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		<title>The consequences of poor planning</title>
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				current-module="Planning Your Research"
				page-title="The consequences of poor planning"
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							<p>It is not easy to look ahead and anticipate all of the problems that could arise during the
								course of a research project, particularly if it is complicated, has many steps or has many
								players. Keep in mind, however, that the consequences of poor planning can be significant.
							</p>

							<h3>Common mistakes</h3>

							<p>The researchers below thought they had planned for everything, only to encounter problems.
								What did they overlook? Why do researchers sometimes not plan properly?</p>

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								<p>Select the area that most closely matches your own, and reflect on the dilemma
									encountered by the researcher. Enter your thoughts on the root of the problem, and then
									click "View feedback" to read our view. You may also find it valuable to read about the
									dilemmas encountered by researchers in other disciplines; to do so, return to the "Main
									menu" and select a different area.</p>
							</instructional-text>
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								<p>Select the area that most closely matches your own, and reflect on the dilemma
									encountered by the researcher. Consider your thoughts on the root of the problem and
									then continue on for our feedback. You can then move on to reflect on the dilemmas
									encountered by researchers in other disciplines. </p>
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										<h3>Biomedical Science</h3>
									</action-link>
									<action-link goto-panel="2">
										<h3>Natural Science</h3>
									</action-link>
									<action-link goto-panel="3">
										<h3>Social Science</h3>
									</action-link>
									<action-link goto-panel="4">
										<h3>Engineering</h3>
									</action-link>
									<action-link goto-panel="5">
										<h3>Arts & Humanities</h3>
									</action-link>
								</action-panel>
								<action-panel panel="1">
									<note-making summary="false">
										<note-question>
											<img src="../images/activity_images/course_specific/pyr_1_60_img1.png"
												alt="" class="img-responsive" />
											<h4>Biomedical Science</h4>
											<p><em>"I was hoping to get a key reagent needed from a colleague, but since
													we don't have a material transfer agreement, this is not currently
													an option. I either have to find the reagent somewhere else, make my
													own, or take the time needed to work out a material transfer
													agreement."</em></p>
											<p><strong>What factors do you think might have led to this
													situation?</strong></p>
										</note-question>
										<note-input></note-input>
										<note-feedback>
											<p>Due to pressure and time constraints, researchers can miss key details.
												In this case, the researcher either did not receive proper training or
												had not thought carefully through each step in the project when creating
												their research plan to make sure everything they needed would be
												available.</p>
										</note-feedback>
									</note-making>
								</action-panel>
								<action-panel panel="2">
									<note-making summary="false">
										<note-question>
											<img src="../images/activity_images/course_specific/pyr_1_60_img2.png"
												alt="" class="img-responsive" />
											<h4>Natural Science</h4>
											<p><em>"I have spent most of my time contributing as a team member to this
													project only to discover that my contributions are not seen as
													significant enough to justify a listing as an author. Why didn't
													someone tell me this before I put in so much time?"</em></p>
											<p><strong>What factors do you think might have led to this
													situation?</strong></p>
										</note-question>
										<note-input></note-input>
										<note-feedback>
											<p>The team member was probably not aware of the need for authorship
												agreements or did not have the confidence to ask about arrangements
												before work began. Asking about authorship early on in a project can be
												intimidating if you are a student or junior researcher. One low-key
												approach is to simply ask for information about authorship in general.
												For example, you could say: "I don't have much experience with
												authorship. Can you tell me more about how someone gets to be an author
												on a paper?", and then use this discussion as an opportunity to address
												the specific work in question.</p>
										</note-feedback>
									</note-making>
								</action-panel>
								<action-panel panel="3">
									<note-making summary="false">
										<note-question>
											<img src="../images/activity_images/course_specific/pyr_1_60_img3.png"
												alt="" class="img-responsive" />
											<h4>Social Science</h4>
											<p><em>"Journalists ask people the same questions I want to ask for my
													research project, but my supervisor has just told me that I have to
													get ethics committee permission to conduct my interviews. Why didn't
													my supervisor tell me that when I started this project? Now that I
													have to factor this in I can't see any way to finish my degree on
													time."</em></p>
											<p><strong>What factors do you think might have led to this
													situation?</strong></p>
										</note-question>
										<note-input></note-input>
										<note-feedback>
											<p>Due to pressure and time constraints, researchers can miss key details.
												In this case, the researcher either did not receive proper training or
												had not thought carefully through each step in the project when creating
												a research plan to make sure everything they needed, including relevant
												permissions, would be available.</p>
										</note-feedback>
									</note-making>
								</action-panel>
								<action-panel panel="4">
									<note-making summary="false">
										<note-question>
											<img src="../images/activity_images/course_specific/pyr_1_60_img4.png"
												alt="" class="img-responsive" />
											<h4>Engineering</h4>
											<p><em>"How was I supposed to know that my supervisor had an agreement with
													our industrial partner that allows them time to review our work
													before we publish? They may have all the time in the world, but I
													need to start talking about our work so I can get a job."</em></p>
											<p><strong>What factors do you think might have led to this
													situation?</strong></p>
										</note-question>
										<note-input></note-input>
										<note-feedback>
