Free toolkits · 2 minutes
Finding the question and planning
6 free toolkits for this stage — templates, checklists and protocols, sent to your inbox.
Get the toolkitsFor graduate researchers
Where are you stuck?
Pick the stage you are in. You get the free toolkit, the guide and the book that deal with exactly that — not a catalogue to work through.
Choose your stage
Stage 1 — Finding the question and planning
“I have a topic, not a question. I have no plan and no funding.”
Guide · no signup
Research aims and objectives
The move from a gap to an aim, and the objectives that have to follow from it.
Open the guideFree tool
Is My Research Question Good?
Tests your question against scope, population, outcome and feasibility, and says what is missing.
Open the tool
The workbook for this stageThe Dissertation Timeline & Project Planner Workbook
See all 4 workbooks for this stage, with the books and kits.
Go deeper: Research Proposal Writing Simplified — a full proposal built section by section, from title page to timeline and budget.
Stage 2 — Reviewing the literature
“I have a pile of papers and no synthesis.”
Free toolkits · 2 minutes
Reviewing the literature
3 free toolkits for this stage — templates, checklists and protocols, sent to your inbox.
Get the toolkitsGuide · no signup
Types of literature review
Which kind of review you are actually writing, and what each one has to contain.
Open the guideFree tool
Lit Review Synthesizer
Turns a pile of sources into themes you can argue from, instead of a list you summarise.
Open the tool
The workbook for this stageThe Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocol Workbook
Go deeper: Literature Review Simplified — searching, appraising and synthesising a literature into an argument.
Stage 3 — Designing the study and collecting data
“I can't justify my design, my sample or my instruments.”
Free toolkits · 2 minutes
Designing the study and collecting data
5 free toolkits for this stage — templates, checklists and protocols, sent to your inbox.
Get the toolkitsGuide · no signup
Research design
Every major design, what each one can claim, and what it cannot.
Open the guideFree tool
Sample Size Calculator
The n you need, with the assumptions stated so you can defend the number.
Open the tool
The workbook for this stageThe Sample Size & Power Analysis Workbook
See all 4 workbooks for this stage, with the books and kits.
Go deeper: Research Design Simplified — how question, design and method have to line up before any data is collected.
Stage 4 — Analyzing the data
“I have data and I don't know what to do with it.”
Free toolkits · 2 minutes
Analyzing the data
5 free toolkits for this stage — templates, checklists and protocols, sent to your inbox.
Get the toolkitsGuide · no signup
Which statistical test?
From variable types and design to the test, with the assumptions each one needs.
Open the guideFree tool
Which Statistical Test Should I Use?
Answer four questions about your data and get the test, plus what to check first.
Open the tool
The workbook for this stageThe Statistical Test Selection Workbook
See all 2 workbooks for this stage, with the books and kits.
Go deeper: QDA with ChatGPT and QualCoder — for qualitative data: coding, a working codebook and an audit trail that holds up.
Stage 5 — Writing and publishing
“My chapters won't come together, my writing gets flagged, or I don't know where to submit.”
Free toolkits · 2 minutes
Writing and publishing
6 free toolkits for this stage — templates, checklists and protocols, sent to your inbox.
Get the toolkitsGuide · no signup
Academic writing
Structure first, sentences second - the order that actually gets a chapter drafted.
Open the guideFree tool
Methods Section Sanity Checker
Finds the CONSORT, STROBE and PRISMA items missing from your methods section.
Open the tool
The workbook for this stageThe Academic Writing and Scholarly Style Workbook
Go deeper: Write and Publish a Scientific Paper — each section written the way reviewers read it, then revisions to acceptance.
Stage 6 — Finishing and defending
“The defense is coming and I don't know what they will ask.”
Free toolkits · 2 minutes
Finishing and defending
1 free toolkit for this stage — templates, checklists and protocols, sent to your inbox.
Get the toolkitsGuide · no signup
The thesis defense
What examiners are testing, and the answers that show you know your own limits.
Open the guideFree tool
Defense Prep Workbench
Chapter-by-chapter defence sheets and a question bank to rehearse against.
