Research Lifecycle Directory: Home

This guide is intended for use by individuals at the Michener Institute and UHN who are undertaking or planning research projects. It consists of a directory of resources concerning the research lifecycle, taking individuals from conceptualization to post-publication. Resources include relevant guides and other resources.

Image from University of Central Florida Scholarly Communications

The research lifecycle describes the entire process of a research project. The cycle begins with an idea or concept that one believes should be researched in their field and carries on beyond publication to measuring the impact of the published work sometimes years after. The research lifecycle is generally broken up into four phases:

Research Planning - the first phase in the cycle is research planning, which concerns the initial examination of different types of research and the formulation of research questions to build a project. This extends to designing search strategies in databases, the seeking of funding resources, and the consideration of collaboration between researchers.

Project Management - the second phase concerns the management of the research project. This means the tracking of project progress in terms of decided deliverables as well as keeping track of communications between members of the research team. Project management also includes citation management and research data management.

Writing and Publication Process - the third phase consists of two sub-phases that are inextricably intertwined: writing and publication. Throughout this phase, researchers need to consult various resources to write a manuscript and adhere to publication guidelines for the chosen journal(s). There are also a number of elements to consider including the issues of predatory journals and author rights.

Sharing and Impact - the final phase consists of the promotion of the published research, the preservation and sharing of the research data, and the measuring of publication impact.