Proposal Development – Methodological and Statistical Planning
The Office of Research & External Relations works with researchers throughout the proposal cycle. Our goal is to improve the overall success rates of grant applications. This service is offered at no cost to our faculty members for grants where funds will be held either partially or in full at the Lawrence Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing.
Please contact the Research Data Analyst well in advance of the grant competition deadline if you require assistance (minimum 2 weeks).
Statistical support for proposal development for grants that will be held at affiliated institutions will be provided on a cost-recovery model: the fee is $85/hour. Rates may increase annually on April 1.
Please note: support for proposal development for grants that will be held at Bloomberg Nursing will be prioritized.
Research proposal support includes:
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Providing expertise on research designs and methods
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Reviewing grant proposals and providing methodological and statistical feedback
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Collaborating in the development and/or writing of grant proposals, including:
- Sample size and power calculations
- Development of data collection and analysis procedures
- Writing up proposed statistical methods
Study Implementation, Data Analysis & Dissemination
Methodological and analytic support for funded research can be arranged on a fee-for-service basis with the Research Data Analyst. Assistance with statistical analysis of post-award research is not available without funding. We operate using a cost-recovery model.
The fee for post-award support for projects where funds are held at Bloomberg Nursing is $70.00 per hour. The fee for post-award support for projects where funds are held at affiliated hospitals is $85.00 per hour. Rates may increase annually on April 1.
Study Implementation, Data Analysis and Dissemination includes:
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Database design, setup, management, and support
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Supervision of the data cleaning and data manipulation activities of Research Staff
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Statistical analysis using SAS, SPSS, Mplus and other software
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Interpretation of results
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Preparation of tables and figures
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Writing of methods and results sections for manuscripts and project reports
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Consultation on knowledge translation and exchange strategies
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Designing a dissemination plan
Please reach out to the Research Data Analyst about any additional analytic activities, if occurring separately from those mentioned above.
Graduate Student Research Support
The Research Data Analyst is available to provide methodological and analytic support for Bloomberg Nursing graduate students undertaking thesis and dissertation research. It is appropriate for the Research Data Analyst to discuss with students an alternative form of analysis that may be suitable for their research; to render advice about which of several forms of analysis might be best; to help a student correct a computer-program setup; or to help a student interpret the output from a statistical computer program.
The Research Data Analyst
will not:
Because coordination of advice is often important, we expect that a student’s supervisory committee is aware of the help provided to the student by the Research Data Analyst. This service is offered at no cost to Bloomberg Nursing graduate students.
To schedule an appointment, please complete the Statistical Consulting Request Form at: https://redcap.link/biostats
Steps to Involve the Research Data Analyst
- Get the Research Data Analyst involved early! Complete the Statistical Consulting Request Form https://redcap.link/biostats.
- Plan an Initial Meeting. Decide upon the Research Data Analyst’s specific responsibilities and other expectations. Discuss budgetary needs and timelines. The Research Data Analyst will provide you with a cost-estimate based on the expected scope of work.
- Maintain Communication. Ensure that you continue communicating with the Research Data Analyst through the grant writing process and during all phases of the research. Once the grant has been submitted, please ensure that you provide the Research Data Analyst with a final version of the proposal. Once funded, ensure that the Research Data Analyst is aware of any changes that may affect the study design, sample selection, data collection etc.
Additional Considerations
Authorship on Papers: Authorship on papers should be discussed early. Authorship is based on the following International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) criteria, where contributors who meet all four criteria should be listed as an author. Authorship is also merited for a Research Data Analyst who guides the analyses carried out by the researcher or their support staff/trainees.
Criteria to be listed as an author:
- Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis or interpretation of data for the work
- Drafting the work or revising it critically from the view point of important intellectual content
- Final approval of the version to be published
- Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions raised to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved
Other Considerations
The need for specialized software should be discussed early on with the Data Analyst. In some cases, workshops or additional training may be needed to gain statistical tools needed to carry out the required analyses.
Lawrence Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing Faculty, Staff or Students who want to access REDCap should set up U of T’s multifactor authorization (after reading the info page, go to the “Self-Enrollment” tab) and then complete and return the REDCap access form to research.nursing@utoronto.ca.
REDCap resources and training videos are available from the Centre for Research Innovation and Support (UTORID log in may be required), and additional resources can be found at the University’s REDCap site.