Selecting issues for a research proposal 鄭先祐 (Ayo) 教授 國立台南大學 生態科學與技術學系 環境生態 + 生態旅遊 碩士班

Selecting issues for a research proposal 1.Catching a wave  (1) Need, (2) Feasibility, (3) Generalizability, (4) Continuity  (5) Applicability, (6) Scientific merit, (7) Fundability 2.Drawing the wave 3.Useful tools  Websites, review articles, policy documents, newsletters 4.Putting it together

1. Catching a wave  The challenge in selecting a critical issue is figuring out how to catch a wave on its ascent. (as surfing )  If you try to catch a wave too early, it will not carry you to shore but will go right past you.  On the other hand, if you catch the wave too late, it may crash on top of you.  Therefore, you want to catch the wave not at its exact peak, but at its greatest momentum.  七項考量 ：  (1) Need, (2) Feasibility, (3) Generalizability, (4) Continuity  (5) Applicability, (6) Scientific merit, (7) Fundability

(1) Need ( 需求 )  Need is mercurial ( 易變的 ), because it changes depending on the person to whom you are talking.  The questions that pertain to need are:  To whom is this issue important?  Who has a stake in it?  What is the nature of their stake in the field?  What do they perceive as the benefits from the systematic investigation of this particular issue?

(2) Feasibility( 可行性 )  There may be consensus that an issue is critical, but we must assess feasibility.  Are there available methods to pursue this critical issue in some systematic fashion that will answer the questions that underpin the need?  Feasibility has to do not only with the status of the field, but also with your personal readiness.( 個人準備的程度 )  You must consider whether it is feasible for you?

(3) Generalizability ( 通則度 )  How does this issue link with other issues ?  Is this an isolated issue that is independent of others?  If the answer is “ yes ”, then your issue is relatively insulated from other kinds of issues.  It is likely to be s hort-lived and fail to carry you into related areas.  To the extent that the interest in this issue generalizes into other areas of responsibility, the longer that wave is likely to last and to advance.

(4) Continuity ( 連續度 )  Continuity is a permutation of generalizability, but it relates to your career path.  The wave you want to catch is the one that will carry you forward into the next wave, linking you to others, and ensuring some continuity to your career and program of research.

(5) Applicability ( 應用度 )  The populations within which we work want to see the results applied in a way that help people.  While they permit some grace period, continued access and the ability to work with populations of interest to us determine whether or not we can catch that wave and how far we can take it.

(6) Scientific merit ( 科學本質 )  There are many instances where qualitative research techniques are important and may be the only way to address questions effectively.  You must address the issue of scientific merit and illustrate how you can use the available techniques to study the critical issues posed in your research.  Otherwise, you may find yourself at either end of the wave rather than catching its momentum.

(7) Fundability  Fundability is often at the top of the list of considerations in developing a proposal.  Can I get this funded?  However, if fundability serves as the primary motive in selecting a critical issue to study, where is the risk that your career will have no continuity.  Some of the best work I have performed has been with little or no money.

2. Drawing the wave  You are equally important to your advocacy( 倡導 ) because project officers are like investment brokers.  They make an investment in you.  They gamble that they can bring you through the phase of proposal development and, hopefully, to the next phase, a funded proposal.  To the extent that this happens, they will have succeeded not only in personal terms, but also programmatically and they will be rewarded.

3. Useful tools  Websites,  Review articles,  Policy documents,  Newsletters  Federal publications

4. Putting it together  There are a variety of ways for implementing all of this.  Develop an internal advocate to visit when in the vicinity of NIH.  Another resource can be found at your institutional grants office which is devoted to providing research services to academics at universities.

Ayo NUTN website: 問題與討論