Whether you’re a college professor looking to publish or a parent helping their kid get their summer history project done last minute before school starts, knowing how to plan a trip for research purposes can be an enormously helpful skill. With this skill you can set goals, prioritize your itinerary like a pro, and stay productive even after your travels end.
If planning for this kind of trip isn’t one of your strengths, though, we can help. Read on and use this article to build the ideal research travel checklist so you’re ready for your next educational adventure.
Before You Book:
There are two parts to a good research travel checklist. The first one (this part) deals with what you need to know before you even book your flights. With that in mind, take these steps, in this order, to master how to plan a trip for your big research project:
- Define Your Research Goals: Based on your areas of expertise, identifying what to research for vacation trips like this could include developing the hypothesis you want to confirm or data you want to capture. If you’re doing research for a creative project, you may find you’re looking to journal how a setting makes you feel, the type of architecture a character in a story would encounter, or the different lighting conditions you want to render in a photo series.
- Do Some Pre-Research: Once you figure out both what to research for vacation and what you want this trip to achieve for your overall aims, start gathering information about where you’re heading. Compile what information you can about cultural nuances that could help shape your research questions, or specific locations at your destination that could help you achieve more meaningful results.
- Secure Necessary Permissions: Depending on what you decide to research for vacation, you may need permissions from local or national authorities before you begin your studies. Areas that require such permissions include heritage sites, indigenous lands, and historic structures (be sure to check for paperwork you need to do for any special access, even if a location is generally open to the public).
On Your Trip:
The second part of your research travel checklist should be about everything you do after arriving at your destination. If you practice these steps on each of your research trips, you’ll know exactly how to plan travel that’s as productive as it is fun:
- Organize Your Time: Master this skill early when learning how to plan a trip for research. Make yourself a daily schedule that balances exploration, data collection, and rest. Give yourself leeway to make spontaneous, unplanned discoveries, but document and stick to key deadlines and appointments, too.
- Keep Family and Friends Informed: Your family and friends will want to know you’re safe, and knowing your location and activities can help them better support you in case of an emergency. However, keeping in touch with them about your progress and what you see on your research trip can help them feel like they’re sharing the experience with you.
- Stay Adaptable: When you arrive in an unfamiliar environment, staying flexible is key. Whether changes could close a road you planned to travel on a specific day, for example, or traffic delays could keep you from getting on a train you need to get to a research destination that’s vital for your project. Keep a positive mindset, look for solutions, and you’ll have an easier time finding a path to success.
Focus on Your Findings-Protect Your Trip with Research Travel Insurance
This entire checklist offers practical advice, but maybe the best tip for how to plan your research trip is to protect yourself. You have potentially life-changing discoveries to make. The last thing you need to be doing is worrying about the obstacles that could arise.
That’s why you should also consider learning how to purchase travel insurance for research trips. When you have the right plan for your needs, travel coverage may be able to financially protect you in the event of delayed or canceled flights, lost or damaged luggage, or needs for medical attention.
Finding the best plan for your research trip is easier than you might think. All you have to do to start is compare options on InsureMyTrip.com. As the world’s first travel insurance website, we are an unbiased source of information where you can build and analyze quotes from top providers. Our dedicated Customer Care team of licensed professionals is also standing by to answer your questions as you learn how to purchase travel insurance for research trips.
To begin finding the ideal insurance for your research travel, start a quote on our site. It will be one less thing to cross off your research trip checklist.
