Research & Implementation

Projects Overview (Trainer

1101.1)
Tutors: Ronald Komata,
Shourov Barua, and Namutebi
Saidah
Introduction

Throughout this course, the lectures will cover several

topics and concepts related to research projects and
implementation projects.

Some of these ideas will be cross-cutting between the

two forms of projects.

The purpose of this module is to briefly introduce the

different topics that will be covered during the course.
Module objectives
• To define research and
implementation projects
• To compare research and
implementation projects
• To introduce different types of
research, the process of formulating a
research project, and some practical
considerations involved in research
projects.
• To introduce the process of developing
a good implementation idea into a
project, resource mobilization, and
practical considerations in
implementation projects.
Definitions

• A project refers to a temporary

activity(ies) with specific objectives,
which is (are) undertaken to create
distinct deliverables (product or
service).
• Research Project is a planned and
systematic investigation into a specific
area of interest or problem, to
generate new knowledge, insights, or
solutions. It typically involves
identifying a research question or
hypothesis, designing a study to test
it, collecting and analyzing data, and
drawing conclusions based on the
findings.
Definitions continued

It involves taking a proven

concept, technology, or
An implementation project
methodology and applying
aims to put an existing idea,
it to a real-world situation or
solution, or product into
problem. The focus is on
practice, often with a
execution, deployment, and
specific goal or objective in
integration rather than
mind.
exploring new ideas or
hypotheses.
Comparison between implementation
project and research project
Research Projects

Research refers to the Search for knowledge.

It comprises Defining and Redefining problems, Formulating Hypotheses of

suggested solutions, Collecting, Organizing, and Evaluating Data, Making
deductions and Research conclusions, and at last, carefully Testing and
conclusions to determine whether they fit the formulating hypothesis.
Examples of research

• A physician studying the effect of

multiple uses of disposable insulin
syringes in a hospital.
• A biochemist sequencing the proteins of
a new virus to understand the virus.
• A sociologist examining the social
consequence of divorce.
• A farmer planting two varieties of a crop
side by side to compare yields.
• An economist looking at the
interdependence of inflation and foreign
direct investment
Why conduct research?

• To gain new insights into a phenomenon (explorative or

formulative research).
• To accurately portray the characteristics of a particular
individual, situation, or group (Descriptive research i.e.
who, what, how many, where, and when?)
• To establish a causal relationship between variables. This is
known as Causal research. Does factor A (the exposure
variable) cause factor B (the outcome variable?)
 Research projects can be classified

Types
as;

of
Basic / Pure / Fundamental
Research Vs Applied/Action
research

researc Quantitative Vs qualitative research

h Empirical/Primary vs
Conceptual/Secondary
Basic Research
Vs Applied
Research

• Basic research aims

to develop knowledge,
theories, and predictions,
while applied research
seeks to develop
techniques, products, and
procedures
• Applied research aims at
finding a solution to an
immediate problem, tries
to say how things can be
changed and tries to
correct the problematic
facts.
Basic Research Vs Applied Research

Basic Research Applied Research

Expands current knowledge Solves particular life problems
Theoretical and exploratory in nature Practical and descriptive in nature
Wider scope More specific scope
Less associated with technology Associated with the advancement of
technology
Predicts future phenomena Creates solutions or preventions for future
problems
Curiosity-driven Client-driven
Does not have direct commercial objectives Has direct commercial objectives
Less connected with economy Highly connected with economical pursuits
Less often appear in academic publications More often appear in academic publications
Takes place in a sterile environment Occurs in real world settings
(controlled setting)
 Quantitative Vs qualitative research

Quantitative Research Qualitative Research

It is numerical and non-descriptive, It is non-numerical, descriptive,
applies statistics or mathematics, and applies reasoning, and uses words.
uses numbers
It is an iterative process whereby it aims to get the meaning and feeling
evidence is evaluated. and describe the situation.
The results are often presented in Qualitative data cannot be graphed
tables and graphs
It is conclusive. It is exploratory
It investigates the what, where, and It investigates the why and how of
when of decision-making. decision-making
 Primary research Vs Secondary research

• Primary and secondary research are two very distinct approaches, and
both have advantages and disadvantages and either may suit particular
budgets, research topics, and questions.
• Primary research makes use of data gathered through self-conducted
research methods. The goal of primary research is to acquire
information and provide answers to questions that may not have been
asked before.
• Primary research is often more time-consuming and expensive than
secondary research, so it is in the best interests of an individual or
organization to perform primary research only when gaps in existing
secondary research have been identified.
• Secondary research makes use of data gathered from previously
conducted studies. Secondary research is typically where the majority of
 Characteristics of Primary Research Characteristics of Secondary
Research
A researcher, or research team, is directly involved in Is reliant on pre-existing data that was previously
collecting data, analyzing, and reporting findings. collected by someone else. It may have been reported,
archived, and classified prior to your use; or analyzed on a
previous project
A research organization (e.g. university or charity) owns Research is based on datasets, archives, records, etc. that
and is responsible for data are created or collected by another organization that is
responsible for their access, upkeep, and loan

