Research Planning Tips

A research plan is your roadmap for investigating a problem before you speak to stakeholders. It helps you focus on root causes and consequences while avoiding random or biased data collection.

1.1 Define Your Research Objective

Ask yourself:

• What do we need to know to understand this problem better?

• What decisions will the findings help us make?

Example of how to define your initial problem statement:

💡 Tip: “Understand the main causes and effects of low school attendance in rural areas before designing interventions.”

1.2 Identify the Key Topics to Explore

Break your objective into main themes:

• Causes: Possible reasons the problem exists.

• Effects: Observable consequences.

• Context: Any relevant history, policies, trends.

1.3 Your Research Methods –

For literature review, you’ll use AI-assisted desk research:

• Use Context Prompt Builer

• Make sure to include details of your research objectives e.g.

  • Problem statement.

  • Definitions of your target population/location and any other relevant demography.

• Use ChatGPT, Claude, or another LLM.

💡 Tip: Think of the AI as a fast “literature review assistant” — you still validate and refine the results.