1. In one concise sentence, describe the creative project you're interested in doing. Where possible, use relevant research-related keywords to describe it.
2. Write a short list (3-5) of critical elements you're interested in exploring. For instance, are you interested in exploring the writer's process, elements of character, narrative techniques, genre and/or form, technology's effects on narrative, writing for a purpose (such as educational), etc.?
3. Context, or state of the art: Based on your current knowledge, what research has been done on these topics? Identify the relevant seminal theories, and make a list of keywords.
4. Filling in the gaps: What gaps exist in the current knowledge that your research could fill?
5. With all these elements at hand, formulate your research question, a concise statement of the research question or issue that the project addresses.
6. Brainstorm a method: the approach you might initially take to solve the problem. This is a key section in which the justification for using the practice element to explore the problem is outlined.
7. Project the outcomes: results of the practice activity, including not only the resulting artifact but the knowledge outcomes as well.
8. A final paper on this project, once completed, would include a conclusion: a discussion of how the results of the particular research project fits into the wider context that was outlined in part 3.

Click here for a Word doc version, or a PDF version of this exercise.