											<p>In cases such as this, supervisors should inform supervisees of any
												limitations on publication. Some universities do not permit research
												students to work on projects that might compromise their ability to
												publish and get a job. As a matter of caution, any student who is
												thinking about working on a funded project would be wise to ask about
												publication restrictions as part of the planning process.</p>
										</note-feedback>
									</note-making>
								</action-panel>
								<action-panel panel="5">
									<note-making summary="false">
										<note-question>
											<img src="../images/activity_images/course_specific/pyr_1_60_img5.png"
												alt="" class="img-responsive" />
											<h4>Arts & Humanities</h4>
											<p><em>"After a very long and expensive trip to my research site, I found
													that the archive I needed to access is only open one day a week.
													Worse still is that someone local to the area has already published
													the materials I was hoping to make the basis of my thesis. I thought
													I had reviewed everything, but apparently I wasn't careful
													enough..."</em></p>
											<p><strong>What factors do you think might have led to this
													situation?</strong></p>
										</note-question>
										<note-input></note-input>
										<note-feedback>
											<p>More than likely, this is a case of poor planning, possibly caused by a
												lack of time or the need to meet deadlines. At the very least, the
												student should have done a more thorough literature review. However,
												even with careful planning, problems such as this can crop up
												unexpectedly. The archive might be on restricted hours due to budget
												cuts. The local research might never have been published, or have been
												published in a place that was not indexed.</p>
										</note-feedback>
									</note-making>
								</action-panel>
							</action-maze>
							<!-- ACCESSIBLE START -->
							<accessible-block>
								<h3>Biomedical Science</h3>
								<p><em> "I was hoping to get a key reagent needed from a colleague, but since we don't have a material transfer agreement, this is not currently an option. I either have to find the reagent somewhere else, make my own, or take the time needed to work out a material transfer agreement."</em></p>
								<p><strong>Question: </strong>What factors do you think might have led to this situation? </p>
								<p><strong>Feedback: </strong>Due to pressure and time constraints, researchers can miss key details. In this case, the researcher either did not receive proper training or had not thought carefully through each step in the project when creating their research plan to make sure everything they needed would be available.</p>
								<hr>
								<h3>Natural Science</h3>
								<p><em>"I have spent most of my time contributing as a team member to this project only to discover that my contributions are not seen as significant enough to justify a listing as an author. Why didn't someone tell me this before I put in so much time?"</em></p>
								<p><strong>Question: </strong>What factors do you think might have led to this situation? </p>
								<p><strong>Feedback: </strong>The team member was probably not aware of the need for authorship agreements or did not have the confidence to ask about arrangements before work began. Asking about authorship early on in a project can be intimidating if you are a student or junior researcher. One low-key approach is to simply ask for information about authorship in general. For example, you could say: "I don't have much experience with authorship. Can you tell me more about how someone gets to be an author on a paper?", and then use this discussion as an opportunity to address the specific work in question.  </p>
								<hr>
								<h3>Social Science</h3>
								<p><em>"Journalists ask people the same questions I want to ask for my research project, but my supervisor has just told me that I have to get ethics committee permission to conduct my interviews. Why didn't my supervisor tell me that when I started this project? Now that I have to factor this in I can't see any way to finish my degree on time."</em></p>
								<p><strong>Question: </strong>What factors do you think might have led to this situation? </p>
								<p><strong>Feedback: </strong>Due to pressure and time constraints, researchers can miss key details. In this case, the researcher either did not receive proper training or had not thought carefully through each step in the project when creating a research plan to make sure everything they needed, including relevant permissions, would be available.  </p>
								<hr>
								<h3>Engineering</h3>
								<p><em>"How was I supposed to know that my supervisor had an agreement with our industrial partner that allows them time to review our work before we publish? They may have all the time in the world, but I need to start talking about our work so I can get a job."</em></p>
								<p><strong>Question: </strong>What factors do you think might have led to this situation? </p>
								<p><strong>Feedback: </strong>In cases such as this, supervisors should inform supervisees of any limitations on publication. Some universities do not permit research students to work on projects that might compromise their ability to publish and get a job. As a matter of caution, any student who is thinking about working on a funded project would be wise to ask about publication restrictions as part of the planning process. </p>
								<hr>
								<h3>Arts & Humanities</h3>
								<p><em>"After a very long and expensive trip to my research site, I found that the archive I needed to access is only open one day a week. Worse still is that someone local to the area has already published the materials I was hoping to make the basis of my thesis. I thought I had reviewed everything, but apparently I wasn't careful enough..."</em></p>
								<p><strong>Question: </strong>What factors do you think might have led to this situation? </p>
								<p><strong>Feedback: </strong>More than likely, this is a case of poor planning, possibly caused by a lack of time or the need to meet deadlines. At the very least, the student should have done a more thorough literature review. However, even with careful planning, problems such as this can crop up unexpectedly. The archive might be on restricted hours due to budget cuts. The local research might never have been published, or have been published in a place that was not indexed.  </p>
							</accessible-block>
							<!-- ACCESSIBLE END -->
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							<p>As these examples illustrate, overlooking a small detail can lead to delays, resources
								being wasted and other problems. This is one of the reasons why it is important to
								discuss your work thoroughly with your supervisory team and, if necessary, identify
								additional training resources or courses that will help you to plan and manage your
								research.</p>

