Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Specific Aims
In this section of the proposal the investigator describes what she hopes to
achieve in the proposed work. The format of this section should consist of
a preamble, which provides a general rationale for the study, followed by
an expression of the specific aims as discrete entities. It is best to number
the discrete aims (e.g., Aim 1, Aim 2), so that later in the proposal the aims
can be referenced by number. As a general rule of thumb, a study should
have three to six specific aims. If the investigator finds herself expressing
the study with one or two aims, the aims may be too general; if so, they can
be subdivided. Correspondingly, if a study is expressed with seven or more
aims, the study itself may be too broad or the aims may be stated too spe-
cifically. Even though specific investigative questions might change in an
emergent, subjectivist study, the general purposes or “orienting” questions
that guide the study from the outset can be stated here.
Background and Significance
This section should establish the need for this particular study/project,
not a general need for studies of this type. After finishing this section, the
reader should be able to answer this question: “How will we be better off
if the aims of this study are accomplished?” Although it is not solely a lit-
erature review, this section makes its points with appropriate citations to
the literature. For evaluation studies, the need to cite the literature may be
less than for more traditional research studies. However, the investigator
must think creatively about what is included in the literature. For evalua-
tions, the pertinent literature might include unpublished documents or tech-
nical reports about the information resource under study. In general, it is
not a good idea for the investigator to cite too much of her own work in
this section.
Progress Report/Preliminary Studies
This section describes previous relevant work undertaken by the investiga-
tors and their collaborators. When the proposal describes a new line of
investigation, this section is called “preliminary studies.” When the proposal
describes a continuation or extension of a line of work already begun, the
section is called “progress report.” This section emphasizes results of this
previous work and how the proposed study builds on these results. If mea-
surement studies have been performed previously, for example, this section
describes the methods and results of these studies. Any pilot data and their
implications are included here. Although it is tempting to do so in this
section, it is not the place for the investigator to paraphrase her curriculum
vitae or describe her awards and accomplishments. In PHS 398, this is
accomplished in a separate part of the proposal where the investigators
include their biographical sketches.
Search WWH ::
Custom Search