1

Refining Your Research Proposal

Prepared by Catherine BolekDirector Office of Sponsored Programs University of Maryland Eastern ShorePrincess Anne, Maryland July 2000

2

General Problems and a Few Killers Not the Mission of Funding Source

Black Box Submission Did Not Select an Institute

• Did Not Select an Institute Program Announcement– Did Not Select a - or Understand the - Mechanism

(e.g., RO1, Contract, Cooperative Agreement) Received After the Submission Deadline Failed to Follow Directions

Grant Application Kit Program Announcement

Spelling and Grammar Errors Sloppy Presentation

Excuses/citation Problems Assumptions Jargon

3

Avoiding Little and Big Problems With theGrant Application Forms

Face page

More Than 56

Characters in the Title

No Original Signature

Page

Insufficient Number of

Copies

Unacceptable Font Size

Incomplete Entries

Mistakes

Abstract Page

Lacking in Sufficient

Detail

Unclear

Does Not Relate to

Proposed Work

Overlap With Missions

of Multiple Institutes

4

Avoiding Little and Big Problems With the

Grant Application Forms

Budget Math Errors No Justification

No Clear Role for Personnel or Consultant(s)

3rd Year Request for Equipment

Budget Exceeds Allowable Amount

Budget Was Insufficient Incomplete

Personnel (Bibliographic Sketch) No Prior Experience Unrelated Training Poorly Presented Material Unrelated Material Has Not Updated Their

Resume Since 1978 Poor Publication Record Everyone Has Better

Training and Experience Than You

Missing Bibliographic Sketches

5

More Forms and More Opportunities to Mess Up

Failure to Complete All

Forms Failure to Use Correct

Forms General Research Career

Development Other Support

Grants Contracts

• Applied for and Awarded

Resources and Environment Items Not Related to

Proposed Work Items in a Location Not

Discussed in the Proposal Old Equipment Checklist Type of Application Assurances

Personal Data Sheet Proposal

Appendices

6

Avoiding Fatal Flaws and Common Problems in the Body of the Proposal

Background

No Pilot Work

No Basis for Proposed Work

Uncritical Acceptance of Referenced Literature

Poor or Elderly Literature Review

Reliance on Non-peer Reviewed Work

Misquoted Prior Studies

Failing to Reference Critical Work of Peer Reviewers

They are on the Committee Because They Are Recognized Experts

in Your Area of Research

7

Avoiding Fatal Flaws and Common Problems in the Body of the Proposal

Significance

Failure to Discuss Applied or Theoretical Significance of the Problem

Failure to Discuss Potential Contribution to Your Field of Study

• Prevention

• Treatment

Failure to Convince the Committee That Your Approach to the Problem Was Robust

Rationale

Failure to Support the Proposed Effort From the Literature

Lack of Clarity

Failure to Convince the Committee of the Originality of the Proposed Work

8

Avoiding Fatal Flaws and Common Problems in the Body of the Proposal

Approach

Objectives Unclear

Design Is Unclear (e.g., Case Control, Quasi-experimental Design,

Longitudinal)

Goals and Objectives Do Not Relate to Each Other

Failure to Determine Sample Size

Inadequate Recruitment and Retention Plan (E.G., Attrition,

Replacement)

Failure to Discuss Alternative Approaches

Inadequate Discussion of Threats to Validity and Reliability

Development of Potentially Untestable Models

9

Avoiding Fatal Flaws and Common Problems in the Body of the Proposal Cont’d

No Time Line

Failure to Determine Sample Size Using Power Analysis

Inadequate Recruitment and Retention Plan

Problems With Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria

Development of New Data Collection Instrument Without

Discussion of Existing Instruments

Discussion on the Analysis Is Inadequate, Incorrect, or Missing

Raises More Problems Than It Can Solve

10

Avoiding Fatal Flaws and Common Problems and IRB Issues

Human Subjects

Inclusion Criteria Faulty

Risks Not Adequately Addressed

Missing or Inadequate Informed Consent

No IRB Approval

Animal Use and Care

No IRB Approval

Risk Not Addressed Adequately

Non-animal Model Available

Problems With Rare or Endangered Species

Biohazard, Biosafety, Recombinant DNA

11

Beyond the Science of Your Proposal

Get to Know Your Project Officer

Get to Know the Funding Institute’s Mission and Priorities

Study the Peer Review and Funding Processes

Use Experienced Researcher As Co-PI

Review Successful Proposals Be Prepared to Resubmit Know Your Home Institutions

Sponsored Research Policies Work on Your Self-Esteem

12

Internet Help

Take a Handout Go to www.nih.gov - National Institutes of Health (take a

look at CRISP) Find background materials - www.nlm.nih.gov - National

Library of Medicine Use www.google.com - the Best Academic Search Engine A More Sophisticated Search Engine by Dataware at

www.queryserver.com Use

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/journals/loftext_noprov.html to locate medical journals

Ask a 12 Year Old!