Research Study RAID Log
This is a practical guide to building a raid log for a research study project — a consolidated log of Risks, Assumptions, Issues and Dependencies, adapted to the realities of planning and delivering a research study.
What a RAID Log is
A raid log is a consolidated log of Risks, Assumptions, Issues and Dependencies. For the full concept and how it works in general, see RAID Log. On a research study project it plays the same role, tuned to this kind of work.
Why it matters for a Research Study project
Research Study projects live or die on planning and delivering a research study. A well-built raid log gives the team a shared, explicit reference for exactly that — reducing ambiguity, aligning stakeholders, and making problems visible early enough to act. Skipping it, or doing it generically, is how research study projects drift into avoidable delay and cost.
What to include
- Risks
- Assumptions
- Issues
- Dependencies
- Owners and status
Research Study-specific considerations
Tailor the raid log to the risks that most often derail research study projects:
- Funding and scope constraints
- Ethics and compliance
- Uncertain outcomes
Example
On a real research study project, the raid log would be shaped by planning and delivering a research study. In particular, it should explicitly account for the project’s biggest risks — funding and scope constraints, ethics and compliance, uncertain outcomes — rather than treating them as afterthoughts.