Research Protocol Skill
Write a structured research protocol or study design document.
From the mohitagw15856/pm-claude-skills README — shows the whole collection, not only this skill. · view on GitHub
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Source of Research Protocol Skill
Show the full text107 lines
| name | description |
|---|---|
| research-protocol | Write a structured research protocol or study design document. Use when asked to write a research protocol, study protocol, research plan, methodology section, or research proposal. Produces a complete protocol with objectives, methodology, ethical considerations, and analysis plan. |
Research Protocol Skill
Produces structured research protocols for academic, clinical, social science, or market research studies.
Required Inputs
- Research type (clinical trial / observational / qualitative / systematic review / survey)
- Research question or hypothesis
- Setting and population
- Proposed methodology
- Timeline
- Funder or institution (if applicable)
Output Structure
Research Protocol: [Study Title]
Version: 1.0 | Date: [Date] | PI: [Name, institution]
1. Background and Rationale
- What is already known
- What the gap in knowledge is
- Why this study is needed now
2. Research Objectives
Primary: [One clear answerable question or hypothesis] Secondary: [Additional questions]
3. Study Design
- Design: [RCT / cohort / qualitative / mixed methods]
- Setting: [Where]
- Duration: [Total period and recruitment window]
- Rationale: [Why this design fits the question]
4. Participants
Inclusion criteria: [List] Exclusion criteria: [List] Sample size: [n] — Basis: [Power calculation or saturation rationale] Recruitment: [Method and source]
5. Methodology / Intervention
For interventional: intervention description, control, randomisation, blinding For observational/qualitative: data collection methods, tools, data collectors
6. Outcomes / Measures
Primary outcome: [Measure], assessed by [method], at [timepoint] Secondary outcomes: [Measure], [method], [timepoint]
7. Data Management
- Storage: [Where and anonymisation method]
- Access controls: [Who can access]
- Retention: [How long]
8. Analysis Plan
Quantitative: [Statistical test], [missing data handling], [software] Qualitative: [Framework — e.g. Braun & Clarke], [quality assurance]
9. Ethical Considerations
- Ethics approval: [Body / reference]
- Informed consent: [Process]
- Confidentiality: [How maintained]
- Risk to participants: [Assessment and mitigation]
10. Dissemination Plan
- Target journals: [2-3 relevant]
- Conference presentations
- Public/patient summary
11. Timeline
| Phase | Activities | Start | End |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setup | Ethics, approvals, tool development | ||
| Recruitment | |||
| Data collection | |||
| Analysis | |||
| Write-up |
Quality Checks
- Primary objective is singular and answerable (not compound)
- Sample size has a stated basis (power calculation or saturation rationale)
- Ethical considerations section is complete
- Analysis plan is pre-specified (not "to be determined")
- Timeline includes all phases from ethics approval to write-up
Anti-Patterns
- Do not write an analysis plan as "to be determined" — the analysis approach must be pre-specified before data collection
- Do not skip the ethical considerations section — all research involving human participants requires ethical review
- Do not define research questions so broadly that the study cannot answer them within scope and budget
- Do not conflate the research question with the hypothesis — state them separately and clearly
- Do not omit sample size justification — an underpowered study wastes resources and produces inconclusive results
Example Trigger Phrases
- "Write a research protocol for [study]"
- "Help me design a study to investigate [question]"
- "Write the methodology for my research proposal"
| 1 | |
| 2 | name research-protocol |
| 3 | description "Write a structured research protocol or study design document. Use when asked to write a research protocol, study protocol, research plan, methodology section, or research proposal. Produces a complete protocol with objectives, methodology, ethical considerations, and analysis plan." |
| 4 | |
| 5 | |
| 6 | # Research Protocol Skill |
| 7 | |
| 8 | Produces structured research protocols for academic, clinical, social science, or market research studies. |
| 9 | |
| 10 | ## Required Inputs |
| 11 | **Research type** (clinical trial / observational / qualitative / systematic review / survey) |
| 12 | **Research question or hypothesis** |
| 13 | **Setting and population** |
| 14 | **Proposed methodology** |
| 15 | **Timeline** |
| 16 | **Funder or institution** (if applicable) |
| 17 | |
| 18 | ## Output Structure |
| 19 | |
| 20 | |
| 21 | |
| 22 | # Research Protocol: [Study Title] |
| 23 | **Version:** 1.0 | **Date:** [Date] | **PI:** [Name, institution] |
| 24 | |
| 25 | |
| 26 | |
| 27 | ### 1. Background and Rationale |
| 28 | What is already known |
| 29 | What the gap in knowledge is |
| 30 | Why this study is needed now |
| 31 | |
