LEAH Leadership Projects:LEAH Leadership Projects:Choosing Your ProjectChoosing Your Project
& Working with Your Mentor & Working with Your Mentor
Cari McCarty, Ph.D.October 10, 2014
Upcoming LPC TimelineUpcoming LPC Timeline
October 31 – Area & TitleNov 21 – Brief proposalDec 10th - 1st LPC meeting, (time between 1-2:30 pm)
Jan 9th – Revised proposal submitted
*all submissions go to [email protected]
Leadership Project AreasLeadership Project Areas
1. Research2. Advocacy/Policy3. Quality Improvement/Clinical
Upcoming LPC TimelineUpcoming LPC Timeline
October 31 – Area & TitleNov 21 – Brief proposalDec 10th - 1st LPC meeting, (time between 1-2:30 pm)
Jan 9th – Revised proposal submitted
*all submissions go to [email protected]
Brief ProposalBrief ProposalBackground & Significance of the
Issue (1 page maximum)
Objectives (no more than 3)
Plan to Achieve the Objectives (1 page maximum)
Names of the mentor(s) for the project
MCH leadership goals addressed by this project (1 paragraph maximum)
Timeline
Upcoming LPC TimelineUpcoming LPC Timeline
October 31 – Area & TitleNov 21 – Brief proposalDec 10th - 1st LPC meeting, (time between 1-2:30 pm)
Jan 9th – Revised proposal submitted
*all submissions go to [email protected]
Upcoming LPC TimelineUpcoming LPC Timeline
October 31 – Area & TitleNov 21 – Brief proposalDec 10th - 1st LPC meeting, (time between 1-2:30 pm)
Jan 9th – Revised proposal submitted
*all submissions go to [email protected]
Selecting Projects: GoalsSelecting Projects: Goals
Acquire skills in research design, methods
Develop your agendaWork with particular peopleHave a product available for job talk
Selecting Projects: CriteriaSelecting Projects: Criteria
“FINER” criteriaUseful for Evaluating Fellowship
ProjectsFrom: Hulley and Cummings, Designing Clinical Research.
FFeasibleeasible
•Adequate data•Adequate expertise•Affordable in time and money•Manageable in scope•How risky is the project?
Finding Objectives Finding Objectives You Can AchieveYou Can Achieve
Tension between Ideal and Feasible
Ideal Objective and Method
•Interesting •Novel•Relevant•High internal validity•High external validity
Feasibility
•Access to data•Access to patients •Access to expertise•IRB approval•Time•Budget
IInteresting to younteresting to you
How interesting is the project idea to you?
Is the question important? (so what????)Will the results be a contribution no
matter what you find?Will it lead to subsequent questions?Will the project enable you to develop
important skills?With whom will you work?
NNovelovel
•Provides new findings or fills a gap that has not been addressed
•Confirms or refutes previous findings
•Extends previous findings
EEthicalthical
•IRB•NIH Inclusion Policy•Cultural competence
Cultural Competence in Cultural Competence in ResearchResearchCollect and examine data by
subgroup, when possibleDevelop and validate linguistic and
culturally appropriate measuresDisseminate best research
practices as they pertain to racial/ethnic minority health
Striving for cultural competence is a process, not a finite action
RRelevantelevant•To scientific knowledge and future research
•To clinical care and quality improvement
•To health policy and advocacy efforts
Choosing a Leadership Choosing a Leadership ProjectProjectDraw your inspiration from your
observationsDo something important:
frequency, severity, something you can impact, new information
Do something that is feasible given time and resources
Strike a balance between independence and apprenticeship
This is only the first step to a long career!
Writing LP ObjectivesWriting LP Objectives
Qualities of Strong LP Objectives
Important and interesting: Check it out with your mentor and peers, friends, family, etc.
Framing: Does Your Objective Framing: Does Your Objective Interest Others?Interest Others?
Writing Your LP ObjectivesWriting Your LP Objectives
Qualities of Strong LP Objectives
Important and interesting: Check it out with your mentor and peers, spouse, friends, etc.
Clearly written, with unambiguous language: Does it mean to others what it means to you?
Is it Clear and Unambiguous?Is it Clear and Unambiguous?
Learning Many New LanguagesLearning Many New Languages
During the course of your project, you will consult with diverse experts (technology, IRB, data management, research design, data analysis, biostatistics, scientific writing, etc.) …each speaking a different language…Ask for help when you are unsure what is meant …
Writing LP ObjectivesWriting LP Objectives
Qualities of Strong LP Objectives
Important and interesting: Check it out with your mentor and parents, spouse, friends, etc.
Clearly written, with unambiguous language: Does it mean to others what it means to you?
Specific enough to tell the reader what you’ll learn/do: Population? Outcomes? Timeframes?
LP Objective LanguageLP Objective Language
Tensions in creating a a simple yet specific objective in lay
language
Specificity: Vague DetailedLength: Long ShortWording: Unclear Excessive
lingo
Where is the sweet spot?
