Plan

The first step of any project is to plan the scope and delivery of your research project. Starting with the question of what you want the project to accomplish or be, you should start considering how you’ll collect data, work with it, and manage it; how you’ll publish your research artifacts; and how you’ll close out your project. This portion of the guide will point you to resources to help you plan your research project and centers on campus you may need to be in contact with before beginning your research.

Featured resources

Many of the resources included in the other stages of the research data lifecycle are also useful in the planning of a research project. Please review the other sections for ideas as you plan your project. Below a few resources useful for planning are highlighted.

ARROW

ARROW (Application Review for Research Oversight) is an online workflow system to review and track applications for research oversight pertaining to human and animal subjects, stem cell research, and biological safety. ARROW tracks applications for review processes such as IRB (Institutional Review Board), IACUC (Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee), Biosafety, SCRO (Stem Cell Research Oversight), and RVSO (Research Vehicles Safety Oversight. You’ll use ARROW as you’re developing the plan for your research project and identifying your research and data collection methods.

CITI Portal

CITI (Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative) provides Human Subjects Protections (HSP) training. If your research (including others’ research projects you’re working on) involves human subjects, you will need to make sure that your training certification is up-to-date. UW-Madison uses the training certification program CITI, which offers basic courses in Social & Behavioral and UW Biomedical research, as well as supplemental modules. ARROW tracks your course progress and certification. You will need to make sure that you are certified through CITI before beginning to work on any research projects that require the certification.

Broader Impacts

This campus resource offers consultation and support for engaged planning, designing, and implementation of Broader Impacts programs for National Science Foundation (NSF) funding. This resource offers planning guides, program and partner information, workshops, and more.

DMPTool

Most funding applications require researchers to submit a data management plan (DMP), describing how they will treat their data throughout the research project and after. DMPTool is a free, open source, online tool that helps researchers structure and draft DMPs according to funder requirements as well as share their plans with others and request feedback on their DMPs from Research Data Services Consultants. DMPTool will help you as you’re preparing grant applications.

RSP

RSP (Research and Sponsored Programs) provides services in reviewing grant proposals, negotiating contract terms and conditions, overseeing active projects, providing financial reporting, developing policies and practices to comply with federal regulations, and actively monitoring all financial activities associated with UW-sponsored projects. Faculty and staff, especially those with PI status, are likely to work with RSP staff on the administrative details of research, during both pre-award and post-award phases.

Research Data Services

Research Data Services (RDS) is an interdisciplinary center committed to advancing research data management practices on campus. RDS focuses on providing researchers with the tools and resources that support their efforts to store, analyze, and share data, through consultations and training opportunities. RDS consultants are able to meet with researchers at any stage of a research project, and are always open to requests for consultations and trainings.

Study Design

The following campus resources can assist with study design. Some resources may only be available to certain campus units or schools/colleges, so we encourage you to visit their pages and learn more about their services.

American Family Insurance Data Science Institute (DSI)

CALS Statistical Consulting Facility

Social Science Computing Cooperative (SSCC)

Cancer Informatics Shared Resource (CISR)

Biomedical Informatics

Protocols and Experimental Methods:

The campus libraries have protocol and experimental design databases available to help you plan your study design. We encourage to also reach out to your subject librarian for further assistance or questions.

SAGE Research Methods

Springer Protocols

Find Collaborators

Research at UW-Madison lets you explore by research topic and scholar name to discover campus scholarly outputs and can serve as a great tool for identifying potential local collaborators.

Workflow Tools

There are a number of tools available to help with your research workflow both on campus and beyond (such as the Center for High Throughput Computing,  Open Science Framework or GitHub). If you have questions about tools that may be useful for you, reach out to Research Cyberinfrastructure, Research Data Services, or a UW-Madison librarian.