scholarly journals Publication rates of research projects of an internal funding program of a university medical center in Germany: A retrospective study (2004–2013)

PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (11) ◽  
pp. e0243092
Author(s):  
Susanne Deutsch ◽  
Silke Reuter ◽  
Astrid Rose ◽  
René Tolba

Objectives Non-publication and publication bias are topics of considerable importance to the scientific community. These issues may limit progress toward the 3R principle for animal research, promote waste of public resources, and generate biased interpretations of clinical outcomes. To investigate current publishing practices and to gain some understanding of the extent to which research results are reported, we examined publication rates of research projects that were approved within an internal funding program of the Faculty of Medicine at a university medical center in Germany, which is exemplary for comparable research funding programs for the promotion of young researchers in Germany and Europe. Methods We analyzed the complete set (n = 363) of research projects that were supported by an internal funding program between 2004 and 2013. We divided the projects into four different proposal types that included those that required an ethics vote, those that included an animal proposal, those that included both requirements, and those that included neither requirement. Results We found that 65% of the internally funded research projects resulted in at least one peer-reviewed publication; this increased to 73% if other research contributions were considered, including abstracts, book and congress contributions, scientific posters, and presentations. There were no significant differences with respect to publication rates based on (a) the clinic/institute of the applicant, (b) project duration, (c) scope of funding or (d) proposal type. Conclusion To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to explore publication rates associated with early-career medical research funding. As >70% of the projects ultimately generated some form of publication, the program was overall effective toward this goal; however, non-publication of research results is still prevalent. Further research will explore the reasons underlying non-publication. We hope to use these findings to develop strategies that encourage publication of research results.

2021 ◽  
pp. 002073142199708
Author(s):  
Meghan McMahon ◽  
Marisa I. Creatore ◽  
Erin Thompson ◽  
Andrea Morgan Lay ◽  
Steven J. Hoffman ◽  
...  

The health, economic, and social crises created by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have been global in scope and inequitable in impact. The global road to recovery can be enhanced with robust, relevant, and timely scientific evidence. This commentary seeks to illustrate the power of science, scientific collaboration, and innovative research funding programs to inform pandemic recovery and inspire transformational changes for a more equitable, resilient, and sustainable future. Specifically, this commentary provides an introduction to the United Nations (UN) Research Roadmap for the COVID-19 Recovery that was published in November 2020. It introduces 5 scoping reviews that helped inform the UN Research Roadmap and that are now available open access within this series of special papers, and it provides an overview of an innovative research funding program that facilitated rapid mobilization and collaboration to produce the scoping reviews. The publication of the scoping reviews in this journal series will help complement and amplify the UN Research Roadmap by furthering knowledge mobilization efforts and informing COVID-19 recovery around the world, to ensure a more equitable, resilient, and sustainable postpandemic future.


2013 ◽  
Vol 27 (12) ◽  
pp. 717-720 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip M Sherman ◽  
Kimberly Banks Hart ◽  
Keeley Rose ◽  
Kwadwo Bosompra ◽  
Christopher Manuel ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND: Funders of health research in Canada seek to determine how their funding programs impact research capacity and knowledge creation.OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of a focused grants and award program that was cofunded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes, and the Canadian Association of Gastroenterology; and to measure the impact of the Program on the career paths of funded researchers and assess the outcomes of research supported through the Program.METHODS: A survey of the recipients of grants and awards from 2000 to 2008 was conducted in 2012. The CIHR Funding Decisions database was searched to determine subsequent funding; a bibliometric citation analysis of publications arising from the Program was performed.RESULTS: Of 160 grant and award recipients, 147 (92%) completed the survey. With >$17.4 million in research funding, support was provided for 131 fellowship awards, seven career transition awards, and 22 operating grants. More than three-quarters of grant and award recipients continue to work or train in a research-related position. Combined research outputs included 545 research articles, 130 review articles, 33 book chapters and 11 patents. Comparative analyses indicate that publications supported by the funding program had a greater impact than other Canadian and international comparators.CONCLUSIONS: Continuity in support of a long-term health research funding partnership strengthened the career development of gastroenterology researchers in Canada, and enhanced the creation and dissemination of new knowledge in the discipline.


