Study Plan Template, Office of Assessment
Below is a template that units can use to create a study plan investigating an assessment topic. The template can be used by academic
and student service units. For example, an academic program can use the template to develop a plan investigating an aspect of student
learning in the program. A student service unit can use the template to develop a plan investigating how well the unit's services are
supporting student needs. In the "Study Plan" column, units can write their answers to the plan component questions.
Plan Components
Purpose
1. What is the problem that the study will address?
Why is the study being conducted? What is the
purpose of the study?
 Is there a lack of information?
 Have you collected other data and need to further
explore unclear concepts?
 Are you trying to design or improve a program,
services, experiences, etc.?
 How will this study help address the problem?
 Will you gather information that will shed light on
the problem?
 How will the study contribute to improving the
problem?
2. What is the question that will be answered by the
study?
 There is usually one overarching question, but you
may have a couple of questions.
 Reframe your purpose into a question.
3. What general types of information/data do you
want to gather?
 What information/data will help you answer your
question?
 Do you need to gather numerical data?
 Do you need to gather verbal responses?
 Do you need to gather written responses?
Study Plan
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Study Plan Template, Office of Assessment
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Plan Components
Do you need to gather multiple types of data?
Study Plan
How will the results be reported?
Will you provide a formal or informal written report?
Will you give a presentation?
Will you write a journal article?
Will you report results at all?
Is there an existing report format that you have to
follow or will you create the format?
To whom will the results be reported or who
wants to know the results?
Be specific about to whom the results will be shared.
Will results be provided to your department and/or to
other departments at UNC?
Will results be provided to communities outside of
UNC?
Do you plan to share the results with people
outside your unit?
See your responses for question 6.
This is a yes or no question.
How will the results be used?
Revisit what you wrote for the purpose of the study.
Will you create or redesign programs?
Will you make recommendations?
Will you implement new services?
Will this project require Institutional Review
Board approval?
Revisit what you wrote about with whom you plan to
share the results.
If you plan to share results outside of your unit, then
you may need to get IRB approval before you start
your study.
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Study Plan Template, Office of Assessment
Plan Components
 Check with the UNC IRB for more information.
Study Management
9. Who is leading the study?
Study Plan
10. Who will design the data collection instrument
(e.g., survey, interview questions, test, etc.)?
11. Who will recruit participants?
12. Who will collect the data?
13. Who will analyze the data?
14. Who will summarize and report the findings?
Participants/Recruiting
15. What are the characteristics of the participants?
 Describe the specific characteristics of the
participants you want to include in your study
 Participants or non-participants in program, activity,
services (i.e., user/non user, majors/non-major)
 Personal characteristics: age, gender, ethnicity/race,
first generation, sexual orientation, etc.
 Other characteristics: family characteristics, hobbies,
etc.
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Study Plan Template, Office of Assessment
Plan Components
16. How many individuals will be in the study? If you
will have group in the study (e.g., for focus group
interviews), how many groups will be in the study?
17. How will you identify and recruit participants?
 Do you know who potential participants are or do you
need to work with someone else to identify potential
participants?
 Do you have direct access to potential participants?
 Will you need to rely on others to recruit
participants?
 Possible recruitment methods: email, text message,
list serve, website, flyer, face to face
18. What incentives will you provide?
 What is your budget for incentives?
 What types of incentives work for your participants?
 What restrictions does your unit or UNC have on
incentives?
 If you are doing the study as an IRB approved study,
has the IRB approved your incentive?
Study Plan
19. What are good and bad times to collect data from
participants?
 Are there known times when participants gather that
could serve as a good time to collect data? Club
meetings, right after a class, etc.
 What activities (work, classes, family, etc.) are
participants involved in that might conflict with
scheduling the data collection?
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