Skip to content

README.md

Latest commit

 

History

History
224 lines (153 loc) · 6.19 KB

README.md

File metadata and controls

224 lines (153 loc) · 6.19 KB

Academic Research Templates

CI Status License: MIT

Professional, ready-to-use templates for academic research projects. Streamline your research workflow with specialized templates for papers, studies, grants, reviews, and presentations.

🚀 Quick Start

Get up and running in under 2 minutes:

  1. Install R and required packages:

    install.packages(c("here", "fs", "cli", "yaml"))

  2. Choose your approach:

    🎯 Interactive (Recommended):

    source("tools/template-chooser.R")
template_chooser()  # Guided template selection

source("tools/project-initializer.R") 
interactive_setup()  # Automated project creation

    ⚡ Quick Setup:

    source("tools/project-initializer.R")
initialize_project("my-project", "simple-paper")

    📁 Manual:

    cp -r templates/simple-paper/ ../my-new-project/

  3. Start your research! 🎉

Available Templates

Template Best For Key Features
📝 simple-paper Theory papers, commentaries, book chapters Minimal structure, no IRB overhead, focused on writing
🔬 empirical-study Data collection and analysis projects Complete research lifecycle, IRB docs, R analysis pipeline
💰 grant-application Funding proposals and project management Interactive timeline planner, multi-agency support (NSF/NIH)
📚 literature-review Systematic reviews and meta-analyses PRISMA methodology, citation management, quality assessment
🎤 conference-presentation Standalone presentations and talks Slide templates, abstract support, quick turnaround

Requirements

Software: - R (≥ 4.0.0) - Quarto (≥ 1.2.0) - Git (for version control)

R Packages:

install.packages(c("here", "fs", "cli", "yaml", "lubridate", "knitr", "dplyr"))

Key Features

  • 🎯 Template specialization: Right tool for each research type
  • ⚡ Interactive setup: Guided project initialization
  • 📁 Modular design: Use only what you need
  • 🔄 Automated workflows: Streamlined research processes
  • 📊 Multi-format output: HTML, PDF, DOCX support
  • 🤝 Collaboration ready: Git integration and shared components

Usage Examples

Quick Paper Setup

# Initialize a simple theory paper
source("tools/project-initializer.R")
initialize_project("my-theory-paper", "simple-paper")

# Start writing immediately
cd ../my-theory-paper
quarto preview paper.qmd

Empirical Study Workflow

# Create comprehensive research project
initialize_project("cognition-study", "empirical-study")

# Run analysis pipeline
Rscript R/00-build.R

# Generate reports
quarto render

Grant Proposal Timeline

# Set up grant application
initialize_project("nsf-proposal", "grant-application")

# Generate interactive timeline
quarto render timeline.qmd

Template Details

📝 Simple Paper

  • Structure: Minimal, writing-focused
  • Use cases: Theory papers, commentaries, book chapters
  • Output: PDF, DOCX, HTML
  • Setup time: < 5 minutes

🔬 Empirical Study

  • Structure: Complete research lifecycle
  • Use cases: Data collection, analysis, reporting
  • Features: IRB docs, R pipeline (10 scripts), data management
  • Setup time: 10-15 minutes

💰 Grant Application

  • Structure: Proposal development and management
  • Use cases: NSF, NIH, foundation grants
  • Features: Interactive timeline, budget tracking, compliance
  • Setup time: 15-20 minutes

📚 Literature Review

  • Structure: Systematic review methodology
  • Use cases: Meta-analyses, scoping reviews
  • Features: PRISMA workflow, citation screening
  • Setup time: 10-15 minutes

🎤 Conference Presentation

  • Structure: Presentation development
  • Use cases: Conference talks, academic presentations
  • Features: Slide templates, abstract support
  • Setup time: < 5 minutes

Advanced Usage

Custom Template Combinations

Mix elements from multiple templates:

# Start with simple-paper, add empirical components
cp -r templates/simple-paper/ ../my-mixed-project/
cp templates/empirical-study/R/ ../my-mixed-project/

Shared Resources

All templates access shared components in _shared/: - admin/: Author tracking, publication management - scripts/: Common R functions and utilities

  • docs/: Guidelines and documentation standards

Automation Tools

  • template-chooser.R: Interactive template selection
  • project-initializer.R: Automated project setup
  • validate-templates.R: Quality assurance testing

Best Practices

  • Start minimal: Choose the simplest template that meets your needs
  • Use version control: Initialize Git repositories for all projects
  • Document decisions: Keep clear records of methodological choices
  • Plan for reproducibility: Structure files for easy sharing
  • Collaborate consistently: Use same templates across team projects

Contributing

  1. Fork the repository
  2. Create feature branch: git checkout -b improve-template
  3. Make changes and test thoroughly
  4. Submit pull request with clear documentation

See _shared/docs/CONTRIBUTING.md for detailed guidelines.

Support

Documentation

  • Template-specific READMEs with setup instructions
  • General guidance in _shared/docs/
  • Automation help in tools/ directory

Troubleshooting

  • Path issues: Use here() for file references
  • Missing packages: Check template README for requirements
  • Quarto errors: Verify _quarto.yml configuration

Getting Help

  • Open GitHub issues for bugs or feature requests
  • Check template documentation first
  • Review existing projects for examples

License

MIT License - see LICENSE.md for details.

Professional academic research templates - streamline your workflow with specialized, tested templates for every research type.