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    "title" : "Research planning |Digital.gov",
    "description": "Research planning",
    "home_page_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/","feed_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/guides/hcd/discovery-operations/research-planning/index.json","item" : [
    {"title" :"Research planning","summary" : "How to go about scheduling and planning your research","date" : "2023-07-24T09:00:00-05:00","date_modified" : "2025-01-27T19:42:55-05:00","primary_image" : { "uid" : "hcd-discovery-operations", "alt" :
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      "filename" :"research-planning.md",
      
      "filepath" :"guides/hcd/discovery-operations/research-planning.md",
      "filepathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/blob/bc-archive-content-3/content/guides/hcd/discovery-operations/research-planning.md",
      "editpathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/edit/bc-archive-content-3/content/guides/hcd/discovery-operations/research-planning.md","url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/guides/hcd/discovery-operations/research-planning/","content" :"\u003ch2 id=\"make-a-plan-but-be-flexible\"\u003eMake a plan, but be flexible\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStart building out the details for each day of your research. Though the schedule will definitely change as peoples’ availability and desire to participate in the project changes, you should be approaching your first interviews.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eConstant clear communication between the Project Lead, Recruiter, and Logistics Coordinator is required at this stage. Don’t let the seeming rush of changes throw you off; this is a normal part of trying to pull together many people with different schedules. As you build the schedule, allow for no more than two interviews per team per day. Thinking on your feet and engaging with people is exhausting; your teams will need recovery time between interviews, especially if traveling.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you have been using a handwritten calendar, it’s time to move to a common, shared calendar that is easily updated, such as on a white board in the office, and/or a shared digital calendar. With changes likely happening each day, and travel days approaching, everyone on the team needs to have immediate notifications on shifts in schedule and interview subjects.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003carticle class=\"dg-ring\" aria-labelledby=\"c09ed9710bf7bbd2ab650e5f948754b8\"\u003e\n  \u003ch2 id=\"c09ed9710bf7bbd2ab650e5f948754b8\" class=\"dg-ring__title\"\u003eTry it out\u003c/h2\u003e\n  Create an interview/conversation guide with a list of keywords or themes you want to cover with each participant. This does not need to be formal, but all researchers should use it so as to create continuity across the interviews.\n\u003c/article\u003e\n\n\u003ch2 id=\"research-planning-checklist\"\u003eResearch planning checklist\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUse the research checklist to guide you as you move through last minute plans before research begins. Your ambition will probably be to fill every moment with research so you can move fast as a team. Resist that ambition.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you push your team to exhaustion now, you won’t make it through the research phase with the rigor your participants and leadership expect and deserve. If a potential interviewee needs a time that it is simply impossible for your team to accommodate, don’t tell them no or promise the impossible; ask for another time, or be willing to simply drop the interview and come back to it.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"margin-left: 20px\"\u003e\n  \u003cinput type=\"checkbox\"\u003e\n  Plan a realistic schedule, based on time: 8 hours per day for everyone, including drive/travel time. Time for lunch and bathroom breaks between interviews are required; they are not optional.\n  \u003c/input\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n  \u003cinput type=\"checkbox\"\u003e\n  Each day will need to end with a team synthesis. This time has to be included as part of your 8 hour day. This means, logically, that you’ll probably only be able to schedule 2 research tasks per team, per day. This might seem like too light of a load for your team, but it is realistic.\n  \u003c/input\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n  \u003cinput type=\"checkbox\"\u003e\n  Constantly talk with your team’s Recruiter to have an idea of who the participants are and where you’ll meet them.\n  \u003c/input\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n  \u003cinput type=\"checkbox\"\u003e\n  Purchase supplies: notebooks, pens, markers, sticky notes, audio recorders, cameras.\n  \u003c/input\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n  \u003cinput type=\"checkbox\"\u003e\n  Print out Consent Forms.\n  \u003c/input\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n  \u003cinput type=\"checkbox\"\u003e\n  Alongside your team, create an interview/ conversation guide. This should not be an explicit list of questions, as that will cut off the natural flow of a conversation. Instead, write down keywords and/or themes that reflect the points you and the team needs to cover in each interview.\n  \u003c/input\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n"}
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