Last modified: November 3, 1998 (version information at the end of this page)
This HTML template suggests a format for describing collaborative research projects, which we call Collaborative Project Plans (CPPs). We visualize the following rough timeline for setting up and using an CPP:
Short, descriptive title of CPP content
Since the description of any CPP will evolve, it is important to provide version information. We recommend a numbering system, date, and responsible person on a line. See the end of this template for an example. The URL provided to the CPP repository should point to the most recent version but earlier versions should be available.
Briefly describe what is being studied and the approach to be used in the proposed research.
Who are you? How can you be contacted (email, web, phone, snail mail)?
What is your motivation for setting up this collaborative project? What goals do you have for the project?
What have you accomplished so far? For example: "brainstorming", "literature review underway", "planning of research design", "trial run", "under execution locally", "replication", "evaluation of completed study", ...
What is the level of the students/courses? How flexible is the level? Could collaborators apply the study to populations that differ from yours? Possible levels include:
Describe the study as you visualize it or have already developed it.
Does the study require specific hardware or software?
What materials are needed? Which materials have you developed that will be / must be used in the collaborator's setting?
What could limit the study? Under what constraints will the study need to operate?
What exactly would a collaborator be expected to do?
What is the data that will be generated? Which tool(s) will be used for collecting the data? It is important that this section be as specific as possible, since the exchange of data can be one of the most challenging aspects of a collaborative project.
How will the data be analyzed and the results evaluated at each individual site?
Who will be the coordinating researcher(s)? Someone needs to take the lead in checking progress, answering questions, and collecting the results. Often, this will be the person who creates the CPP. Include their institution and contact information.
Who else is involved in the study? Include institution and contact information.
Will collaborators be contributors, co-authors, or play some other role(s)?
What will be the procedure for gathering the data of all of the collaborators into a single pool and making sense of it?
How will the results be propagated? For example, the results could be published in a paper for a SIGCSE Technical Conference.
Any topic not covered above could go here.
Modified the title and content to reflect the change in name from "Collaborative Research Kits" to "Collaborative Project Plans".