Example Research Brief Outline based on a two-line research brief
How to go from a research brief/question to a full research outline
I’ve given you my five easy tips on how to create a research outline based on a two-line research brief in a previous blog post.
But how do you put it into practice?
Here’s how…
Take a look at my example research outline below, based on a two-line research brief;
Research brief:
‘Autism in the 21st century: the evolution of definitions, diagnosis, treatments, services, challenges, common misconceptions, and benefits’
This may seem like an easy research brief to base an outline on.
But in order to create a robust comparative analysis, I would still recommend following the five easy tips I shared on creating a research outline.
This might seem like a simple thing but don’t panic
If all the client has given you A, then to get more info you need to ask questions so you can arrive at Z
Find out the clients pain points
Find out important factors, e.g. quantity or quality, timescales
Based on the above, draft a research outline, and before sending it across to the client, ask a friend/colleague to look it over and see if it makes sense.
Below is an example research outline based on the two-line research brief.
Remember you can still follow the five tips I shared to create a whitepaper or case study outline. Just adapt the research outline accordingly, taking into account these three points;
Type of content, e.g. research paper, white paper, case study
Level of detail required for the content
(Research papers require in-depth research, sometimes akin to a dissertation. Whitepapers require facts, figures, statistics to ensure the reader views the whitepaper as thought-leading/industry-leading content. Case studies tell a story, and the evidence is usually based on a single customer/client experience/testimonial which gives weight to the product/service being written about)
3. Audience the content is aimed at (don’t make it too theoretical/academic if it’s a case study, and also don’t make it too informal/conversational if it’s a research paper/white paper)
For the purposes of writing a research paper, here’s an example research outline, which I built from scratch. If I can do then so can you!
Example research outline
Research question: Autism in the 21st century: the evolution of definitions, diagnosis, treatments, services, challenges, common misconceptions, and benefits
Aim: Comparative analysis of the evolution of autism in the 21st century; both the positive and negative elements of how the understanding of autism has evolved.
Outline of paper:
Definitions
1. What is/are the definition(s) of autism that will be used in the research paper? How did you decide which definition to use and why?
2. Labels, to use or not to use? The pros and cons of being labelled as autistic
Diagnosis:
1. What methods/tests are used to diagnose autism now compared to twenty years ago? How have tests evolved?
2. Chicken or egg? Have the number of people diagnosed with autism in the last twenty years increased? If so, is this due to an increase in autism, or are more people being diagnosed as opposed to going undiagnosed twenty years ago?
3. What is the average age of diagnosis now compared to twenty years ago?
Treatments
1. What treatments are available for the different types of autism? How have the treatments evolved over the last twenty — thirty years?
2. What treatments are deemed as effective and why?
3. How does one decide if a treatment is effective or not, what is the basis for measurement and monitoring the effectiveness of treatments? (Secondary research into medical outcomes of treatments, decide on sample size)
Services available to autistic people
1. What services are available to autistic people in the UK: to assist with independent living, education, work, social life etc
2. Accessibility of information and services: grade accessibility of the information and services available (grading based on no. of autistic people accessing the service/information)
Challenges
1. What are the challenges that autistic people face daily: independent living, educational environments, working environments, social environments?
2. Perception of autistic people in society:
- potential primary or secondary research into autism, focus groups or questionnaires of public perceptions of autism and autistic people
or
- secondary research into portrayal of autistic people in society (existing literature)
Common misconceptions of autism
1. What are common misconceptions of autism? What are the misconceptions based on? (Potential primary research, focus groups and questionnaires, secondary research into misconceptions)
2. Autism from the perspective of an autistic person vs a non-autistic person (primary research)
3. What is the basis of analysis for misconceptions of autistic people? Possibly based on existing literature, and if so, what reason has this been identified as misconceptions? (Medical evidence for misconceptions vs reality of autism)
Benefits of autism
1. Benefits of being autistic to not being autistic, what skills do autistic people generally have in abundance? And how can these skills be advantageous for independent living, education, working and social life?
2. Examples of successful/well known autistic celebrities or people in the public eye
3. Has the evolution of the understanding of autism contributed to benefits of autism being identified? If so, how? (Comparative analysis of the definition of autism 20 years ago v now, comparative analysis of treatments for autism 20 years ago v now, is there a direct link in the definitions of autism vs the treatments for autism — if so how has this benefitted autistic people?)