Research Grant Writing (HCS 7372)

RESEARCH GRANT WRITING (HCS 7372)

Selecting a research problem.

Lacking ideas?

Try this advice (I've found it useful), lifted from the idea page at UVa's research website.

Generating a good research idea

"The first item essential to the proposal process is a good idea. It is often useful to generate a list of your best ideas from which to work. In developing the list, you, as the Principal Investigator, should take into consideration your professional interests; the state of the art in your discipline; the state of the world, the economy, the environment; and any other factors which will help identify new and important research questions. Brainstorming with a group may aid in this effort."
"Next, identify ideas that are creative or innovative, that build upon the strengths of all involved personnel, and that take into account institutional capability. You need to think in terms of: "What is my product?" and "What am I selling?". When selecting a product or research idea, you need to make sure it is something with which you will be comfortable for the long-term funding and work."
"Once you have generated creative ideas, you need to answer several questions:"
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"What problem or need have you identified?"
"Who has the need or problem?"

"What other individuals or groups will be affected by its resolution?"

"Has anyone tried to tackle this problem before? If so, what were the results?"
 
"How will you tackle the problem differently? Why can you expect different results?"
 
"Can you implement your ideas, given existing resources (e.g. time, money, personnel)?"

"What difficulties can you expect to encounter solving this problem?"
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"By anticipating these questions and solving problems, you can refine your research idea."
- "At this point, your idea should be fairly well formulated, and you need to address personnel and resource issues. Answer the following questions:"
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"Who is going to do what?"
"How are these persons qualified?"
 
"What resources will they need?"
 
"Will they be willing?"

"Who else is likely to be involved and how?"
 
"Where will the work be done?"
 
"Are the facilities capable of handling the work or do they need to be modified?"
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- "You may also need to address the ownership of the research results. What will be the division of the potential resultant technology? In other words, how will the rights to the results be shared by the University, the funding source, and the researcher? This must be especially clear if a patent is involved."
- "Once these questions have been addressed, you are ready to tackle the full development of the idea into a pre-proposal or full proposal."
  
  This page is under construction.Last updated June 17, 1999, 6:15 a.m.