Open the tool
The workbook for this stageThe Viva & Oral Defense Workbook
Practise out loud: a free AI mock viva on ScholarchOS, on your own project.
Go deeper: PhD Journey Simplified — the write-up year and the defence, planned backwards from the date.
Stage 7 — Using AI properly
“I use AI and I'm not sure what I must disclose.”
Free toolkits · 2 minutes
Using AI properly
1 free toolkit for this stage — templates, checklists and protocols, sent to your inbox.
Get the toolkitsGuide · no signup
AI and research ethics
What you must disclose, what you must not delegate, and where the lines currently sit.
Open the guideFree tool
Research Assistant
Matches your manuscript to journals and surfaces prior work to cite, on your own device.
Open the toolGo deeper: The AI-Powered Scholar — where these tools genuinely help, where they fabricate, and how to disclose their use.
Not sure which stage you are in? Start from the free toolkits, or browse all 107 guides.
The 9-book Mastering Research series
the depth behind the journey
Stop guessing. Start designing—choose the right method with confidence.
Cut analysis time in half while maintaining rigor.
Finish a publishable-quality review in four weeks.
Turn results into a published paper with a proven formula.
Write a high-quality literature review in 4 weeks.
Write it once. Write it right. Get it approved.
A done-for-you execution system to finish your chapter fast.
Use AI responsibly across the research lifecycle—from ideas to defense.
Plan, track, and finish with the PhD Planning Canvas.
The Research Made Practical workbooks
templates, checklists and decision tools
30+ Research Tools, Templates & Checklists for Graduate Students — From Proposal to Defense
58 decision trees, assumption checklists, and output interpretation templates for SPSS, JASP, and R, from t-tests to regression to non-parametric tests.
45 Templates for Thematic Analysis, Codebook Development, and Audit Trails
60 PRISMA-Compliant Templates for Question Formulation, Search Documentation, Critical Appraisal, Data Extraction, Meta-Analysis, and GRADE Assessment.
50 sentence-level exercises, paragraph frameworks, and section templates for publication-ready prose. Covers hedging, metadiscourse, CARS, and APA 7.
48 Templates for Qualitative Interview Design, Focus Groups, and Dissertation-Ready Data
58 Templates for Mixed Methods Design, Integration, and Dissertation-Ready Joint Displays
56 templates, budget calculators, and reviewer score sheets for successful grant applications. Covers NIH R01, NSF CAREER, fellowships, and K-awards.
50 Practical Templates, Checklists, and Standard Operating Procedures for Flawless Research Data Collection. REDCap, Qualtrics, codebooks, SOPs, and more.
Free research toolkits — straight to your inbox
Start with the Research Design Decision Tree: a step-by-step path from your research question to the design that fits it. Each book below has its own free toolkit too.
Template kits: every template, ready to type into
The fill-in templates from the Mastering Research workbooks as fillable PDFs, US Letter and A4: from the research question and the sample size to coding, writing and the viva. 17 kits, 934 templates, $19 each, or all of them for $99.
See the kitsJournal Clock: how long journals really take
Measured, not advertised: median days from submission to acceptance for PubMed journals, with the sample size behind every number. Free.
Look up a journalBrowser Extensions
13 tools · more coming
Citation Gap Finder
Chrome Extension
Cross-checks every citation in Google Docs and Overleaf. Flags orphans, unused references, and broken DOIs in 30 seconds.
Ctrl+⇧+Q
Research Quote Capture
Chrome Extension
Searchable private library; exports to BibTeX (Zotero · LaTeX), CSV (Excel · pandas), JSON (backup), and Markdown (Obsidian · drafts) — built for grad students writing literature reviews.
✓ CONSORT
~ STROBE
✗ PRISMA
Methods Sanity Checker
Chrome Extension
Scans the methods section of your Google Docs draft against the official reporting checklists in under two seconds. Flags missing or partial items with the official guideline language and a curated example sentence. Overleaf, Word, and Pages users go through the side-panel Paste tab.
About the Mastering Research Series
A practical, step-by-step library that guides graduate students and early-career researchers across the full research lifecycle—from design to publication.