Qualities of
May be time-consuming, and expensive to set up and run. May be less expensive, as using pre-existing resources,
data, or archives (However may still have hidden costs –
for example paying to access materials, travel, or
copying).

primary and
Researchers use a variety of qualitative, quantitative, or May sometimes be called "desk research". It can involve
creative methods to collect data for analysis and analyzing pre-existing datasets and documents (including
reporting. For example, questionnaires, experiments, audio and visual records and repositories). Analysis may
focus groups, randomised controlled trials, or storytelling. include summarising and synthesizing information;

secondary
subjecting existing datasets to further qualitative or
quantitative analysis; or identifying new narratives and
interpretations.

research
Ideas can be explored, examined, or tested through a In some cases, the researcher will need to identify, locate,
new study. and ask permission to use secondary data; in others, a
third party or other organisation may provide a dataset,
selection of papers, or archive for analysis.

Data is collected prospectively to answer research Research questions are explored or answered using pre-
questions. existing information

Data is initially only available to the research team Data may be only available to a limited audience or
directly involved with it and may remain private. Or it accessed by a wide range of people and open to the
may be shared under open data schemes (and become a public. In some cases, this data is freely available (e.g. a
source of secondary data in its own right). museum or library archive) or may require a fee to access
(e.g. a commercial dataset).

Researchers focus on questions or topics that have not Avoids research waste or unnecessary repetition as
been answered prior in the way they are defining them. existing data can be revisited or reused

Human participants are more likely to feature in real-time Can include records of people’s lives or data people have
interviews, experiments, or other studies. previously provided.

Can provide answers to novel questions. Is useful to track issues, ideas, or topics over time and for
making comparisons. May be helpful in situations where
answers can be provided through an existing data source
rather than asking the same question again.
Primary or
secondary: Which
is right for you?

• It is important to reflect on
whether primary or secondary
research (or a mix of the two) is
best for you before you begin a
study and while you are refining
your research topic or question.
• In some cases, you may begin by
undertaking secondary research
and use that to inform a primary
research study (or vice versa). In
other cases, you will pick only a
primary or secondary approach.
 Stage 1. Define a researchable
problem
• Defining a research problem involves
Developin establishing what it is that you (the
ga researcher) are trying to discover or
understand.
research • Once the problem has been defined,
idea into a write down a summary of the problem.
• For instance, Ph.D. candidates
research embarking on the research phase of
project their program are usually required to
write up a synopsis of their proposed
study and submit it for approval to
their advisor or doctoral committee.
Stage 2.
Review the
literature
• A literature review involves selecting,
analyzing, and synthesizing information
from previously published studies.
• A proper literature review will help you
(a) understand if what you have in mind
has already been investigated (which can
then motivate you to adapt or refine your
researchable problem),
(b) credit those who have done similar
work previously,
(c) demonstrate your knowledge of the
research problem, and
(d) integrate and synthesize the existing
literature.
 • While conducting literature reviews, it is an
ethical and academic requirement to give credit
to the original creator of the work.
• This is done by appropriately citing and
referencing work that has been reviewed and
used in your research to avoid plagiarism.

Referencin • Plagiarism is the act of misrepresenting someone

else’s work as your own. Sometimes a writer
plagiarizes work on purpose—for instance, by
g Styles copying and pasting or purchasing an essay from
a website and submitting it as original
and Tools coursework.
• More details on citation methods (in-text
citations, paraphrasing), referencing styles (APA-
American Psychological Association, Chicago,
Harvard, Vancouver, Oxford), and referencing
software (Mendeley, EndNote) will be covered in
the module Referencing Styles and Tools
including Mendeley & EndNote (Trainer
1101.2)
 Stage 3. Formulate
specific hypotheses
or research
questions.
• The “hypothesis”, which is
common in quantitative research,
is a tentative assumption that is
tested during the course of the
research study.
• In qualitative research, there may
be research questions instead of
hypotheses.
• Hypotheses and research
questions should always be clear,
specific, and relevant, as they will
determine all that follows
 • The different study designs include narrative
literature reviews, cross-sectional studies,
ecological studies, case-control studies, cohort
studies, clinical trials, systematic reviews, and
meta-analyses.
• The research or study design should be selected so
that meaningful evidence is collected with the

Stage 4. optimal amount of effort, time, and money.

