Definition, elements and stages of elaboration of research protocols

Although it is recognized as an instrument capable of guaranteeing transparency and assertiveness in scientific investigations

first of them reports what the search term means and begins with the phrase "Research protocol is ...". The next two sentences explain in a didactic and objective way what was said in the previous period (Nascimento-e-Silva, 2012).
The application of this method allowed a) to delimit the conceptual scope of the research protocols, b) to identify the essential elements of the research protocols and c) to understand what are the steps for the elaboration of a research protocol. Through this construct, it appeared that the logic of execution of this methodological document is of the procedural type (Albuquerque, Morais, Lima, & Nascimento-e-Silva, 2018;Brito, Nascimento-e-Silva, Sores, & Soares, 2016;Silva, Oliveira, Sá Filho, & Nascimento-e-Silva, 2019), in which each step described in the protocol must be followed to ensure that the final objective of the research is reached in an unchallenged manner. The study demonstrated that the protocols should not be confused with research questionnaires, which have other techniques of implementation and their application is recommended for other purposes, more precisely in studies that seek to evidence the opinion of a certain population regarding the theme worked by researcher.

Results and Discussion
Here, the results obtained during the research process will be presented. It is organized into three subtopics. The first of them brings the conceptual scope of the research protocols.
The second describes the elements that make up the research protocols, while the third details the stages of elaboration that the researcher must go through in order to formulate the methodological instrument highlighted in this textual construction in an assertive and efficient way.

Definition of research protocol
The research protocol consists of a document whose content must highlight all stages of the investigative process (Fontelles et al., 2009). This concept points out that the research protocol can serve as a requirement for financial resources and can also act as a guide, which describes in a procedural way the steps to be taken by the scientist in the course of his research. Protocols are formal descriptive records whose applicability occurs in research processes in several areas of knowledge, among which clinical research stands out (Kumar & Joshna, 2019). Development, v. 9, n. 10, e3189108721, 2020 (CC BY 4.0) | ISSN 2525-3409 | DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.33448/rsd-v9i10.8721 information: a) background, b) justification, c) objectives, d) study design, which in the definition of the authors is described as design, e) methodology, f) considerations statistics and g) organization of the research project (Kumar & Joshna, 2019). As can be seen, the range of information present in a protocol goes beyond a set of semi-structured questions, which is the format of most research questionnaires. It is worth highlighting the sequential character of each piece of information, which refers to a process composed of a logical sequence of steps that, when correctly performed, will generate a certain result (Albuquerque et al., 2018;Brito et al., 2016).
A research protocol is only considered valid if the study design has as its main purpose the answer to a certain research question (Binik & Hey, 2019). This statement is consistent with the studies by Nascimento-e-Silva (2012; 2019), which say that the first step for a research to be considered scientific is the search for answers that can answer unequivocally to a guiding question of research (Brei et al., 2014). This question can also be called a problem (Lukosevicius, 2018), which lacks a solution to be proposed by the researcher. That is why Peterson, Tagliazucchi and Weijer (2019) warn that a research protocol that is considered invalid would not be consistent enough to justify its realization for the study participants, even though the topic discussed in the investigation is considered relevant.
It is emphasized that the research protocol is a document whose content should elucidate the background and the reasons for the materialization of a study (Martín et al., 2019). These items that must be detailed in the textual body of the protocol, which, according to Martín et al. (2019), are the objectives, the study design, materials and methods used during the research, interpretation and analysis of the data obtained during scientific research.
The authors report that it is important that the protocol explains in detail how the data will be collected and that the analysis of the set of information obtained is done with a focus on the search for the answer to the guiding question (Brei et al., 2014)  It is in this sense that the research protocol can be considered an assertive methodological instrument, which effectively collaborates with the achievement of the objectives initially defined by the researcher during his investigation.
The research protocols are methodological records necessary for scientific studies to be characterized by impartiality in their conduct (Raslan & Calazans, 2014). The term impartiality suggests the researcher's free character, who must portray in a reliable way the behaviors of the observed phenomenon or the main aspects of the studied context. With this information in mind, it appears that the protocol is intended to delimit the researcher's field of action, in addition to establishing the appropriate congruence between the research objectives initially defined and the results from the investigative practice.
In addition to being an applicable instrument for scientific research, the protocols also have a legal and normative character (Siquelli & Hayashi, 2015). This scientific record must accurately describe each dimension corresponding to each study participant. This is necessary to obtain the necessary authorizations from the Ethical Research Councils, for example. In Research protocols are an elementary mechanism in conducting research in the clinical field. The relevance of the protocol is related to the description of all stages of the current study (Luna, 1998;Oliveira, 2016). The detailing of the research methods employed to unequivocally meet the research objectives is a main aspect related to this record. This demonstrates that the research protocol can be understood as a methodological strategy that, if well used, maximizes the probability of reaching the researcher's objectives in his scientific works. Development, v. 9, n. 10, e3189108721, 2020 (CC BY 4.0) | ISSN 2525-3409 | DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.33448/rsd-v9i10.8721 9 The protocol increases the reliability of the study with regard to the issue of data collection and analysis, which, in turn, increases the reliability of the results obtained in scientific studies (Yin, 2015). In this concept, the term "mental agenda" is attributed to the protocol, which suggests that this methodological tool works as a manual, whose function is to guide the investigative practice of the scientist in search of answers that will assist him in understanding and solving the question of research (Nascimento-e-Silva, 2012) initially defined in the research process. It appears that the research protocol is a kind of script that can help the researcher in choosing the most appropriate research strategies to enable the answer to the guiding question or the resolution of the problem focused on his study (Brei et al., 2014;Lukosevicius, 2018).
The research protocol can be understood as the methodological instrument of documentary and descriptive nature, whose content must contain the steps that will compose the entire investigative process to provide more reliability to the researcher's work. The term protocol itself suggests the idea of formality, which, in other words, indicates that for its execution there are good practices and procedures that must be observed and put into practice.
The protocol should be noted for being systematic and precise, and its practice within the standards recommended by science increases the probability that the scientist will consistently and accurately address the guiding question or research problem that permeates his investigative process.

Elements of research protocols
The research protocols follow a procedural logic, which in other words means that the researcher when successfully completing each phase will inevitably reach a result (Albuquerque et al., 2018;Brito et al., 2016;Silva et al., 2019). Here the mandatory elements that a research protocol must present will be presented. The first research protocol model found is in the study by Lousana (2008). Here, a protocol must consist of the following items: a) description of what will be investigated, b) information from the research subjects, c) qualification of the researchers and d) the responsible bodies. In this conceptualization there is a procedural aspect (Albuquerque et al., 2018;Brito et al., 2016;Silva et al., 2019), whose logic of execution will make the investigator reach a certain end. It can be concluded that the research protocol consists of a document divided into parts that, when written, describe in detail the steps taken during scientific investigation. Development, v. 9, n. 10, e3189108721, 2020 (CC BY 4.0) | ISSN 2525-3409 | DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.33448/rsd-v9i10.8721