put a research report together—instead use a template to make all your research questions and study reports as impressive as the last one.
Shortcut your way to success with the Research Report Template by ClickUp. There are sections for your executive summary, introduction, research method and techniques, results & discussion, references, and appendices. Add a report author and contributors, so you can recognize everyone that contributed to the report.
Share your research methods, approach, and findings with stakeholders and clients with this impressive template. It’s a useful foundation to help your team get organized and find a better way to update stakeholders on progress.
7. ClickUp Data Analysis Findings Template
The Data Analysis Findings Template by ClickUp helps you present your data to everyone in a more meaningful way. Instead of presenting numbers and graphs, this template can help you go deeper into the problem statement, scope, analysis and research method, findings, and conclusion.
Use this template to help you organize your thoughts and communicate the results of your study in a transparent and easy-to-read way. Explain the context and background information alongside your approach, so your stakeholders can fully understand what the data shows.
8. ClickUp Personal SWOT Analysis Template
A personal SWOT analysis can help you understand your (or your team’s) strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. This information can not only help you work better, but it means you can be more intentional about your impact on the wider company.
The Personal SWOT Analysis Template by ClickUp can help you remember to work on your SWOT analysis. Find your strengths, weaknesses or pain points, opportunities, and threats. This Task template features several custom fields designed to help you monitor your progress—including your objective, timeline, and completion rate.
This template can be a helpful reminder to focus on your personal SWOT analysis, so you can be more intentional and aware of how you contribute to your team and company’s goals and objectives. Use your personal SWOT to help you set professional goals for work and make a bigger impact.
9. ClickUp Case Study Template
Case studies give you a powerful insight into what your brands, clients, or competitors are doing. They’re an in-depth look into a specific area of the business, based on your personal research and findings.
Simplify the process of building your case studies with the Case Study Template by ClickUp. This template gives you a strong foundation for presenting clear, insightful case studies with your team, stakeholders, or clients. Introduce the company, your case study objective, solutions and statistics, and your insights.
Use this template to help you create case studies at scale. Present your data in a clear and concise way, with all the context your team or stakeholders need to extract the most value from the case study as possible.
10. ClickUp Investigation Report Template
Often our research helps us understand the market, our competitors, or what our own company is doing. Sometimes, it’s to help us understand incidents and challenges instead.
That’s where the Investigation Report Template by ClickUp comes in. This template is designed to help you report on accidents, complaints, incidents, and violations. Explain the case details including a summary and evidence, then move into cross-examination with space for interview questions and answers, and your conclusion.
This template is a must-have for teams and companies that want to demonstrate how they overcome challenges or handle incidents. It’s great for transparency and trust-building, and serves as a useful way to document a trail of evidence for when you need it.
Summarize this article for me pleaseHow to Write a Research Plan
Now that you have a template for your research plan, let’s dive into the details of how to write one. Follow these steps to create an effective research plan that will guide your research and help you achieve your goals.
Step 1: Identify Your Research Question
The first step in writing a research plan is to clearly define your research question or topic. This will serve as the foundation for all of your research and help guide your methods and analysis. Make sure your question is specific, relevant, and achievable within the scope of your project.
Step 2: Outline Your Objectives
Next, you should outline the specific objectives or goals of your research. These objectives should be aligned with your research question and provide a clear roadmap for your project. Be sure to make them measurable and achievable.
Step 3: Choose Your Research Methods
Based on your research question and objectives, you can now determine the appropriate methods for gathering data and conducting analysis. This may include surveys, experiments, interviews, or literature reviews. It’s important to choose methods that are suitable for your research topic and will provide reliable and accurate results.
Step 4: Create a Timeline
A research plan should include a detailed timeline for each stage of the project. This will help you stay on track and ensure that you have enough time to complete each task. Be realistic with your timeline and build in some buffer time for unexpected delays or challenges.
Step 5: Consider Ethical Implications
When conducting research, it’s important to consider any potential ethical implications. This may include obtaining consent from participants, ensuring privacy and confidentiality, or following ethical guidelines set by your institution or governing body.
Step 6: Anticipate Potential Outcomes
As with any research project, there are always potential outcomes that can arise. These could be both positive and negative, and it’s important to anticipate and plan for them. This will help you be prepared for any potential challenges or changes that may occur during your research.
Step 7: Revise and Refine Your Plan
Once you have completed the previous steps, it’s essential to review and revise your research plan as needed. It’s common for plans to change as the project progresses, so be open to making adjustments and tweaking your methods or timeline as needed.
Summarize this article for me pleaseStay Organized with the Best Research Plan Templates
Nobody likes a disorganized project—especially a research project. Let your team breathe a sigh of relief and make your stakeholders smile when they realize you’ve got it all under control.
Use these free research plan templates to help you get organized, streamline your workflows, and keep everyone informed. Build a collection of templates that work for your projects, and make them a central part of the way you work as a team. Standardize, simplify, and get productive.
All of these research plan templates are available right now, for free, inside our template library. Get access to these user-friendly templates, 100MB of storage, 1,000+ integrations, and more with ClickUp—free now, and forever!
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