Writing LP ObjectivesWriting LP Objectives
Qualities of Strong LP Objectives
Imply a hypothesis (if Research): Can you phrase it “To determine or test whether “ ______ “? Does it imply the “directionality” of your hypothesis?
Addressable (by you): How sure are you that YOU can do the work to address the objective? What is your method/outcome? Do you have or can you recruit the needed expertise?
Refining LP ObjectivesRefining LP Objectives
Have lots of other people review itHave non-researchers review it Re-review it yourself after taking a break
from itMake sure the work you are doing
addresses it and is feasible
Background & SignificanceBackground & Significance
Research – What scientific gap will you fill? What do we know already?
Policy – What type of policy do you aim to inform and what do we know already that is relevant?
Advocacy – Who is your advocacy project targeted to? Why is it needed/important?
Clinical Care – Who is it targeted to, why is it needed/important, and how could it improve care?
QI– What system/procedure do you plan to improve? What has been done before? Why is this needed?
ITP: Literature Reviews with a ITP: Literature Reviews with a LibrarianLibrarian
Write down specific topics and keywords relevant to your objectives
Identify the optimal librarian liaison http://www.lib.washington.edu/subject/librarians/ or Susan [email protected]
Email him/her and set up a meeting (in person or phone); they are expecting you!
Refine and save your search
Literature ReviewsLiterature Reviews
Benefits of Standardized Literature Reviews
Research ideas: Gaps in literature, patterns in what has been examined
Policy/advocacy: Data leads to changes!
Publishing: Write a standardized literature review or an editorial
Useful for writing later manuscripts and grants
Standardize Your Literature Standardize Your Literature ReviewsReviews
Develop a Table/Form to Abstract Key Information
• For a specific question and a specific search • Specify inclusion/exclusion criteria for articles• Author/year, Sample, Measures, Results, Notes• Start simple; add detail as specific use(s) becomes
clear• What is it you want to know about the literature?
Example 1: Studies on SES as a Example 1: Studies on SES as a Risk Factor for Alcohol UseRisk Factor for Alcohol Use
Author, Date
Sample Size
Type of Sample
Location Age Span
Cov. Included
Time-points
Fleming,2008
178 High-risk Midwest 9-18 No 2
Maggs, 2008
16,009 Community
Great Britain
7-42 No 5
Hoos,2012
4412 School-Based
Ontario, Canada
14-17 No 2
Capaldi,1999
311 High-risk Australia 10-18 Yes 2
King,2004
50 Community
New Zealand
16-19 No 2
Use a Citation Management Use a Citation Management SystemSystem
Why? Saves your library of citations, inserts markers in your writing, formats your bibliography for different journals
Which tools are used most frequently at UW? Zotero, Mendeley, RefWorks, EndNote
http://guides.lib.washington.edu/citation-tools
Citation Management Citation Management SystemsSystems Refworks: free, great online “help”, web,
transferable, no updates needed, tutorial and UW librarian support
Zotero: free, saves your library on your local computer but allows you to sync,
Mendeley: web-based app, with mobile capacity, newer
Endnote Web: free, limited to 10,000 citations, can import citations from a bookmark
Project Planning: Big PictureProject Planning: Big Picture
Determine the approach that you will take to accomplish your objectives. This can take many forms:
Needs assessmentsFocus groupsKey informant/stakeholder interviewsStatistical analysis of dataWriting a syllabusDeveloping a curriculumDeveloping a brochure/educational tools
Project Planning: Flesh Out the Project Planning: Flesh Out the DetailsDetails
How will you approach people?What questions will you ask them?What measures will you use (established vs. new)?How will you organize yourself?How will you track your progress?How will you summarize the results?What will your project look like in the end?How can your mentors best help you? What is a reasonable timeline?
Identifying MentorsIdentifying Mentors
A mentor is a close, trusted, and experienced counselor or guide.
Mentors provide topical and real world expertise, guidance, moral support, connections.
They are critical to success in academia
They must be invested in your career and development
Working with a MentorWorking with a Mentor
The success of the relationship depends on you
There are 5 keys to a good relationship
Be ProactiveBe Proactive
Do not wait for mentors to contact you
Meet with them regularly (every 2 weeks)
Schedule the next meeting at the end of the prior one
Be RespectfulBe Respectful
Mentors are typically very busyAsk when it will be convenient to meet
Be punctual (even if they are not)Give them adequate time to review materials (1 week recommended)
Be OrganizedBe OrganizedPrepare a list of points to cover at your meeting
Have some provisional ideas about what you want to do
Bring a computer or print out if reviewing materials together
Be ResponsiveBe Responsive
Take their advice & comments seriously
Even if you disagree with them, others are likely to raise similar concerns
Give them feedback on how you responded to their advice
Be AppreciativeBe Appreciative
Acknowledge their time & efforts
Keep them abreast of your progress
Let them know how helpful they have been