Planning a study
Research Design, Methodology & Ethics Consultation
Most rejections start in the methods. We help you design a study that answers its question, report it to the standard reviewers expect, and meet every ethical requirement along the way.
Study design
A design that answers your question.
- Framing the research question (PICO, PECO and related formats)
- Choosing a design: clinical trial, observational study, survey or qualitative research
- Systematic review and meta-analysis protocols
- Risk-of-bias assessment with validated tools (RoB 2, ROBINS-I)
- Choosing and applying the right reporting guideline: CONSORT, STROBE, PRISMA, COREQ
Ethics
Ethics approvals and publication ethics.
- Applications, consent forms and supporting documents for an IRB or research ethics board
- Data protection and informed consent
- Authorship disputes: who is an author, and in what order
- Plagiarism and text recycling, redundant publication and duplicate submission
- Answering ethics questions raised by a journal
Send us an ethics question in writing and you’ll have an answer within one business day. For complicated cases we set up a one-to-one meeting.
Ongoing support
A research partnership.
For teams with several projects, we can act as your research arm: methodologists, statisticians and medical writers moving each project through its stages in parallel — protocol, data collection, analysis, writing, journal selection and submission.
You supervise and revise the scientific content, so the authorship stays yours. Over a few months you have several papers moving at once instead of one at a time.
How we work
Four steps.
- 1
Initial consultation
We discuss your research aims, methods and ethical considerations.
- 2
Tailored guidance
We recommend an approach for your study type and goals.
- 3
Implementation support
You receive templates, checklists and best practices to use in your project.
- 4
Follow-up
We review your progress and support you as needed.
Prices
Starting prices.
- Research design / methodology consultationfrom $75 CAD / 30 min
- Ethics and integrity consultationfrom $75 CAD / 30 min
Multi-session packages are discounted. See all prices.
“Before starting my research, Merit Group’s methodology consultation helped me build a solid foundation for my study. Their scientific editing was equally precise and professional. With their support, my paper was published in Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine.”
Questions
What authors ask about methods and ethics.
Can you help with ethics board applications?
Yes. We guide you through applications, consent forms and supporting documents for IRB or research ethics board submission.
Do you work with qualitative and quantitative research?
Yes, across a wide range of study designs and methodologies.
Can you help answer ethical concerns raised by a journal?
Yes. We help you address the journal’s questions and meet ethical publishing standards.
Can you help us choose a reporting guideline?
Yes. Once the study design is settled we recommend the matching guideline, for example CONSORT, STROBE, PRISMA or COREQ.
Next step
Build your study on solid ground.
A free 30-minute call is enough to see where your design or ethics plan needs work.