Canvas Model as a Tool for Research Projects: A Theoretical Approach

The main aim of this study is to offer an easy and practical research model to guide the research activity of students and thereby reduce the syndrome of ABD (All but Dissertation) and, at the same time, make it easier for evaluators to visualize the development of research projects to guide students more efficiently. The Canvas model proposed by Osterwalder and Pigneur in 2011—for the formulation of business plans—has been the source of inspiration for the instrument proposed by the authors of this study. That model has been adjusted and reformulated by the researchers for the development, synthesis, and presentation of the research projects in the academic field, resulting in the proposal of the Canvas Model for Research Projects (CMRP). For developing this instrument, the researchers have mainly used a qualitative methodology, although part of the analysis and proposals reflected in this study come from a brief empirical trial carried out with a small group of students to validate the configuration and utility of the ten elements that make up the proposed model. The result—both the documentary review, which served as the basis for the combination and distribution of the components of the proposed model, and the brief trial carried out by the researchers—allowed us to observe, in a first approach, the usefulness of the instrument in the preparation of research projects and its utility as an evaluation tool of academic research projects.