• The exposure of interest, the outcome, and the
confounder variables should be defined clearly.

Select an • The sample size of the study, the sampling

techniques, and the methods to be used have to

appropriate
also be stated and justified.
• This is the stage to give thought to the analysis of
the data to be collected. An appropriate statistical

research
analysis plan that is compatible with the study
design must be chosen.
• You will learn more about appropriate study

design. designs later in this course in the module

Research Designs & Their Application
(Trainer 1101.3).
• Sampling techniques will be covered in the module
Sampling Methods in Research &
Implementation Projects (Trainer 1101.4)
Stage 5. Obtain IRB
clearance if needed.

• If your research involves human

subjects, handling their tissue such as
blood, or their data, you are obliged to
obtain IRB (Institutional Review Board)
clearance before beginning work on
the proposed study.
• In this course, ethical principles, and
their application in the real world will
be covered in the module Research
Ethics & safety in the Developed
World (Trainer 1101.8)
 Stage 6. Data
collection
• In all fields of study, data collection is an
important part of the research process.
• The data may be quantitative, qualitative,
or a mix of both.
• Primary data can be collected through
observation, interviews, focus group
discussions, questionnaires, laboratory and
field experiments, and clinical trials.
• Secondary data are usually sourced from
databases or published literature.
• Carefully think about the data you need to
collect before you go about collecting it
because you might not be able to return to
the data collection phase later on.
 Stage 7.
Data
analysis • After the data is collected, it
and is analyzed to answer the
question “What does the
interpreta data mean?”
• The exact procedures of
tion analysis and interpretation
depend on whether the
research is quantitative,
qualitative, or a mix of both.
Stage 8. Write
an article on
the study.

• The final stage of research

usually involves writing up
an article, whether for
publication in a journal or
to be disseminated via
other means.
 Implementation projects
Implementation projects involve taking a proven concept, technology, or
methodology and applying it to a real-world situation or problem.
The focus is on execution, deployment, and integration.

Examples of implementation projects

Promoting hand washing with soap and running water using tippy taps to
reduce diarrhoeal diseases in Alebtong district, Northern Uganda.
Prevention and Early diagnosis of Non-communicable diseases through
awareness creation and screening.
Protection of University students against substance abuse through awareness
creation and linkage to care through youth-friendly channels.
Phases of an
implementation
project

• This model illustrates the

phases that a project
manager and his/her team
have to navigate.
• In this model, notice that
Monitoring and Evaluation
occur throughout the life
cycle of a project.
Phases of an
implementation
project

1. Project identification and design

The project manager and team: clarify the need
(justification) by conducting a needs assessment,
analyzing the project environment, and exploring
various designs; they set the goal and objectives.
2. Project set up
The PM and team: establish roles and lines of
communication and authority. At this stage, the
project is officially authorized, and the team
communicates with stakeholders.
3. Project planning
The PM and team: develop a detailed and
comprehensive implementation plan. Such plans are
typically revisited throughout the project (for example
at the decision gates, at the very least) and updated
to reflect changing conditions.
 4. Project Implementation.
• This refers to the day-to-day work of leading and managing a project.
• As a project manager, you support your team, communicate regularly with
various stakeholders, and, most likely, you revisit some parts of your plan
due to unexpected events or challenges such as the Ministry wanting to
increase the scope of your activities; or new clinical guidelines being
released; or the money hasn’t arrived to implement the full project, only
part of it.
Phases of 5. Project monitoring, evaluation, and control
an • This is the activity that starts at the beginning.
• Monitoring: what things should we monitor throughout to be sure we don’t
implementa have any bad surprises later in the project cycle? (turnover, money).

tion project • Evaluation: what indicators will demonstrate we’ve succeeded in achieving
our objectives? Monitoring throughout increases your control.
• Making evaluation decisions at the beginning assures you have targets
that you’re aiming for to help you resist going off-target (very tempting).
6. Project Transition.
• Toward the end of the project cycle, the PM and team are confirming
deliverables with the beneficiaries or stakeholders; collecting lessons
learned; and completing administrative, contractual, and financial closure
activities.
More detailed way of
looking at the model

• Here is a more detailed way of looking

at this model, which captures the
essential phases and tasks that a
project manager must manage.
• It is not exactly a linear process, the
phases run from left to right (more or
less) but can overlap a bit and
sometimes even circle back on
themselves when you realize you
forgot a step (a new stakeholder group
emerges; a risk was not communicated
enough to stakeholders).
• Study this model to be sure you
understand it.
 • Both research and implementation projects require
project proposals to seek funding.
• An implementation project proposal is a detailed
document outlining a plan to execute a specific project
aimed at implementing a solution, system, or process.
• By creating a comprehensive implementation project
proposal, you can ensure a well-planned, well-executed,
and successful project that meets stakeholders’ needs

