Guidance for Submitting a Research Proposal to the Child Brain Injury Trust

Transcription

1 Guidance for Submitting a Research Proposal to the Child Brain Injury Trust The ultimate aim of any research proposal is to convince people that your research is important, has not been done before, is worthwhile and is feasible. Hence you have to make a strong argument for your research. This guide to writing a research proposal is intended to help you to present your proposal to the Professional Reference Group (PRG) of the Child Brain Injury Trust. The PRG is made up of researchers, academics, clinicians, psychologists, therapists, and experts in child brain injury. We do expect all researchers who are applying to the Child Brain Injury Trust for support to write a clear and well thought through proposal which contains sufficient information for us to make a decision about the quality of the proposed research. The PRG meet 4 times a year in January, April, July and September. The PRG generally needs your application by the middle of the month before the meeting date in order to ensure it can be discussed at the meeting. The proposal The language used should be clear and easy to understand, it is usually only in the Background and Methodology sections that writers can assume that the intended audience has a particular knowledge of their research area. Do not use abbreviations without writing these in full beforehand. A Glossary of terms can be useful. For all research proposals we also require that ethical issues have been adequately addressed. All research involving human participants should seek approval from a Research Ethics Committee. The different sections of your research proposal should link or follow on from each other, e.g. the research question should link with the methodology. Check this before submitting your proposal. A. The purpose of a research proposal The purpose of a research proposal is: To help to focus on a relevant and current topic. To identify a gap or inadequacy in the research literature To help you to focus and crystallise your ideas. to help you to focus on what the actual stages involved in the research process will be, e.g. the exact methodology and data analysis that will be adopted. To justify a proposed research project to a particular audience, e.g. supervisor, departmental or faculty committee, external funding body etc. Some strategies before you start Page 1 of 6

2 Search through literature for topic related articles and books i.e. search through databases/catalogues/journals etc. look at what is already being done in the area i.e. existing data and research. read critically, i.e. look for interesting and suitable gaps areas for research. Talk to your employer for approval there is no point in starting research that you will not be allowed to complete talk to experts or supervisors in the field in person, phone, letters, . B. Identifying your research question Any research proposal needs to have a clear research question for it to succeed. Without a clear question, research will become confused and lack direction. Subsequent analysis will be difficult because the research question is key to forming your hypothesis or aims, and later analysis. Do start by writing a question, not a statement. This will help clarify exactly what the issue is that you are trying to find a solution to. Hypotheses, aims etc. can then follow from this. Your research question should: be as clear and concise as you can make it. Don t use multi barrelled questions if you can avoid them. be informative state your population of interest, locality etc. avoid technical jargon this is the golden rule in most areas of research proposals. Remember that your research question is what will capture the interest of the reader / assessor. relate to the proposal title often the research question is quoted as the title of the proposal. relate to the aim of the research again, the research question is often quoted as the research aim. It should be obvious from your question alone what the project will aim to do, and on whom. C. Typical layout of a Research Proposal To help us to understand your research proposal, please follow the following layout: 1. Project Title The title should be brief but informative. It is important that it is clear and easy to understand, and describes what your proposed research is. As previously stated, this is often the research question. 2. Abstract or Summary This is a very important section. It needs to be written for a wider audience, so technical vocabulary has to be limited. The abstract also needs to come quickly to the proposed research. Abstracts for Page 2 of 6

3 grant proposals usually begin with the objective or purpose of the study, move on to methodology (procedures and design), and close with a modest but precise statement of the projects significance. The significance should: be about one paragraph if it needs any longer it is advisable to rethink your research or break it down into more manageable chunks explain to the reader why the study is "significant", in the sense of advancing general knowledge explain what the benefits to the patient / health community are encourage funding Although you present this first in the document, write it LAST so that its content accurately reflects the whole proposal. 3. Introduction The introduction is also written so that a more general audience can easily obtain a general idea of what the project is about, and the major concepts involved. It will also typically begin with the purpose of the proposed research. The introduction will typically be quite short, leaving the detail to the background and methodology sections. 4. Background It is only in the Background and Methodology sections that writers may assume that their intended audience is a specialist in their research area, and so use more technical language. This section will include the literature review. The purpose of a literature review is as follows: To become familiar with the research area and keep up to date with the current research in your area of interest. identify an appropriate research question. establish a theoretical framework for the research. justify the need for the research Through the actual process of writing the literature review you, the researcher, can explore the relevant literature, formulate a problem, defend the value of the research, and compare the findings and ideas with your own. The literature review establishes a context and orientates the reader to your research topic. The common structure of the Literature Review is likened to a "Funnel effect", which goes from general to more specific studies etc. directly relating your intended project, ending with your research question, problem or objective. Page 3 of 6

