Free toolkits by stage
Every toolkit below is a free fill-in PDF, drawn from the Mastering Research workbooks. Pick the stage you are in now.
Finding the question and planning
“I have a topic, not a question. I have no plan and no funding.”
The Research Roadmap — From Proposal to Defense
See your entire research project on one page — nine stages from framing the question to defending the thesis — with a 60-second guide to find exactly where you're stuck and what to do next.
Email me this toolkit (free) →
Research Question & Gap Builder
A four-step fill-in sequence that takes you from a broad topic to a narrowed angle, a written gap statement, a FINER-scored question, and an alignment check.
Email me this toolkit (free) →
Proposal-Readiness Checklist
A free checklist that tells you — section by section — whether your research proposal is ready to submit, and exactly what reviewers look for.
Email me this toolkit (free) →
Backward-Planning Milestone Map
A fill-in map that starts from your submission date and works back to today, then tests the plan against your real weekly research hours.
Email me this toolkit (free) →
PhD Planning Canvas
Map your entire doctorate on a single page — research question, contribution, milestones, and timeline — so you always know exactly what to do next.
Email me this toolkit (free) →
Grant Proposal & Budget Builder
Reviewers don't fund the most important topic — they fund a clear, feasible, significant idea backed by a budget they believe. This builder walks you through the standard sections and a line-by-line budget with a justification for every cost.
Email me this toolkit (free) →
Reviewing the literature
“I have a pile of papers and no synthesis.”
10-Step Literature Review Checklist
A free, printable checklist that takes you from a scattered pile of papers to a synthesised, defensible review — organised by theme, not by author.
Email me this toolkit (free) →
Dissertation Lit-Review 30-Day Plan
A free, day-by-day plan that turns “write the literature review” into 30 small, doable steps — from first search to a finished draft.
Email me this toolkit (free) →
Systematic Review Protocol Starter
Draft and register a systematic review protocol before you screen a single study — from a framework-aligned question through eligibility criteria, a reproducible search, dual screening, risk-of-bias, and PRISMA flow accounting.
Email me this toolkit (free) →
Designing the study and collecting data
“I can't justify my design, my sample or my instruments.”
Research Design Decision Tree
A free decision tree that walks from your research question to the right methodology — qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods — in a few clear choices.
Email me this toolkit (free) →
Sample-Size Justification Planner
A fill-in planner that takes you from choosing the right type of power analysis to a written sample-size justification paragraph.
Email me this toolkit (free) →
Mixed-Methods Design Planner
Choose the right mixed-methods design and plan the integration that actually connects your quantitative and qualitative strands — so your study reads as one integrated whole, not two studies stapled together.
Email me this toolkit (free) →
Interview & Focus Group Guide Builder
Turn your research questions into a sequenced, well-probed, non-leading interview or focus group guide your committee will recognise as rigorous.
Email me this toolkit (free) →
Research Data Management Plan Starter
Draft your Data Management Plan before you collect a single data point — what you'll collect, how to name and version files, the 3-2-1 backup rule, metadata, ethics and de-identification, retention, and FAIR sharing — then fill in the template in one sitting.
Email me this toolkit (free) →
Analyzing the data
“I have data and I don't know what to do with it.”
Qualitative Coding Worksheet Pack
A first-cycle-to-second-cycle coding workflow with an analytic memo log and a saturation tracker you can use today.
Email me this toolkit (free) →
QDA Codebook Starter
A free codebook template to start your qualitative analysis properly — clear code definitions, examples, and rules you can apply consistently.
Email me this toolkit (free) →
Grounded Theory Memo & Saturation Tracker
Fill-in pages for the records a grounded theory study depends on: comparisons, memos, sampling decisions, and saturation, category by category.
Email me this toolkit (free) →
Phenomenology Bracketing Journal
Journal pages for recording how you managed your own assumptions, with the steps from verbatim statements to themes and a short audit-trail log.
Email me this toolkit (free) →
Statistical Test Selector
Pick the right statistical test by walking your research question through a few plain yes/no choices — variable type, groups, measurement level, and assumptions — instead of guessing.
Email me this toolkit (free) →
Writing and publishing
“My chapters won't come together, my writing gets flagged, or I don't know where to submit.”
Dissertation & Thesis Roadmap
A dissertation is one sustained argument, not six stapled documents. This roadmap names the job of every chapter and gives you a milestone planner from proposal to submission.
Email me this toolkit (free) →
Academic Writing Self-Edit Checklist
Stop rereading your draft and hoping the problems jump out. This checklist turns editing into structured revision in ordered passes — paragraph structure, sentence clarity, word choice, cohesion, and tone — each with before-and-after rewrites.
Email me this toolkit (free) →
Paraphrasing Practice Sheet
Practice the real skill of paraphrasing: choose the right technique, rebuild the idea from understanding, repair patchwriting, and cite what you borrowed.
Email me this toolkit (free) →
Abstract & Title Builder
Draft a title from set patterns, build the abstract one move at a time, cut it to the word limit without losing the result, and pick keywords that add search coverage.
Email me this toolkit (free) →
Journal-Fit & Red-Flag Checklist
Test scope first, score three candidate journals on scope, audience, impact, cost, and speed, then screen your top choice for legitimacy before you submit.
Email me this toolkit (free) →
Journal Submission Go/No-Go Checklist
A free pre-submission checklist that catches the issues causing desk rejections — before an editor ever opens your manuscript.
Email me this toolkit (free) →
Finishing and defending
“The defense is coming and I don't know what they will ask.”
Viva Question Planner
A fill-in planner that gets your contribution into one sentence, structures your answers to the questions examiners commonly ask, and prepares you for your weak points and for the question you cannot answer.
Email me this toolkit (free) →
Using AI properly
“I use AI and I'm not sure what I must disclose.”
AI-for-Research Ethics & Disclosure Pack
A free, practical pack for using AI tools in your research the right way — with ready-to-paste disclosure statements and an ethics self-check.