Research Protocol

Definition: A detailed document prepared before conducting a study , often written as part of ethics and funding applications . The protocol should include information relating to the background, rationale and aims of the study, as well as hypotheses which reflect the researchers’ expectations. The protocol should also provide a “recipe” for conducting the study, including methodological details and clear analysis plans. Best practice guidelines for creating a study protocol should be used for specific methodologies and fields. It is possible to publically share research protocols to attract new collaborators or facilitate efficient collaboration across labs (e.g. https://www.protocols.io/ https://www.protocols.io/ ). In medical and educational fields, protocols are often a separate article type suitable for publication in journals. Where protocol sharing or publication is not common practice, researchers can choose preregistration.