4 In summary the stages of a literature review are as follows: General statement(s) about the field of research the setting. More specific statements about the previous research. Statements that indicate the need for more investigation. Very specific statement(s) of the research question, problem or objective. 5. Methodology The method or methodology section describes the steps you will follow in conducting your research. It is a very important section as assessors will scrutinise it to evaluate the feasibility and likelihood of successful completion of your proposed research. Some strategies: examine methodology sections of research articles in your research area. arrange to discuss your research with a statistical and/or methodological specialist (Trust and other local research clinics / groups). discuss with other researchers in your discipline the methodologies they have adopted. consult methodology texts and statistical packages. Methodology Stages: You need to definitely include the Procedures and Materials stages and possibly some of the other stages, depending on your research area. For health research these include: Overview of Research Population/Sample to be studied, including: o how you have arrived at the sample size o how they will be recruited o Inclusion and Exclusion criteria Location of the research Restrictions/Limiting Conditions Sampling Technique Procedures Materials Analysis tools and methods You should also identify a sponsor of your research. This is not the provider of funds (they are called funders ), but is the person/organisation responsible for guaranteeing the quality of the work, and to ensure compliance with any relevant regulation. Sponsors can be Trusts, Universities, Research Councils etc. Page 4 of 6

5 6. Ethical Considerations Don't forget that it is important that ethical considerations are made, and appropriate approval is acquired from appropriate bodies either prior to submitting the proposal or commencing research. Important human participant issues include informed consent, protection of participants, opportunity for withdrawal, storage of data etc. Although usually not stated as a requirement by research bodies, it is helpful if ethical issues are explicitly listed within the proposal, either as part of the methodology or more usefully as a separate section within the proposal. Consider also the potential of your participants to have the appropriate capacity to consent to be in the project. The Mental Capacity Act 2005 requires this, and the Research Ethics Committee application form has a section for its consideration. 7. Timescale This indicates the time frame within which various parts of the project will be completed. It demonstrates the feasibility of the project and gives realistic time frames for the different parts of the project. The timescale should efficiently justify the time, and often finance, requested for completion of your research. Don t forget to include time for the relevant approvals processes, and dissemination activities. It is useful to present the timescale as a table or Gantt chart. 8. Budget This should include a detailed costing of the project. All resources necessary to undertake the project should be included, e.g. salaries, travel, accommodation, equipment and other incidentals. Each specific cost for the research needs to be justified, including the reasons for employing researchers and the level they are paid at. The budget has to relate directly to your timescale. NHS employees should seek support from their Trust R&D office and appropriate finance department staff with this aspect, especially for studies requiring significant funding. 9. Dissemination Strategy The Child Brain Injury Trust wishes to know the progress and outcome of the research it supports. Therefore your proposal should include a plan for disseminating the findings of your research. It is also important that you include persuasive and realistic references to potential beneficial impacts on any or all of: the targets of your research e.g. staff, patients, service users or carers services locally and/or nationally policies that drive the above services Page 5 of 6

6 Include a dissemination strategy that reflects your methods of making this impact, e.g. publishing, team meetings, clinical guideline development etc., and for giving feedback to the project s participants. 10. Bibliography/References All pieces of literature referred to should be listed at the end of the proposal using the referencing style appropriate to the department or intended target for publication. It is important to ensure that all the key journals and books in your field have been referred to in the proposal. This demonstrates that you have carried out a thorough and competent job. Make sure that your references are up to date new research is being published all the time and it is easy to miss important articles that may change the focus of your own research. Don t be tempted to quote references in an order that is more supportive to your research this will do your proposal more harm than good. Good Luck with Your Project! Useful reading: Bowling A (2002), Research Methods in Health: Investigating Health and Health Services 2Rev Ed edition, Open University Press Polgar S and Thomas SA. (4th Edition 2004) Introduction to Research in the Health Sciences. Churchill Livingstone. MRC Good Research Practice Guidance, Adapted from NHS Guidance on Writing A Research Proposal. August Document Control Document ID 62 Issue Date August 2012 Last Reviewed August 2012 Next Review due by August 2014 Version Number 1.0 Page 6 of 6