Study guide
6.4 The Research Process: Research Questions, Research Plans, Ethics & Reporting
Evidence-Based Design Accreditation EDAC
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1 Chapter 1: Foundations of Evidence-Based Design
1.1 Definition, History & Core Principles of Evidence-Based Design 1.2 Comparing Evidence-Based Design (EBD) and Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) 1.3 The Eight-Step EBD Process Framework 1.4 Who Benefits from EBD & Which Outcomes It Can Influence
2 Chapter 2: Healthcare Context, Systems Thinking & Leadership
2.1 Macro Healthcare Trends, Demographics & Economic Drivers 2.2 The Healthcare Delivery System: Care Settings, Hospital Types & Networks 2.3 The Systems-Based Approach (Formerly the Environment of Care) 2.4 Organizational Culture, Culture Change & Cross-Cultural Design 2.5 Healthcare Stakeholders, Facility Users & Governance Roles 2.6 Executive Leadership, Project Lifecycle Changes & Succession Planning
3 Chapter 3: Healing Environments, Theory & the EDAC Credential
3.1 Healing Environments, Psycho-Neuro-Immunology & Stress Reduction 3.2 Positive Distractions, Biophilia & Roger Ulrich Landmark Research 3.3 Integrative Medicine & Designing Healing and Therapeutic Environments 3.4 Healthcare Workplace Design, Staff Retention & Fatigue Reduction 3.5 Professional Responsibility, Healthcare Outcomes & the EDAC Credential
4 Chapter 4: Research Fundamentals & Evidence Sources
4.1 The Role of Research in Healthcare Architecture & Design 4.2 Types of Evidence: Internal vs. External Evidence 4.3 Literature Searches, Academic Databases & Search Strategies 4.4 Screening, Extracting & Synthesizing Healthcare Design Literature
5 Chapter 5: Evidence Hierarchies & Critical Appraisal
5.1 The Hierarchy of Evidence: Systematic Reviews to Expert Opinion 5.2 Internal Validity, External Validity & Reliability in EBD 5.3 Research Bias, Confounding Factors & Threat Mitigation 5.4 Step 3: The Critical Interpretation & Appraisal Process
6 Chapter 6: Research Methodologies, Data Analysis & the Research Plan
6.1 Quantitative Research Designs, Metrics & Statistical Significance 6.2 Qualitative Methods, Behavioral Observation & Spatial Mapping 6.3 Mixed Methods, Data Triangulation & Research-to-Design Translation 6.4 The Research Process: Research Questions, Research Plans, Ethics & Reporting
7 Chapter 7: Project Setup & Predesign
7.1 Project Setup: Early Capital Planning, Context & Culture, and the EBD Budget 7.2 Step 1: Defining Evidence-Based Vision, Goals & Objectives 7.3 Participative Design, Charrettes & Advisory Councils 7.4 Functional Programming, Adjacencies & Flow Analysis
8 Chapter 8: Hypotheses, Baselines & the Business Case
8.1 Step 5: Formulating Rigorous, Testable EBD Hypotheses 8.2 Step 6: Planning & Collecting Baseline Performance Measures 8.3 The Business Case for EBD: Capital Costs vs. Operational Life-Cycle 8.4 Prioritizing Design Interventions Under Budget Constraints
9 Chapter 9: Designing for Safety: Risk Assessment, Infection, Falls & Medication Safety
9.1 Attributes of a Safe Environment & the Safety Risk Assessment 9.2 Infection Control, Single-Bed Rooms & Hand-Hygiene Design 9.3 Fall Prevention, Same-Handed Rooms & Bathroom Adjacencies 9.4 Medication Safety, Decentralized Nursing Stations & Workflow
10 Chapter 10: Design Phase: Environmental Factors, Concepts & Mock-Ups
10.1 Healthcare Acoustics, Noise Reduction & Sound Absorption 10.2 Circadian Lighting, Natural Daylight & Visual Performance 10.3 Step 4: Creating and Innovating Evidence-Based Design Concepts 10.4 Step 4 Prototyping: Mock-Ups, Simulation & Iterative Evaluation
11 Chapter 11: Construction, Commissioning & Activation
11.1 Step 7: Monitoring Implementation Fidelity & Guarding EBD Intent 11.2 Commissioning: Verifying the Building Meets EBD Intent Before Occupancy 11.3 Activation Readiness, Transition Planning & Finalizing the POE Research Plan
12 Chapter 12: Post-Occupancy Evaluation & Knowledge Sharing
12.1 Step 8: Post-Occupancy Evaluation Methodology & Timing 12.2 Executing the POE Research Plan, Independent Evaluation & Finalizing the Business Case 12.3 Analyzing POE Data, Isolating Environmental Effects & Mixed Outcomes 12.4 Knowledge Dissemination, Peer Review & Continuous Improvement
6.4 The Research Process: Research Questions, Research Plans, Ethics & Reporting
Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI
EDAC study materials list nine research components in order: research question, literature review, hypothesis, research plan, pilot study, data collection, data analysis, reporting, and future research.