							<h3>Your experience</h3>

							<p>How would you rate your own experience with planning?</p>

							<instructional-text>
								<p>Consider the questions below and select the responses that most accurately reflect your experiences. Click "Vote" to register your response and see how others have responded to the poll.</p>
							</instructional-text>
							<instructional-text-accessible>
								<p>Consider the questions below and select the responses that most accurately reflect your experiences. </p>
							</instructional-text-accessible>

							<!-- ACTIVITY START -->
							<process show-in-accessible-version="false">
								<process-page>
									<!-- POLL START -->
									<poll poll-id="10488824" noscript-text="Have you been in a situation where you wished you had planned a project more carefully?"></poll>
									<!-- POLL END -->
								</process-page>
								<process-page>
									<!-- POLL START -->
									<poll poll-id="10488825" noscript-text="If you have experienced such situations, what prevented you from doing a better job of planning? (Select all that apply)"></poll>
									<!-- POLL END -->
								</process-page>
							</process>
							<!-- ACCESSIBLES START -->
							<accessible-block>
								<h4>Question 1 of 2:</h4>
								<p>Have you been in a situation where you wished you had planned a project more carefully?</p>
								<ul>
									<li>Never</li>
									<li>Once</li>
									<li>A few times</li>
									<li>Quite often</li>
									<li>All the time</li>
									<li>Not applicable</li>
								</ul>
								<hr>
								<h4>Question 2 of 2:</h4>
								<p>If you have experienced such situations, what prevented you from doing a better job of planning? (Choose all that apply)</p>
								<ul>
									<li>Never</li>
									<li>Once</li>
									<li>A few times</li>
									<li>Quite often</li>
									<li>All the time</li>
									<li>Not applicable</li>
								</ul>
							</accessible-block>
							<!-- ACCESSIBLES END -->
							<!-- ACTIVITY END -->

							<p>None of the influencing factors covered above should prevent researchers from properly
								planning their research, but they certainly do in practice. As a result, it is
								particularly important to invest the necessary time and resources into developing a
								carefully thought out plan.</p>

							<h3>Summary</h3>

							<p>The effort put into planning is not always visible or rewarded. It might, therefore, seem
								like a convenient place to cut corners. However, the potential consequences of poor
								planning suggest that cutting corners at this initial stage of research is unwise.
								Instead, you should:</p>

							<ul>
								<li>Rethink your plans if time or pressure seems to be a problem</li>
								<li>Make sure you have received proper training</li>
								<li>Ask questions if you are not sure about some aspect of your research.</li>
							</ul>

							<p>These steps represent the best way to avoid the types of problems illustrated on this
								screen.</p>

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