---
name: plan-a-design-research-study
category: design
description: Plan ethical design research around a consequential decision and realistic participants. Use when interviews, observation, usability testing, diary work, or mixed methods need clear sampling, consent, evidence, and analysis.
---

# plan-a-design-research-study

## Procedure

1. State the design decision, research questions, existing evidence, and what the study cannot answer.
2. Choose the least burdensome method that can produce relevant evidence.
3. Define participant characteristics from the situation and include exclusion and access needs.
4. Create a sampling and recruitment plan with source, quota rationale, incentive, and bias limits.
5. Write protocol, tasks, prompts, probes, observation fields, and stopping rules.
6. Design informed consent, recording, privacy, retention, withdrawal, safeguarding, and support.
7. Pilot the session with realistic materials and accessibility.
8. Predefine analysis, contradiction handling, evidence IDs, and reporting limits.
9. Plan scheduling, roles, equipment, failure fallback, and secure storage.
10. Obtain required ethics, legal, accessibility, or community review.

## Guardrails

- Do not recruit vulnerable people without appropriate safeguards and authority.
- Avoid deceptive tasks unless formally justified and approved.
- Never promise anonymity when re-identification remains plausible.

## Done

- A research plan records questions, method, sample, protocol, consent, and analysis
- Pilot evidence verifies timing, materials, and access
- Privacy, safeguarding, storage, and approval checks pass