Writing Research & Education Plans Proposal Writing Workshop II Proposal Development Team Office of Research & Sponsored Projects (ORSP) October 14, 2009
Mar 23, 2016
Writing Research & Education Plans
Proposal Writing Workshop II
Proposal Development Team Office of Research & Sponsored Projects (ORSP)
October 14, 2009
Introductions
Ann Gates, Associate Vice President for
Research
Flo Dick, Coordinator of Pre-Award Services
Malu Picard-Ami, Proposal Development
Specialist
Claudine Riccillo, Associate Director
ORSP Proposal Development Team
Workshop Topics
Establishing a clear research question
Writing goals and objectives
Integrating research and education
Research Process
Step 1 •Conduct background research•Formulate research questions
Step 2 •Develop hypothesis•Define goals and objectives
Step 3 •Develop a research and education plan•Seek feedback
Research Process
Step 1 •Conduct background research•Formulate research questions
Step 2 •Develop hypothesis•Define goals and objectives
Step 3 •Develop a research and education plan•Seek feedback
Establishing Research Question(s)
• Review the literature to determine what has been conducted in your area of interest• Determine gaps in knowledge• Identify areas that need greater understanding• Determine the impact of the question• Criteria for evaluating research questions:• Is the question relevant or significant?• Is it feasible? Is it focused?• Is there interest in the question?• Does the question probe or does it have a Boolean
answer?
Project Goals
Broad purposes around which all project activities and resources will be organized
• State what you hope to accomplish, but usually are not measurable
• Create the setting for what you are proposing• Identify a gap in knowledge• Describe what you want to achieve and the
outcome• Should be important and the outcome should
impact your long-range research plan
Long-Term Goal
Goals
Objectives
Example Project Goals
1. The long-term goal of ICE is to develop a coordinated circumpolar approach to understand climate interactions in the Southern Ocean, the implications for ecosystem dynamics, the impacts on biogeochemical cycles and the development of management procedures for the sustainable exploitation of living resources.
3. A goal of Project CAE is to increase the representation of Hispanic girls and women in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology (STEM) programs of study.
Example Project Goals
5. The goal of the Aspect-Oriented Functional Programming (AspectML) project is to explore the semantics and implementation of aspect-oriented programming language features in the context of typed functional languages such as ML.
Example Project Goals
8. Research Question: What is the potential for survival and adaptation beyond the home planet?
Goal 1: Identify natural processes that may spread life from one planet to another.
Goal 2: Define the minimal ecosystem that is required for organisms to survive and then
adapt beyond Earth. Goal 3: Establish ethical principles for seeding
life elsewhere in the solar system.
Example Project Goals
Project ObjectivesSpecific things that will be
accomplished in the project
• Operational
• Measurable
• Basis for the activities of your project
• Basis for the evaluation of your project
Objectives: Some Guidelines
•Ensure that all objectives relate to and support your overall project goal.•Ensure that your objectives correlate with a
specific goal.•Delineate a reasonable number of objectives,
presented in a logical order.•“Why” objectives are generally stronger than
“What” objectives.•Make sure no objective is dependent on the
successful outcome of another.
Smart Objectives
Specific: concrete, detailed, and well defined
Measurable: concrete criteria for measuring success; helps define when objective is achieved
Achievable: ability to attain with effort and commitment; feasible and actionable
Realistic: considers resources, e.g., equipment, time, and people
Time-bound: defined timeline
Strong & Weak Verbs for Objectives
Strong:to increaseto determineto create/designto evaluate/analyzeto describeto calculateto contrastto classify
Weakto promoteto encourageto understandto become awareto work withto supportto graspto study
Common Errors
•Too specific to be meaningful•Too broad to be measureable•Too many to be manageable•Too few to be comprehensive•Too arbitrary to be relevant•Too boilerplate or “cookie cutter” to be
individualized
GROUP ACTIVITY
•Review the objectives in the handout.
