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				current-module = "Managing and Recording Your Research"
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							<p>Conducting a research project comes with a wide range of responsibilities. In some fields of research you will have a pre-agreed protocol; in others, you may only have a broad research question, along with an idea of how you will go about addressing it. Regardless of the specifics, you should do everything you said you would (e.g. follow specific procedures and meet deadlines).</p>
							<p>However, the nature of research means that things change or plans do not work as expected. Because of this, you should also know the accepted procedures in your field for adapting plans and making changes.</p>
							
							<h3>Project management checklist</h3>
							
							<p>It is often helpful to have some kind of project management checklist. Below, we suggest some items that should be on every project management checklist.</p>
							
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							<instructional-text><p>Click on the tabs to see a breakdown of the questions you should be asking at every stage of your research project, from preliminary checks through to final steps. For an editable template version of this checklist, see the "Additional information" pod.</p></instructional-text>
							<instructional-text-accessible><p>Continue on for a breakdown of the questions you should be asking at every stage of your research project, from preliminary checks through to final steps. For an editable template version of this checklist, refer to the first "Additional information" pod.</p></instructional-text-accessible>
							
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									<tab-heading><p>Conduct preliminary checks to ensure you are ready to begin</p></tab-heading>
									<tab-content>
										<ul>
											<li>Do you have a clear idea of who you are working with and what their roles are?</li>
											<li>Has everyone on the project completed the required training?</li>
											<li>Have you gained all the approvals (including peer or ethics reviews) and permissions that are required?</li>
											<li>Do you have a safety plan in place (including risk assessments)?</li>
											<li>If relevant, have you received the necessary health and safety training (see the second "Additional information" pod for more information)?</li>
											<li>Has the necessary equipment been purchased (or accessed) and calibrated?</li>
											<li>Are the necessary materials/resources available?</li>
											<li>Has travel been arranged and do you have the correct permissions to enter premises, libraries, etc.?</li>
											<li>Are colleagues and staff fully informed?</li>
										</ul>
									</tab-content>
								</tab-item>
								<tab-item>
									<tab-heading><p>Carefully follow your research plan</p></tab-heading>
									<tab-content>
										<ul>
											<li>Did you use the methods and materials you said you would?</li>
											<li>Have you followed your proposed schedule?</li>
											<li>Did you collect and store data/information in the way you said you would?</li>
											<li>Have you double-checked all the entries and recorded information to make sure they are correct?</li>
											<li>Have you made sure your research staff/colleagues understand and are fulfilling their responsibilities?</li>
										</ul>
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									<tab-heading><p>Properly handle any changes required to your research plan</p></tab-heading>
									<tab-content>
										<ul>
											<li>Have you secured permission for changes when required (e.g. changing an approved consent form for human participants research or altering procedures when working with animals)? (Note that any such changes should be reviewed by the ethics committee that initially reviewed the plan.)</li>
											<li>Have you carefully documented any new procedures or methods?</li>
											<li>Have you documented your reasons for making changes?</li>
											<li>Have you informed your supervisor/team members of any changes made?</li>
										</ul>
									</tab-content>
								</tab-item>
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									<tab-heading><p>Make sure all loose ends are tied up</p></tab-heading>
									<tab-content>
										<ul>
											<li>Have you submitted the required reports?</li>
											<li>Have you properly stored or disposed of unused chemicals/reagents?</li>
											<li>Have you communicated research outcomes to participants or other stakeholders (if required by your protocols or research agreements)?</li>
											<li>Have you filed any copyright or acknowledgement agreements that you have signed?</li>
											<li>Have you properly stored and protected your research record?</li>
										</ul>
									</tab-content>
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							<!-- ADDITIONAL INFORMATION START -->
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								<pod-heading>Additional information</pod-heading> <!-- pod title -->
								<pod-content></pod-content>
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								<pod-modal-heading>Additional information</pod-modal-heading>
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									<p><a href="../media/documents/cre_1_20.doc" target="_blank">Click here</a> to download a template that you can use to create your own checklist.</p>
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								<pod-heading>Additional information</pod-heading> <!-- pod title -->
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								<pod-modal-heading>Additional information</pod-modal-heading>
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									<p>It is the law in the UK that all employees (including students) receive training on health and safety issues in their workplace. If you work in a laboratory, this may also include training on the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health 2002 (COSHH).</p>
									<p>You should receive all the required health and safety training as part of your induction. It is advisable to seek out your workplace safety advisor and discuss any work that you are planning to do.</p>
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							<p>Keeping a checklist may seem simplistic or unnecessary, but the time and effort will have been well spent if it helps you avoid problems.</p>
							
							<h3>Unexpected problems</h3>
							
							<p>What might happen if things do not go to plan?</p>
							
							<instructional-text><p>Select the area that most closely matches your own, and reflect on the situation encountered by the researcher. Enter your thoughts, and then click "View feedback" so you can compare your response to ours. If you wish to read about the dilemmas encountered by researchers in other disciplines, return to the "Main menu" and select a different area.</p></instructional-text>
							<instructional-text-accessible><p>Choose the area that most closely matches your own, and reflect on the situation encountered by the researcher. Consider your response to each question and continue on for feedback so you can compare your response to ours. If you wish, you can explore more dilemmas encountered by researchers in other disciplines by continuing on to a different area.</p></instructional-text-accessible>
							
