Research design · 01
How to write a research proposal: structure and methods
Plan a research proposal with a clear problem, literature gap, objectives, methods, analysis and timeline. Use a practical review checklist.
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45 research guides with examples and workbooks
Find 45 guides by question, method or stage. Fictional worked cases, editable workbooks and original-source links support better decisions.
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Writing and referencing · 02
Thesis and dissertation structure and defense preparation
Review thesis chapters, align questions with methods and findings, track revisions and prepare a defense under your institution’s requirements.
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Statistics and modeling · 03
Statistical software compared: SPSS, R and Python
Compare SPSS, R, Python, Stata, MATLAB and NVivo for research, with educational code examples and guidance on tool selection and analytical reporting.
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Data and reproducibility · 04
Reproducible scientific code and simulation
Choose research programming tools, organize projects, record dependencies, use version control and validate simulations for reproducible results.
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Writing and referencing · 05
APA, IEEE and Harvard citation guide
Review educational citation templates, reconcile in-text citations and reference lists, check DOI records and follow your institution’s style guidance.
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Ethics and originality · 06
Interpreting Turnitin and iThenticate similarity
Understand textual matches, quotations, citations and report settings. Learn the limits of similarity scores and a responsible approach to revision.
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Similarity reports: components and revision checklist
Review report components, document versions and tool settings, and use a revision-action table. A similarity percentage alone cannot determine plagiarism.
Read the guidePublishing and identity · 08
Scientific article types and journal selection
Understand original research, review articles and other formats, plan a manuscript and prepare submission. Distinguish journal indexing from article type.
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Systematic reviews and PRISMA: a practical workflow
Plan a review protocol, reproducible search, screening, evidence extraction and PRISMA reporting. Keep reporting quality distinct from study validity.
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Journal submission and reviewer-response checklist
Check journal fit, prepare submission files and declarations, respond to each reviewer comment and inspect the final article proof.
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Data and reproducibility · 11
Research data management and reproducibility
Build a data dictionary, document cleaning and changes, protect confidential information and preserve code and analysis environments for review.
Read the guideEthics and originality · 12
AI in research: verification, responsibility and disclosure
Use AI responsibly in research: verify sources and calculations, protect confidential information and disclose use under institution and journal policies.
Read the guideSearch and evidence · 13
Reproducible literature searching: concepts, databases and logs
Build a research search using concepts, synonyms, Boolean logic and suitable databases; preserve a clear search log and manage records without losing provenance.
Read the guideResearch design · 14
Choosing a research design: questions, data and methods
Align descriptive, predictive or causal aims with study design, measurement and the unit of analysis; document feasibility and bias before collecting data.
Read the guideResearch design · 15
Preregistration and analysis plans: decisions before results
Preregister questions, outcomes, sampling and confirmatory analyses; disclose prior data access, changes and exploratory work with a transparent decision record.
Read the guideStatistics and modeling · 16
Sample size and statistical power: a defensible justification
Justify sample size using the primary outcome, study design, plausible effect, power or precision; document attrition, clustering and sensitivity scenarios.
Read the guideStatistics and modeling · 17
Effect sizes, confidence intervals and p-values
Report magnitude, direction, units and uncertainty alongside significance tests; separate exploratory analyses and avoid treating nonsignificance as proof of no effect.
Read the guideStatistics and modeling · 18
Missing data and sensitivity analysis
Inspect missingness patterns, distinguish assumptions from evidence and justify complete-case or imputation methods; report analytical samples and sensitivity transparently.
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Research design · 19
Qualitative research: interviews, coding and interpretation
Connect qualitative questions to sampling, researcher reflexivity and documented interpretation; choose reporting guidance that fits the specific methodology.
Read the guideResearch design · 20
Survey design: questions, piloting and response quality
Translate constructs into clear questions and answer scales; test wording, order, burden and language equivalence before running the final questionnaire.
Read the guideStatistics and modeling · 21
Association and causal inference: questions and assumptions
Separate association, prediction and causal effects; define the intervention, timing, confounders and identification assumptions before interpreting a model causally.
Read the guideData and reproducibility · 22
Reproducible notebooks: Jupyter, R and execution environments
Combine scientific explanation with code; control hidden state, dependencies, data paths and outputs so a colleague can rerun the analytical workflow.
Read the guideData and reproducibility · 23
FAIR research data: metadata, licensing and reuse
Document data with metadata, a README, persistent identifiers and access conditions; distinguish FAIR practice from unrestricted sharing or simply uploading a file.