The Mastering Research series demystifies academic research through concise, actionable books. Each volume breaks down complex tasks—designing studies, analysing qualitative data, conducting literature reviews, writing scientific papers, crafting proposals, harnessing AI tools and managing PhD journeys—into clear steps, templates and checklists. Developed by Dr. Rafiq Muhammad, an experienced researcher with medical and data-science training, the series blends real-world examples, ethical guidelines and AI techniques to help scholars produce rigorous, reproducible research.
- Clear frameworks and checklists to remove guesswork
- AI-assisted workflows to save time without losing rigor
- Templates you can reuse for proposals, papers, and reviews
9
Books
4.6★
Average rating
30K+
Readers & students
Why researchers use these books
Written by a researcher who has done it. Dr. Rafiq Muhammad is a clinician-researcher with an MD and a PhD from Karolinska Institutet.
Used in a university course. Research Design Simplified is the text for MATH 203, Quantitative Research Methods, at San Diego Global Knowledge University.
Made to be used, not just read. 13 workbooks of fill-in templates, with worked examples to show you what a finished page looks like.
FAQ — GradSummit - Mastering Research Series
What is the Mastering Research Series?
A 9-book toolkit that covers the complete research journey: research design, literature review, proposal writing, qualitative data analysis (ChatGPT + QualCoder), writing and publishing a scientific paper, PhD journey planning, and an AI-powered researcher’s playbook. It’s built for clarity, speed, and reproducible results.
Who are these books for?
Grad students and early-career researchers who want a practical path from research topic to publication. If you’re asking “how do I design a study, write a literature review fast, or publish a scientific paper?”, this series is for you.
How will these books help me write a dissertation literature review fast?
You’ll get a day-by-day plan (from Dissertation Literature Review Sprint), AI-assisted search and synthesis prompts, note-taking frameworks, and paragraph-level writing scaffolds to move from sources → themes → arguments → polished chapter.
Do you cover both qualitative and quantitative methods?
Yes. Research Design Simplified explains study types, variables, validity/reliability, and sampling; Qualitative Data Analysis with ChatGPT & QualCoder covers coding, codebooks, thematic analysis, and intercoder reliability; mixed-methods guidance ties both together.
What makes this series different from other “how-to” research books?
Action-first structure, ready-to-use templates, and GEO/SEO-style “answer first” explanations. You’ll see worked examples, model paragraphs, and publishing checklists that shorten the path to a peer-reviewed submission.
Will I learn how to publish in peer-reviewed journals?
Yes. Write and Publish a Scientific Paper gives you journal-fit criteria, section-by-section drafting formulas, response-to-reviewers scripts, and common-rejection fixes—so you can move from draft to submission with confidence.
Is the ChatGPT + QualCoder workflow beginner-friendly?
Absolutely. You’ll learn how to build a defensible codebook, run transparent AI-assisted coding, log decisions, and export artifacts for appendices—without losing methodological rigor.
Which disciplines are supported?
Health sciences, social sciences, education, business, and interdisciplinary fields. Principles are universal, with examples you can swap for your domain.
How long until I see results?
Most readers report momentum in 1–2 weeks: a structured outline, a working codebook, or a full literature-review draft. The sprint plans help you keep going day-by-day.
Are there ethical guidelines for using AI in academic work?
Yes. The series includes disclosure language, limits of use, verification steps, and integrity checklists so your work stays compliant with program and journal policies.
Do I need prior experience with AI tools?
No. Every AI workflow (e.g., ChatGPT + QualCoder, prompt design, validation steps) is explained step-by-step with examples and cautions for responsible use.
Can I use the templates for my thesis or paper?
Yes. All checklists, outlines, and writing templates are designed to be adapted to your university guidelines, discipline, and preferred reference style.
Do you offer checklists and one-page cheat sheets?
Yes—every title ends with quick-win checklists (e.g., proposal readiness, dataset hygiene, figure/table finalization, submission “go/no-go”).
Where can I buy the books?
They’re available on Amazon (Kindle and print). Links are provided on this site’s book pages.