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							<action-maze show-in-accessible-version="false" restart-label="Main menu" back="false" summary="true" variant="notemaking">
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									<action-link goto-panel="1"><h3>Biomedical Science</h3></action-link>
									<action-link goto-panel="2"><h3>Natural Science</h3></action-link>
									<action-link goto-panel="3"><h3>Arts & Humanities</h3></action-link>
									<action-link goto-panel="4"><h3>Social Science</h3></action-link>
									<action-link goto-panel="5"><h3>Engineering</h3></action-link>
								</action-panel>
								<action-panel panel="1">
									<note-making summary="false">
										<note-question>
											<img src="../images/activity_images/course_specific/cre_1_20_img1.png" alt="" class="img-responsive" />
											<h4>Biomedical Science</h4>
											<p><em>"I could only recruit 75 of the 100 participants I needed! <br> What do I do now?"</em></p>
											<p><strong>What are some reasons why a researcher might have trouble recruiting research participants?</strong></p>
										</note-question>
										<note-input></note-input>
										<note-feedback><p>Recruitment problems can often be traced back to underestimating how much time is needed to identify and approach potential participants. It is also possible that potential participants should have been more involved early on to better understand how and when the research should be presented to them. Whatever the reasons, these sorts of issues need to be identified so adjustments can be made or backup plans enacted (note that changes to a formal protocol may require additional review by the ethics committee, sponsors, etc.).</p></note-feedback>
									</note-making>
								</action-panel>
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									<note-making summary="false">
										<note-question>
											<img src="../images/activity_images/course_specific/cre_1_20_img2.png" alt="" class="img-responsive" />
											<h4>Natural Science</h4>
											<p><em>"The reagent that seemed to work in experiments conducted in other laboratories did not work for me. Is this my mistake or theirs?"</em></p>
											<p><strong>What are some potential reasons why the reagent did not work in this case?</strong></p>
										</note-question>
										<note-input></note-input>
										<note-feedback><p>These sorts of issues can be traced back to many causative factors, particularly failures to follow the precise details of the plan (for example, if the altitude is different from that used previously, the experiment might unfold differently). The first step when this sort of issue is encountered should be to re-check the work. Once the work has been re-checked, the best course of action would be to approach someone from one of the other laboratories to get advice on what to do. It is possible that the reports that were relied upon were inaccurate.</p></note-feedback>
									</note-making>
								</action-panel>
								<action-panel panel="3">
									<note-making summary="false">
										<note-question>
											<img src="../images/activity_images/course_specific/cre_1_20_img5.png" alt="" class="img-responsive" />
											<h4>Arts & Humanities</h4>
											<p><em>"The records I was hoping to find are missing! How could this have happened?"</em></p>
											<p><strong>What are some reasons why the records that the researcher hoped to find might be missing?</strong></p>
										</note-question>
										<note-input></note-input>
										<note-feedback><p>The descriptions in records can be inaccurate and the material that is supposed to be in a collection can get lost or be misplaced &ndash; essentially, anyone who works in archives and record collections should be prepared for surprises. In this case, there is probably the option of searching for alternative sources. Arts and humanities projects are generally tightly linked to pre-approved research plans, so care should be taken to ensure that any changes receive supervisory approval and, if applicable, fall within the conditions of the grant.</p></note-feedback>
									</note-making>
								</action-panel>
								<action-panel panel="4">
									<note-making summary="false">
										<note-question>
											<img src="../images/activity_images/course_specific/cre_1_20_img3.png" alt="" class="img-responsive" />
											<h4>Social Science</h4>
											<p><em>"The country where I had planned to conduct my fieldwork has closed its borders due to political unrest. Can I just conduct my fieldwork in another country?"</em></p>
											<p><strong>What are some of the considerations this researcher should keep in mind when determining if they can conduct their fieldwork elsewhere?</strong></p>
										</note-question>
										<note-input></note-input>
										<note-feedback><p>Resolution of this situation requires an up-to-date understanding of the rules for conducting research in other countries. Even if the fieldwork is strictly observational and requires no direct contact with humans or animals, there could be limitations on what is considered permissible. For example, would every country allow a researcher to sit outside a polling station during a national election and record the gender of everyone standing in line, or even the number of people in line? If plans to work in one country fall through, it is important to think carefully about what to do next. Advice can be sought from a supervisor, mentor or research office (who may be able to provide information on alternatives).</p></note-feedback>
									</note-making>
								</action-panel>
								<action-panel panel="5">
									<note-making summary="false">
										<note-question>
											<img src="../images/activity_images/course_specific/cre_1_20_img4.png" alt="" class="img-responsive" />
											<h4>Engineering</h4>
											<p><em>"My preliminary results seem not to have been a good predictor of the full-scale tests that came later. Should I scrap what I have and try again, or come up with a new approach?"</em></p>
											<p><strong>What steps should this researcher take to determine the best way forward?</strong></p>
										</note-question>
