The next stage in developing a research study involves fi lling in the details that
precisely defi ne how the study is to be done. This fi nal, detailed stage is called
the research procedure. It includes a precise determination of:
• exactly how the variables will be manipulated, regulated, and measured.
• exactly how many individuals will be involved.
• exactly how the individual participants or subjects will proceed through
the course of the study.
The procedure contains the fi nal decisions about all choices still open after
the general design is determined. The task of defi ning and measuring variables is
discussed in Chapter 3; different ways of selecting individuals to participate in a
study are discussed in Chapter 5. For each completed study, a description of the
research procedure is typically presented in the method section of the research
report, which is discussed briefl y in Table 2.2 (p. 61) and in Chapter 16.