2019 ◽  
Vol 43 (6) ◽  
pp. 347-354 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniela Popp ◽  
Romanus Diekmann ◽  
Lutz Binder ◽  
Abdul R. Asif ◽  
Sara Y. Nussbeck

Abstract Various information technology (IT) infrastructures for biobanking, networks of biobanks and biomaterial management are described in the literature. As pre-analytical variables play a major role in the downstream interpretation of clinical as well as research results, their documentation is essential. A description for mainly automated documentation of the complete life-cycle of each biospecimen is lacking so far. Here, the example taken is from the University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG), where the workflow of liquid biomaterials is standardized between the central laboratory and the central biobank. The workflow of liquid biomaterials from sample withdrawal to long-term storage in a biobank was analyzed. Essential data such as time and temperature for processing and freezing can be automatically collected. The proposed solution involves only one major interface between the main IT systems of the laboratory and the biobank. It is key to talk to all the involved stakeholders to ensure a functional and accepted solution. Although IT components differ widely between clinics, the proposed way of documenting the complete life-cycle of each biospecimen can be transferred to other university medical centers. The complete documentation of the life-cycle of each biospecimen ensures a good interpretability of downstream routine as well as research results.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 485
Author(s):  
Blanca L. Díaz Mariño ◽  
Frida Carmina Caballero-Rico ◽  
Ramón Ventura Roque Hernández ◽  
José Alberto Ramírez de León ◽  
Daniel Alejandro González-Bandala

Understanding the value of research for society has become a priority, and several methodologies have been developed to assess the social impact of research. This study aimed to determine how productive interactions are developed during the execution of research projects. A retrospective study was conducted on 33 projects from 1999 to 2020. Semi-structured interviews with the technical managers were conducted to analyze how different actors of the project—researchers, government officials, and civil society and private sector stakeholders—were involved, illustrating how productive interactions occur in specific biodiversity contexts. The results revealed different levels and intensities of productive interactions; on the one hand, three projects involved all actors; eight involved researchers outside the institution; and 25 involved community members. The number of participants ranged from 2 to 37. All research evaluated had a disciplinary orientation. The type and time of interactions with other interested parties depended on the amount of funding, project type, project duration, and, significantly, on the profile of the technical manager. The importance of assessing and valuing productive interactions was identified as a fundamental element in promoting the social impact of research, as well as integrating inter- or multidisciplinary projects that impact the conservation of socio-ecological systems.


2014 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus Behnke ◽  
Laura McConnell ◽  
Chris Ober

Within a changing research world, international collaboration has become even more important in achieving scientific success. Given the increased need and desire for multinational research, the actors are forced to identify appropriate funding sources. Whereas, science knows no international boundaries, support for scientific research, including in chemical sciences, is mostly provided by the national funding organizations. This is particularly true for the chemical sciences, where most research projects are relatively small in size and with respect to the number of involved PIs. Traditionally, national organizations are reluctant to provide funds to non-domestic researchers, and in practice, funding truly international research projects can be a real challenge for a variety of technical and bureaucratic reasons. In an effort to change this, an international Committee on Chemistry Research Funding (CCRF)—backed by several leading funding organizations—was established by IUPAC in December 2007 to promote increased international collaboration and networking in the global chemistry community. The following report gives a short overview on the history of IUPAC’s involvement in service for chemistry research funding and on the most recent developments.


1982 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 279-291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart Macdonald ◽  
Tom Mandeville ◽  
Don Lamberton

This paper is based on a research report published at the University of Queensland in November 1980, which emanated from research commissioned by the University's Research Committee and carried out by the authors. The study was concerned with the problem of distributing resources available for research and concluded that there was not an efficient use of such resources in the University of Queensland. Part of the study considered attempts to increase efficiency by funding those research projects which seemed to possess most merit. Such policy is becoming more common in Australian universities and this is understandable during a period of financial stringency. However, the policy seems to ignore the substantial costs associated with applying for merit grants, and to assume that any scheme funding the most deserving research automatically improves the efficiency of research funding. That is not necessarily so. Most research funding in Australian universities is provided in the form of staff salaries. When staff time is occupied by the merit application and assessment process, it is not available for research. Consequently there is a cost to research, a cost that is not widely appreciated and one which may well exceed the benefits of ill-considered merit schemes.


2019 ◽  
Vol 58 (4) ◽  
pp. 258
Author(s):  
Patrick Baumann

In any field, research is a process involving many steps and can feel overwhelming even to experienced researchers, with many researchers wondering where to start. As a means to combat this challenge, <em>Keys to Running Successful Research Projects: All the Things They Never Teach You</em> by Katherine Christian is a how-to manual for academic researchers. It accounts for those in every level of the academic experience, from doctoral students to early career professionals to research leaders. However, the focus is on early career professionals, especially in the sciences.


2013 ◽  
Vol 95 (19) ◽  
pp. e142-1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mitchell Bernstein ◽  
Nicholas M Desy ◽  
Bogdan A Matache ◽  
Todd O McKinley ◽  
Edward J Harvey

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