										<note-input></note-input>
										<note-feedback><p>In this case, it is important that the researcher carefully compares what they did in the preliminary test to what they did in the full-scale test. If working in a group, it is always worth sharing the problems with the group to get some suggestions. Before the initial approach is abandoned, it should be thoroughly reviewed to uncover the cause of the problem, in case there is the possibility of refining the methods used.</p></note-feedback>
									</note-making>
								</action-panel>
							</action-maze>
							<!-- ACCESSIBLE START -->
							<accessible-block>
								<h4>Biomedical Science</h4> 
								<p><em>"I could only recruit 75 of the 100 participants I needed! What do I do now?" </em></p>
								<p><strong>Question:</strong> What are some reasons why a researcher might have trouble recruiting research participants?</p>
								<p><strong>Feedback:</strong> Recruitment problems can often be traced back to underestimating how much time is needed to identify and approach potential participants. It is also possible that potential participants should have been more involved early on to better understand how and when the research should be presented to them. Whatever the reasons, these sorts of issues need to be identified so adjustments can be made or backup plans enacted (note that changes to a formal protocol may require additional review by the ethics committee, sponsors, etc.).</p>
								<hr>
								<h4>Natural Science</h4>
								<p><em>"The reagent that seemed to work in experiments conducted in other laboratories did not work for me. Is this my mistake or theirs?"</em></p>
								<p><strong>Question text:</strong> What are some potential reasons why the reagent did not work in this case?</p>
								<p><strong>Feedback:</strong> These sorts of issues can be traced back to many causative factors, particularly failures to follow the precise details of the plan (for example, if the altitude is different from that used previously, the experiment might unfold differently). The first step when this sort of issue is encountered should be to re-check the work. Once the work has been re-checked, the best course of action would be to approach someone from one of the other laboratories to get advice on what to do. It is possible that the reports that were relied upon were inaccurate.</p>
								<hr>
								<h4>Arts & Humanities</h4>
								<p><em>"The records I was hoping to find are missing! How could this have happened?"</em></p>
								<p><strong>Question: </strong>What are some reasons why the records that the researcher hoped to find might be missing?  </p>
								<p><strong>Feedback: </strong>The descriptions in records can be inaccurate and the material that is supposed to be in a collection can get lost or be misplaced &ndash; essentially, anyone who works in archives and record collections should be prepared for surprises. In this case, there is probably the option of searching for alternative sources. Arts and humanities projects are generally tightly linked to pre-approved research plans, so care should be taken to ensure that any changes receive supervisory approval and, if applicable, fall within the conditions of the grant.</p>
								<hr>
								<h4>Social Science</h4>
								<p><em>"The country where I had planned to conduct my fieldwork has closed its borders due to political unrest. Can I just conduct my fieldwork in another country?"</em></p>
								<p><strong>Question: </strong>What are some of the considerations this researcher should keep in mind when determining if they can conduct their fieldwork elsewhere?</p>
								<p><strong>Feedback: </strong>Resolution of this situation requires an up-to-date understanding of the rules for conducting research in other countries. Even if the fieldwork is strictly observational and requires no direct contact with humans or animals, there could be limitations on what is considered permissible. For example, would every country allow a researcher to sit outside a polling station during a national election and record the gender of everyone standing in line, or even the number of people in line? If plans to work in one country fall through, it is important to think carefully about what to do next. Advice can be sought from a supervisor, mentor or research office (who may be able to provide information on alternatives).</p>
								<hr>
								<h4>Engineering</h4>
								<p><em>"My preliminary results seem not to have been a good predictor of the full-scale tests that came later. Should I scrap what I have and try again, or come up with a new approach?"</em></p>
								<p><strong>Question: </strong>What steps should this researcher take to determine the best way forward?</p>
								<p><strong>Feedback: </strong>In this case, it is important that the researcher carefully compares what they did in the preliminary test to what they did in the full-scale test. If working in a group, it is always worth sharing the problems with the group to get some suggestions. Before the initial approach is abandoned, it should be thoroughly reviewed to uncover the cause of the problem, in case there is the possibility of refining the methods used.</p>
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							<p>If you run into unexpected problems or things do not quite progress as planned, ask for advice from your supervisor, your research office or someone with more experience. Be sure you know what you are doing and why you are doing it if making any changes.</p>
							
							<h3>Summary</h3>
							
							<p>Through all stages of a research project, care and attention to detail are essential. As you manage your project:</p>
							
							<ul>
								<li>Check to make sure you are ready before beginning the project</li>
								<li>Follow your research plan</li>
								<li>Check and double-check to avoid errors</li>
								<li>Record and, as required, report changes</li>
								<li>Do not forget to tie up all loose ends</li>
							</ul>
							
							<p>Keeping to a management plan ensures that you do what you intended to do. The next step in conducting research is to ensure that you maintain a proper record of what you have done.</p>
							
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