•What are your observations? Activity:
Time Limit: 5 minutes
Think
•Discuss your observations with your group members.
Activity:
Time Limit: 10 minutes
Share
Report Out
•Write at least one goal and two or more objectives related to your project. Work with other group members to evaluate and refine them.
Activity:
Time Limit: 30 minutes
Report Out
RESEARCH PLANSINTEGRATING RESEARCH & EDUCATION
Common Research Plan Components• Introduction (motivation; overarching goal; research
questions and/or hypothesis)
•Goals & objectives (specific aims)
•Background and significance/ related work
•Research plan (design, methods /approach)
•Education plan
•Project management – timeline
•Evaluation
•Dissemination
Integrating Research & Education
Effective integration of research and education at all levels generates a synergy in which the process of discovery stimulates learning and assures that the findings and methods of research are quickly and effectively communicated in a broader context and to a larger audience.
NSF Career Program Solicitation
What is Integrating Researchand Education?
Not a “tack on” to your research project
The best integration is mutually enhancing – research enhances the education activity, education activity enhances the research
Happens at different levels of education and different levels of formality
Slide from QEM Network Presentation “Integrating Research & EducationHBCU-UP LDI August 11, 2009. Karen D. King, Ph.D. [email protected]
• What kind of activities could you incorporate in your proposal that would integrate education into your research plan?
THINK
Time Limit: 5 minutes
• Share your answer with the group.
• Discussion:oHow do the proposed activities mutually enhance
research and education?
o How do the activities include students?
o How do the activities relate to your long-term research goal?
SHARE
Time Limit: 15 minutes
Report Out
Time Limit: 5 minutes
• Incorporate educational objectives into the research plan
• Include students in the research activities
• Develop collaborations and outreach activities with the community college or K-12 schools
• Establish mentoring programs
• Integrate research results into courses & curriculum
• Disseminate results to broad audiences to include formal and informal learning sites
• Link to education and outreach programs on campus
Strategies: Integrating Research & Education
Linking to Programs at UTEP
Upward Bound: (Contact: Tita Yanar) http://studentaffairs.utep.edu/Default.aspx?alias=studentaffairs.utep.edu/upwardbound
Gear UP: (Contact: Juliette Caire) http://studentaffairs.utep.edu/Default.aspx?alias=studentaffairs.utep.edu/gearup
Talent Search: (Contact: Carol Hicks) http://studentaffairs.utep.edu/Default.aspx?tabid=16275
Mother-Daughter: (Contact: Josie Tinajero or Luz Rolon) http://academics.utep.edu/Default.aspx?alias=academics.utep.edu/motherdaughter
Engineering (Contacts for Engineering Programs: Peter Golding, Associate Dean & Gabby Gandara) ExciTES: http://engineering.utep.edu/plaza/excites/index.html
Discover-E: http://engineering.utep.edu/plaza/Discover-E/index.htm
Engineering Ambassadors: http://engineering.utep.edu/plaza/ambassador/index.html
Science Pathways: http://academics.utep.edu/Default.aspx?tabid=28766 (Contact Aaron Velasco)
CenMaSTER: http://science2.utep.edu/cenmaster/index.html Center for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education and Research (Contact: Laura Serpa)
Resources
ORSP Development Team
ORSP Research Administrators
ORSP web page Expertise System
Proposal Development Team Contact Information
Ann Gates [email protected]
Claudine [email protected]
Malu [email protected]
Reflection
What did you learn today that was new?
What elements of the workshop did you find the most
relevant?
What would you like to learn more
about?
ORSP Development Team
Fall 2009
Proposal Writing Workshops
Session III - October 26th
Selling Your Idea1:30-3:30
Location: Blumberg Auditorium (UTEP Library)
Session IV - November 11th
Project Management, Evaluation & Assessment
1:00-3:30pmLocation: Blumberg Auditorium (UTEP Library)
Session V - December 2nd
Budget Preparation1:30-3:30pm
Location: Blumberg Auditorium (UTEP Library)