Read the guidePublishing and identity · 24
Open access and publishing rights: versions and repositories
Check open-access routes, article versions, embargoes, licenses and costs in official policies; free reading does not imply unrestricted reuse or universal repository eligibility.
Read the guidePublishing and identity · 25
ORCID, DOI and researcher identity
Distinguish researcher identifiers from output identifiers; reconcile names, authors, versions and affiliations, and avoid treating an identifier as proof of research quality.
Read the guideWriting and referencing · 26
Research reporting guidelines: PRISMA, CONSORT and COREQ
Choose reporting guidance by study design; check PRISMA 2020, CONSORT and SPIRIT 2025, qualitative guidance and journal-specific requirements.
Read the guideResearch design · 27
Research grant planning: fit, budget and timeline
Match the idea to the current funding call and eligibility rules; prepare coherent aims, resources, justified budgets, data plans and internal submission deadlines.
Read the guideSearch and evidence · 28
Critical appraisal: methods, evidence and applicability
Evaluate questions, design, sampling, measurement and analysis; distinguish reporting quality, risk of bias, relevance and the publication’s correction or withdrawal status.
Read the guidePublishing and identity · 29
Registered Reports: a thesis workflow from Stage 1 to Stage 2
Plan Stage 1, in-principle acceptance, protocol execution and Stage 2 reporting with a hypothetical thesis case and an editable workbook.
Read the guideResearch design · 30
Preregistering secondary data: prior access and analysis decisions
Document prior knowledge, sample rules, models and amendments when data already exist; work through a secondary-data example and decision log.
Read the guideResearch design · 31
Qualitative preregistration: flexibility, reflexivity and decisions
Record qualitative sampling, researcher position, analysis and justified changes without imposing an unsuitable fixed statistical hypothesis.
Read the guideEthics and originality · 32
TOP 2025: build a verifiable research package
Map study records, protocol, analysis, materials, data, code and reporting to TOP 2025 disclosure, sharing and citation, and certification levels.
Read the guideStatistics and modeling · 33
Multiverse and specification-curve analysis: decisions to results
Define defensible choices and dependencies, compare analytical sensitivity and rerun a six-path synthetic example with data, Python and outputs.
Read the guideData and reproducibility · 34
A computational thesis with Quarto: data, figures, tables and text
Connect manuscript numbers to computation, preserve clean execution and data releases, and review RTL, Word and PDF formatting with a sample project.
Read the guideWriting and referencing · 35
Thesis by publication: linking chapters and an integrated argument
Build a coherent thesis around published work, connecting a central question, linking chapters, author contributions and an integrated discussion.
Read the guidePublishing and identity · 36
Preprint peer review: choosing between PCI and the eLife model
Compare preprints, editorial selection, public assessments, revisions and final versions, with an original reviewer-response example.
Read the guidePublishing and identity · 37
Data papers: from raw files to a reusable Data Descriptor
Document data generation, dictionaries, validation, access conditions and a reuse example for a data-focused paper.
Read the guidePublishing and identity · 38
Research software papers and JOSS readiness
Assess research purpose, public development history, tests, documentation, licensing and AI disclosure for research software.
Read the guidePublishing and identity · 39
Rights retention: versions, agreements and open access
Distinguish the accepted manuscript from the publisher version and check funder, institution, journal and deposit permissions before signing.
Read the guideStatistics and modeling · 40
Equivalence testing with TOST and a justified SESOI
Why a large p-value does not prove no effect: interpret equivalence bounds, standard errors and confidence intervals with executable examples.
Read the guideWriting and referencing · 41
Constraints on Generality: from your sample to a defensible claim
Separate populations, settings, stimuli, time and mechanisms and write an explicit scope-of-generalization statement.
Read the guideSearch and evidence · 42
Living systematic reviews and PRISMA-LSR 2024
Design surveillance, continuation criteria, versioning and update triggers using a worked monitoring and stopping log.
Read the guideEthics and originality · 43
Reporting chatbot health-advice studies with CHART
Specify CHART scope, model versions, prompts, variable outputs, human assessment and harm controls in health-advice chatbot research.
Read the guideEthics and originality · 44
CONSORT and SPIRIT 2025: trial reports and protocols
Distinguish SPIRIT protocols from CONSORT randomized-trial reports and work with current versions and an evidence-location matrix.
Read the guideEthics and originality · 45
Verifying a new reporting standard: the PRISMA-trAIce case
Distinguish a familiar name, a published proposal and official endorsement using a documented 2026 case and a provenance-check workflow.
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