Writing a Successful Summer Research Proposal

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Writing a Successful Summer Research
Proposal

• Michael L Boninger, M.D.

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Overview

• Why does it matter?
• Essential Elements
• Making it Better/Getting it done

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Why does it matter?

• Writing is the key to everything in research
• Funding
• Publication
• Dissemination
• Poor proposals will not be funded

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Essential Elements

• Title
• Purpose
• Background
• Methods
• Significance
• Role of Student
• IRB

Not Unique to SRP
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Purpose

• Why are you doing the research?
• Your proposal is the key to world peace and
  ending hunger
• Hypotheses/Research Question
• Testable
• Logical
• Concise
• The rest of the proposal justifies the hypotheses

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Background

• The main purposes of this section are too
• Shows the reviewer you understand the topic
• Justify importance
• Justify your hypotheses
• Justify your methods
• Must be referenced

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Methods

• Population
• Intervention
• Measures
• Analysis
• Power

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Population

• Cadaver/cell line/animal/people
• Who or what?
• Why?
• Good proposals explain all decisions assume the
  reviewers dont know the reason for your choices

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Intervention

• Describe the Study design
• Intervention
• Nitrous oxide
• Difference between cases

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Measures

• What measures will be used to test hypotheses
• Referenced
• Repeatable
• Valid

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Analysis

• How will you look at you data?
• How did you arrive at a sample size?
• List status

IRB/IACUC
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Student Role

• Tell us what you will be doing

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Additional Points

• Follow instructions
• Font
• Page limit
• Contents
• Funding is for a research study

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Readers

• It is not possible to adequately critique your
  own work
• Get outside readers

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Beautify

• A picture is worth

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Recap of Essentials

• Title (2)
• Mentor Read Approval (1)
• Hypothesis or Research Question (5)
• Background (25)
• Importance (5)

• Methods (35)
• Population
• Intervention
• Measures
• Statistics
• Power
• IRB/IACUC Status (1)
• Student Role (3)
• References (8)

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Timeline

• If you dont have a mentor, find one now
• Look on the zone
• Call/email/stop by
• Discuss a proposal (get email address)
• Rough Draft (2/14)
• Final Draft (2/21)
• Submit (2/28)

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Instructions

• Application instructions on the Zone
• Submission
• Log into the main Zone (http//zone.medschool.pitt
  .edu )
• Click "Learning Portfolios" icon
• Click "UPSOM Summer Research Program" link from
  the list
• Click "Application" link on left side bar
• Read instructions carefully, then click button at
  bottom of screen

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Thanks

• Questions