Project
and expectations.
• A research project proposal is a document that

proposals describes a proposed research project specifying its

purpose, intended outcomes, and the steps that will be
taken to complete the project.
• The purpose is to communicate how an individual, a
team, a company, or an organization(s) plans to
implement the project. It is the blueprint of the project.
• In this course, project proposals will be covered in depth
in the modules Research Project Proposal Writing
(Trainer 1101.5) and Implementation Project
Proposal Writing (Trainer 1101.6)
Resources
• To conduct a research project or carry out an
implementation project, you will need resources in
the form of money, facilities, equipment, human
resources, etc.
• The details of the necessary resources need to be
written in a budget.
• A budget describes the amount of money that a
project plans to spend over a given period. A
budget serves many purposes throughout the
project lifecycle.
• It is necessary during the planning phase to
ensure that project managers can estimate an
accurate idea of cost. This allows project
managers to determine if there is adequate money
to complete the project and whether they are
making the best use of the available funds.
 Resources continued
• The budget is a critical part of any negotiation with a
project donor or sponsor. The budget sets out in
detail what the project will do, including what the
money will be spent on.
• An accurate budget is needed to control the project
once it is underway. Comparing actual costs to the
budgeted costs is an important project management
tool. Project managers need budgets to oversee the
implementation of a project’s activities.
• The budget should contain a detailed breakdown of
costs, including resources, materials, labor,
equipment, and indirect costs. Use a table or Excel
to create your budget.
• The techniques of searching for and securing funds
will be discussed in the module Legit Global
Grants & Resource Mobilization Techniques
(Trainer 1101.7)
Questions?
References
• Guiding principles for Indigenous research practices by Snow et al (2016)
[Link]
• Watch this video by Prof Essa summarising the ways both primary and secondary research could be used:
[Link]
• If you are still unsure how you could use secondary research in practice, Dr. Helen Kara has this explainer:
[Link]
• Watch this video of Professor Jessica Nina Lester explaining qualitative inquiry as a broad research approach:
[Link]
• Schweitzer, Sascha and Brendel, Jan, A Burden of Knowledge Creation in Academic Research: Evidence from Publication Data
(November 9, 2019). Available at SSRN. [Link]
• Plagiarism can be a tricky issue for researchers who have English as a second or foreign language. We recommend this
excellent resource from Indiana University on how to recognize plagiarism. [Link]
• Project Management for Development Organizations (Links to an external site.) On-demand or instructor-led courses on
project management from PM4DEV. Please note that there is a fee for these courses.
[Link]
• Grant Writers Handbook (based on a book by Gerard M Crawley and Eoin
O'Sullivan)[Link]
• Grant Proposals (or Give me the money!) (University of North Carolina) [Link]
proposals-or-give-me-the-money/
• Key Ingredients of a Good Grant Proposal ([Link] )
• Writing a grant application for public health projects ([Link] )
 Examples of Research Projects
•COVID-19:
Project Title: "Long-Term Health Effects of COVID-19: A Cohort Study."
Objective: To investigate the long-term health consequences of COVID-19 infection, including
respiratory, cardiovascular, and neurological impacts.

•Cancer Research:
Project Title: "Investigating the Efficacy of Immunotherapy in Treating Advanced Melanoma."
Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of new immunotherapy drugs in extending the survival rate and
quality of life for patients with advanced melanoma.
 Examples of Implementation
Projects
Electronic Health Record (EHR) System Implementation
• Project Title: "Hospital-Wide Implementation of an Electronic Health
Record System"
• Objective: To transition the hospital from paper-based records to a fully
integrated EHR system to improve patient data management, reduce
errors, and enhance the quality of care.
• Key Activities:
• Selecting and customizing the EHR software to fit the hospital's needs.
• Training staff on how to use the new system.
• Migrating existing patient data into the new system.
• Ensuring compliance with healthcare regulations and data security
standards.
• Monitoring the whole phase.
 Examples of Implementation
Projects
Telemedicine Service Launch
• Project Title: "Implementing Telemedicine Services for Remote Patient
Consultations"
• Objective: To establish telemedicine capabilities to provide remote
consultations and follow-up care for patients in underserved and rural areas.
• Key Activities:
• Selecting a telemedicine platform that meets security and usability
requirements.
• Training healthcare providers on how to conduct virtual consultations.
• Setting up the necessary infrastructure, including cameras, microphones,
and secure internet connections.
• Educating patients on how to access and use telemedicine services.
• Integrating telemedicine services with existing EHR systems