A research topic should be relevant, distinctive, significant, rigorous, and feasible, and EDAC study materials recommend pursuing one or two topics.
A research plan covers topic, background, hypothesis, methodology, design, variables and measures, data collection and analysis procedures, logistics, and references.
Studies involving human subjects require consent and Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval before the research proceeds.
EBD research collects existing metrics, new outcome data, environmental measurements, and qualitative data; analysis is separate from data collection.
Last updated: September 2026
The Research Process: Research Questions, Research Plans, Ethics & Reporting
EDAC Core Concept: EBD teams do not just read research—on many projects they help create it. EDAC Study Guide 2 lays out the research process from question to report, and Study Guide 3 applies it to post-occupancy research. Knowing the order of the process, what belongs in a research plan, and how ethics review fits in is essential for both the Research and the Construction and Occupancy domains.
The Nine Components of Research (Approximate Order)
EDAC study materials list nine components of research in approximate order:
- # Component What It Means
- 1 Research question The unknown, or question, within the defined research topic or area of interest
- 2 Literature review A review of existing evidence and relevant theoretical thinking on the topic
- 3 Hypothesis An estimated outcome or research finding for a testable subtopic of the area of interest
4 Research plan An outline of the research topics and hypotheses with a narrow statement of the study's focus and scope
- 5 Pilot study A small trial run to test procedures and tools before the full study
- 6 Data collection Implementing the plan and collecting and recording data
- 7 Data analysis Analyzing the data using tools suited to the methodology and research design
- 8 Reporting Documenting and sharing the study and its results
9 Identification of future research Naming the new questions the study raises Research question → Literature review → Hypothesis → Research plan → Pilot study
→ Data collection → Data analysis → Reporting → Future research
Who decides the details? Study materials state that the researcher decides the details of the research plan—methodology, samples, settings, data collection tools, procedures, and analysis. Researchers on an EBD research team may be in-house , academic , or specialty researchers (consultants).
Choosing and Narrowing a Research Topic
A project can generate many possible research topics. EDAC study materials say the ideal number to pursue is one or two . To decide whether a topic is worth the time and resources, ask whether it is:
Criterion Question to Ask
Relevant Does it relate to the project's or organization's vision?
Distinctive Is it unique, or do many similar studies already exist?
Significant Does it fill a current gap in the knowledge base?
Rigorous Is there a stronger topic that could yield better-quality results?
Feasible Is there enough time, money, and resources to succeed?
The same five questions are used later to choose which hypothesis to test in a post-occupancy study.
Hypotheses and Theory
A theory cannot be tested directly by empirical data; its predictions— hypotheses —can be.
A hypothesis is developed before data are collected, because it defines the variables, potential testing methods, and potential relationships between variables.
Hypotheses cannot be proven or disproven . Data either support or do not support a hypothesis.
The null hypothesis states that there is no relationship between the variables.
In statistical analysis, researchers typically reject the null hypothesis if the p-value is less than 5% (0.05) , and then claim the data support the hypothesis. EDAC study materials give the example of a study with p = 0.15: the result is not statistically significant , so the null hypothesis is not rejected (study materials phrase this as accepting the null hypothesis).
