Templates

Research templates and checklists

Download practical templates for proposals, ethics submissions, fieldwork, analysis, and manuscript writing. All free and editable.

These templates use fictional examples only. Before sharing documents for review, remove participant identifiers, raw data, medical records, confidential institutional details, and unpublished sensitive content.

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Move from topic to a sharp problem
Locate the problem (who & where)
Show magnitude with evidence
Identify the remaining gap
Connect the gap to your study purpose

Proposal & Grant Writing

Free

Problem Statement Template

Day 1 of the Proposal Writing Sprint. A guided worksheet that helps you turn a broad topic into a clear, evidence-based research problem: covering who is affected, where, magnitude, consequences, contributing factors, what is known, the remaining gap, and your study purpose.

Format: Word (.docx)

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Snapshot (title, applicant, funder)
Background & problem statement
Aim, objectives, research questions
Methods overview
Ethics, timeline, expected outputs

Proposal & Grant Writing

Free

Concept Note Template

A worksheet for shaping an early research idea into a concept note that survives first review.

Format: Word (.docx)

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Topic framing & problem statement
Methods alignment & sampling
Ethics & safeguarding
Budget & workplan
Readiness summary + priority action table

Proposal & Grant Writing

Free

Proposal Readiness Checklist

An audit checklist covering topic framing, methods alignment, ethics, and budget — with common rejection reasons upfront.

Format: Word (.docx)

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Applications pipeline with status dropdowns
Days remaining (auto-calculated from deadline)
Document checklist per application
Funder notes & lessons learned
Summary counts (active / awarded / rejected)

Proposal & Grant Writing

Free

Grant Application Tracker

Track multiple applications from identification to decision — pipeline status, days-to-deadline, document checklist, and funder notes.

Format: Excel (.xlsx)

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Detailed budget (Qty × Unit Cost formulas)
Category summary (SUMIF formulas)
Contingency calculation
Budget justification tab
Assumptions & exchange rate tab

Proposal & Grant Writing

Free

Budget Planning Template

An Excel workbook with formula-driven line items, category summary, justification, and assumptions tabs.

Format: Excel (.xlsx)

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Protocol completeness
Consent, assent & translation
Data protection & storage
Permissions & registrations
Submission pack tracker

Ethics & REC

Free

Ethics Submission Checklist

A REC/IRB readiness checklist — consent, translation, data protection, permissions, and submission pack. Includes common gotchas.

Format: Word (.docx)

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Header block (title, PI, REC number)
Purpose, procedures, risks, benefits
Confidentiality & data protection
Voluntary participation & withdrawal
Signature block + witness section

Ethics & REC

Free

Consent Form Writing Guide

A guided worksheet for writing participant consent forms — section-by-section prompts, example language, and the 8 mistakes that cause REC revision requests.

Format: Word (.docx)

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Citation, year, design, setting
Main finding
Relevance (High / Medium / Low)
Contribution to my argument
Used in draft (Y/N)

Study Design

Free

Literature Review Matrix

A sortable Excel matrix for organising, comparing, and synthesising sources — with relevance scoring, quality notes, and conditional formatting.

Format: Excel (.xlsx)

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Age-appropriate study explanation
What the child will be asked to do
Voluntary participation language
Guardian co-signature block
Withdrawal & questions section

Ethics & REC

Free

Assent Form Template

An age-appropriate assent form template for involving minors in research, with plain-language prompts and a guardian co-signature block. For studies enrolling children or adolescents.

Format: Word (.docx)

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Local REC pre-submission requirements
UNCST registration documents
Permission letters (district, facility)
Document pack & formatting
Submission tracker

Ethics & REC

Free

UNCST & REC Submission Checklist

A Uganda-specific checklist covering UNCST registration, local REC requirements, and the full document pack needed before submission. For Ugandan researchers and teams running studies in Uganda.

Format: Word (.docx)

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Background & rationale
Objectives, design & population
Sampling, data collection & analysis
Ethics, consent & data management
Timeline, budget & dissemination

Study Design

Free

Research Protocol Template

A full research protocol template covering background, objectives, methods, ethics, and dissemination, structured to meet REC and funder expectations. For investigators preparing a complete study protocol.

Format: Word (.docx)

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Start of day: team readiness
During day: consent & quality spot checks
End of day: data backup & daily tally
Weekly: RA performance & error rates
Weekly: progress, compliance, issues

Data Collection

Free

RA Daily & Weekly Supervision Checklist

A two-part checklist for field coordinators — start-of-day, during-day, and end-of-day checks, plus a weekly team performance review.

Format: Excel (.xlsx)

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Weekly summary (completeness, duplicates, errors)
RA-level error rate tracker
Issue log with type & severity dropdowns
Corrections log (audit trail)
12-week rolling view

Data Collection

Free

Data Quality Check Template

A weekly data quality workbook with formula-driven summary, RA performance tracker, issue log, and corrections audit trail.

Format: Excel (.xlsx)

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Form structure & question logic
Skip patterns & validation rules
Pilot testing log
Device & sync readiness
Server & data export setup

Data Collection

Free

Kobo/ODK Pre-Deployment Checklist

A pre-deployment workbook for digital data collection tools, covering form logic, skip patterns, validation, pilot testing, and device readiness. For teams using Kobo Toolbox or ODK.

Format: Excel (.xlsx)

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Session logistics & consent reminder
Warm-up & ground rules
Core discussion questions + probes
Closing & member-check prompt
Note-taker observation grid

Data Collection

Free

Focus Group Discussion Guide Template

A structured FGD guide with opening, warm-up, core questions, probes, and closing, plus facilitator and note-taker prompts. For qualitative and mixed-methods studies.

Format: Word (.docx)

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Consent & recording confirmation
Opening & rapport-building
Topic blocks with probes
Closing & follow-up
Interviewer reflexivity notes

Data Collection

Free

In-Depth Interview Guide Template

A semi-structured interview guide with topic blocks, probes, and reflexivity notes. For qualitative researchers running individual interviews.

Format: Word (.docx)

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Study overview & dataset lock date
Primary outcome + analysis model
Secondary outcomes table
Subgroup & sensitivity analyses
Missing data approach & deviations log

Data Analysis

Free

Analysis Plan Template

Pre-specify your analysis approach before opening the dataset — primary outcomes, subgroups, sensitivity analyses, missing data strategy, and deviations log.

Format: Word (.docx)

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Initial submission cover letter
Significance & fit-to-journal statement
Revision response letter
Appeal letter template
Authorship & conflict disclosure block

Manuscript & Publication

Free

Journal Cover Letter Templates

A set of cover letter templates for journal submissions, including initial submission, revision response, and appeal letters. For authors preparing manuscripts for peer-reviewed journals.

Format: Word (.docx)

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Plain-language study question
What we did (in everyday words)
What we found
Why it matters
What happens next

Manuscript & Publication

Free

Non-Technical Summary Template

A worksheet for translating a study into a plain-language summary required by many RECs, alongside use for funders, participants, communities, and media. For researchers preparing lay summaries and dissemination materials.

Format: Word (.docx)

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Workplan table with status dropdowns
Gantt timeline (auto-fills from dates)
Conditional formatting by status
Deliverables tracker
16-week view, adjustable

Project Management

Free

Workplan & Gantt Template

A spreadsheet workplan with status tracking, dependencies, deliverables, and a Gantt timeline that auto-fills from the workplan table.

Format: Excel (.xlsx)

Fieldwork & Data Support

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