"Research Statement" vs. "Research Plan" for assistant professor applications I'm putting together applications for assistant professor positions and some ask for a research statement whereas others ask for a research plan (still others, although a rarity, ask for neither).

It appears there is much more advice online for writing research statements for faculty applications than for writing research plans. Is there a difference between a statement and a plan? My understanding was that a research statement is a brief statement of your research interests whereas a research plan is a longer document that is written like a short proposal with background, references and a tentative plan for how you would pursue your research; now I'm not so sure. Please help!
Do ask the administrators in respective universities. A question of 'How long and detailed a document do you expect?' is legit and acceptable. Otherwise, you are prone to misunderstandings. 

For a personal example (though it was a graduate admission), I was once asked to bring a synopsis of my research work, only to find that they wanted the actual thesis instead.