| 32 | ### 2. Research Objectives |
| 33 | **Primary:** [One clear answerable question or hypothesis] |
| 34 | **Secondary:** [Additional questions] |
| 35 | |
| 36 | ### 3. Study Design |
| 37 | **Design:** [RCT / cohort / qualitative / mixed methods] |
| 38 | **Setting:** [Where] |
| 39 | **Duration:** [Total period and recruitment window] |
| 40 | **Rationale:** [Why this design fits the question] |
| 41 | |
| 42 | ### 4. Participants |
| 43 | |
| 44 | **Inclusion criteria:** [List] |
| 45 | **Exclusion criteria:** [List] |
| 46 | **Sample size:** [n] — Basis: [Power calculation or saturation rationale] |
| 47 | **Recruitment:** [Method and source] |
| 48 | |
| 49 | ### 5. Methodology / Intervention |
| 50 | |
| 51 | For interventional: intervention description, control, randomisation, blinding |
| 52 | For observational/qualitative: data collection methods, tools, data collectors |
| 53 | |
| 54 | ### 6. Outcomes / Measures |
| 55 | **Primary outcome:** [Measure], assessed by [method], at [timepoint] |
| 56 | **Secondary outcomes:** [Measure], [method], [timepoint] |
| 57 | |
| 58 | ### 7. Data Management |
| 59 | Storage: [Where and anonymisation method] |
| 60 | Access controls: [Who can access] |
| 61 | Retention: [How long] |
| 62 | |
| 63 | ### 8. Analysis Plan |
| 64 | Quantitative: [Statistical test], [missing data handling], [software] |
| 65 | Qualitative: [Framework — e.g. Braun & Clarke], [quality assurance] |
| 66 | |
| 67 | ### 9. Ethical Considerations |
| 68 | Ethics approval: [Body / reference] |
| 69 | Informed consent: [Process] |
| 70 | Confidentiality: [How maintained] |
| 71 | Risk to participants: [Assessment and mitigation] |
| 72 | |
| 73 | ### 10. Dissemination Plan |
| 74 | Target journals: [2-3 relevant] |
| 75 | Conference presentations |
| 76 | Public/patient summary |
| 77 | |
| 78 | ### 11. Timeline |
| 79 | |
| 80 | | Phase | Activities | Start | End | |
| 81 | |---|---|---|---| |
| 82 | | Setup | Ethics, approvals, tool development | | | |
| 83 | | Recruitment | | | | |
| 84 | | Data collection | | | | |
| 85 | | Analysis | | | | |
| 86 | | Write-up | | | | |
| 87 | |
| 88 | ## Quality Checks |
| 89 | [ ] Primary objective is singular and answerable (not compound) |
| 90 | [ ] Sample size has a stated basis (power calculation or saturation rationale) |
| 91 | [ ] Ethical considerations section is complete |
| 92 | [ ] Analysis plan is pre-specified (not "to be determined") |
| 93 | [ ] Timeline includes all phases from ethics approval to write-up |
| 94 | |
| 95 | ## Anti-Patterns |
| 96 | |
| 97 | [ ] Do not write an analysis plan as "to be determined" — the analysis approach must be pre-specified before data collection |
| 98 | [ ] Do not skip the ethical considerations section — all research involving human participants requires ethical review |
| 99 | [ ] Do not define research questions so broadly that the study cannot answer them within scope and budget |
| 100 | [ ] Do not conflate the research question with the hypothesis — state them separately and clearly |
| 101 | [ ] Do not omit sample size justification — an underpowered study wastes resources and produces inconclusive results |
| 102 | |
| 103 | ## Example Trigger Phrases |
| 104 | "Write a research protocol for [study]" |
| 105 | "Help me design a study to investigate [question]" |
| 106 | "Write the methodology for my research proposal" |
| 107 |
Discussion
Research methodology design for health literacy and medication adherence in aotearoa new zealandExplore the methodological design for researching health literacy and its impact on medication adherence among adults with chronic diseases in Aotearoa New Zealand.Scientific critical thinkingEvaluate scientific claims and evidence quality. Use for assessing experimental design validity, identifying biases and confounders, applying evidence grading frameworks (GRADE, Cochrane Risk of Bias), or teaching critical analysis. Best for understanding evidence quality, identifying flaws. For formal peer review writing use peer-review.Research Review via External Reviewer Backend (ultra reasoning)Get a deep critical review of research from an external reviewer backend (Codex or manual). Use when user says "review my research", "help me review", "get external review", or wants critical feedback on research ideas, papers, or experimental results.Lean Startup MethodologyDesign MVPs, validated learning experiments, and pivot-or-persevere decisions using Build-Measure-Learn. Use when the user mentions "MVP scope", "validated learning", "pivot or persevere", "vanity metrics", "test assumptions", "innovation accounting", "build-measure-learn", "minimum viable experiment", "should we pivot", "test a business idea cheaply", or "build the smallest version first". Also trigger when deciding what to include in a first version, measuring startup progress, or evaluating whether to change direction on a product bet. Covers innovation accounting and actionable metrics. For 5-day prototype testing, see design-sprint. For customer motivation analysis, see jobs-to-be-done.
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