What Goes Into a Research Plan
The research plan helps the team systematically organize thoughts and ideas and outline activities before time, money, and effort are invested . EDAC study materials list these components:
- Statement of the research topic
- Background information
- Hypothesis (or research questions)
- Methodology
- Research design
- Variables and measurements
- Data collection procedures
- Data analysis procedures
- Logistics—budget, roles, and timeline
- References
- What CHD's Current Exam Content Outline Adds
The outline's research-plan list overlaps the study-guide list but adds several items worth memorizing:
- Research Plan Item (Outline) What to Include
- Statement of the research topic, purpose, and objectives Why the study exists and what it will answer
- Background information Literature review and the significance of the study
- Hypotheses or research questions Testable predictions or open questions
- Methodology and research design Quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods and the specific design
- Variables and measurements Independent, dependent, and confounding variables and instruments
- Data collection procedures Settings, populations, samples, and protection of human subjects
- Data analysis procedures Descriptive and inferential statistics or qualitative analysis
- Logistics Roles and responsibilities, budget, and timeline
- Possible limitations Known weaknesses stated in advance
- References Sources cited
- Cost estimates / funding Research costs and how they will be paid
The outline also states that before research is conducted, the plan needs to be refined before it is submitted to funders or for approval by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) , and that the plan explains every aspect of the proposed study, including protections for participants' welfare and privacy .
Prioritizing Topics and Designing the Study
To prioritize research topics into manageable, testable subtopics , the outline lists considerations: existing valid and relevant research on the topic, the feasibility of the study, outcomes of interest , significance and distinction , and potential participants and the number of participants . When designing the study, teams choose among informal, scoping, and systematic reviews of existing evidence:
Review Type What It Does
Informal (narrative) review Summarizes selected literature without a formal protocol; quick but open to selection bias
Scoping review Maps the extent, range, and nature of research on a broad topic and identifies gaps; usually does not grade study quality in depth
Systematic review Answers a focused question with a predefined, reproducible search, explicit inclusion criteria, and critical appraisal (Section 5.1)
Implications, Limitations, and Dissemination
After analysis, the outline asks teams to identify the implications of findings for the hypotheses , the current project , professional practice , and future research ; to identify limitations related to interpretation of results and the importance of reliability and generalizability; and to disseminate results both internally (the interdisciplinary team and firm) and externally (peer-reviewed and popular press, published and presented).
Key points about the plan:
Choice of methods depends on the focus and conditions of the research and on the project's goals and objectives.
Cost and timeline estimates belong in the plan because they act as a checkpoint for the study's feasibility.
Research costs can include researcher salaries, travel, literature review (database access, books, articles), communication, consultation, supplies and software, equipment, and indirect costs.
The plan should be revisited and refined often , not written once and set aside.
Confounding variables , although not of direct interest, must be tracked and documented closely; sometimes they can be used as covariates.
Ethics and the Institutional Review Board (IRB)
Research involving people requires ethical safeguards. EDAC study materials describe:
Obtaining consent —from the facility and from human subjects, as applicable.
Giving due recognition and proceeding only after Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval is obtained.
The Institutional Review Board as the group that approves research studies involving human subjects.
When a research team prepares to carry out a plan (for example, a post-occupancy study), it evaluates and documents the logistics of implementation, including cooperation of the hospital, management of resources, ethics, and IRB approval .
Practical note: Organizations distinguish human-subjects research, which is designed to produce generalizable knowledge, from internal quality improvement. When a project may be published or shared as research, ask the organization's IRB for a determination early.
Data Collection and Analysis
EDAC study materials describe four types of data collected in EBD research:
- Data Type Examples
- Existing metrics Infection rates, falls, patient satisfaction scores the organization already tracks
- New outcome data Measures created for the study, such as staff walking distance or sleep quality
- Environmental measurements Sound levels, light levels, temperature, air quality
- Qualitative data Interviews, focus groups, observations
During the data collection phase, researchers implement the research plan and collect and record data— analysis is a separate, later step .
For studies of new buildings, EDAC study materials advise waiting until the facility has been occupied for at least six months before collecting post-occupancy data.
A researcher guides the data analysis , and the choice of analysis tools depends on the research methodology and the research design.
Reporting the Research
EDAC study materials describe a typical research report as including:
- Title page
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Background
- Methodology and methods
- Results
- Discussion
- Conclusion (with recommendations for future research)
- References
- Appendices
Reports should be shared even when results are disappointing; the wider field learns from failures as well as successes (see Chapter 12).
Exam Watch: High-Yield Traps & Pitfalls
Warning
Trap 1: Hypothesis timing. A hypothesis is developed before data collection, not after the results are in.
Warning
Trap 2: "Proving" a hypothesis. Data support or fail to support a hypothesis; they do not prove it.
Warning
Trap 3: Analysis during collection. Implementing the plan and collecting and recording data happen in data collection; analyzing the data is a later step.