Student Research Award
Doctoral students planning to apply are asked to email Drs. Mensinger and Sheinberg (jmensing@nova.edu; nurit@nova.edu) by January 10, 2024, so they can prepare for the number of applications to expect.
The final deadline for this year’s SRA is January 31, 2024 by 5 pm ET. All doctoral students in good academic standing in the Department of Clinical and School Psychology are eligible to apply.
The complete application to be submitted should contain the proposal cover page form followed by all of the parts described in the 2024 application components and formatting requirements tab found below
Please read the procedures, application instructions, and evaluation criteria document closely as you prepare your proposal.
We recommend that students interested in applying for the Student Research Award this year aim to draft a preliminary version of the ‘Project Summary’ portion of the proposal (see application instructions) and send it to the faculty advisor(s) they are planning to involve in their project prior to the December holiday break.
We are hoping that this additional research award will further strengthen student-driven research in our department.
Below is a quote about the SRA from a previous recipient.
“The Student Research Award has made a significant difference in my continued development as a future health service psychologist, setting me up for the type of career I hope to have. I am particularly interested in a career that affords me the opportunity to engage in a mixture of clinical work and academic research. This award has made it financially possible for me to recruit an adequate number of participants across three time points through an empirically supported crowd-sourcing platform for my dissertation project. My dissertation project examines how various forms of intragroup marginalization increase the likelihood of disordered eating and substance use behaviors among gay and bi+ men of varying cultural backgrounds, with a focus on gay and bi+ men of color, a historically underrepresented population in the field of psychology, in order to inform prevention and treatment efforts. Data collection is not yet complete, but I am excited to present and build upon my findings over the course of my career.”
| What is the Student Research Award? | A proposal for funding for a research project directed by a doctoral student(s) under the supervision of a faculty advisor(s), or relevant professional(s). |
| Who is eligible? | Doctoral students in the Department of Clinical and School Psychology who are in good academic standing. |
| Due date | January 31, 2024 by 5 pm ET. |
| What should be submitted? | A single combined PDF including the Proposal Cover Page, Project Summary, Research Strategy, References, CVs, and optional supporting materials, if necessary for proposal evaluation. See instructions below. The file should be renamed ‘2024 SRA Student Last, First name(s)’. |
| Submission process | Be sure to follow the formatting requirements outlined on the 2024 SRA Proposal Instructions, below. Email your complete proposal in a single combined PDF per the required instructions to Kirk Berner: Kirk@nova.edu with the subject line: Student Research Award 2024. |
| After submission | Upon preliminary review of your submitted application, the committee will confirm that your application is considered complete and in compliance with requirements. At this time, we will ask you to complete Part 1 of a Faculty Rating Form (Click HERE for the form). You will send it to your faculty advisor(s) to complete Part 2 where they will ascertain their involvement in the project. Your faculty advisor(s) email the completed form to Kirk Berner. |
A complete application MUST include the first five components in a combined PDF file:
- Proposal Cover Page LINK
- Project Summary (one-page project overview)
- Research Strategy (A. Significance-Innovation-Aims; B. Approach-Research Methods & Design; C. Key Personnel-Timeline-Budget – 6 pages maximum)
- References (all works cited in Project Summary & Research Strategy)
- CVs (for all investigators/key personnel)
- Optional additional materials (information must be critical to evaluation of proposal)
Formatting requirements are as follows:
- 12-point Calibri font
- Single-spaced paragraphs and tables
- 1-inch margins (all around)
- Include section and subsection headings (i.e., boldface, underlining, italics, and/or capital letters) to assist the reader through the logic of your proposal.
1) Proposal Cover Page:
Complete the Proposal cover page. Be sure to include a 250-word Abstract and Title (max 20 words) for your project.
2) A one-page Project Summary (sometimes called the Specific Aims page):
This is probably the most important page of the application and should be completed first. The ‘Project Summary’ should be a stand-alone document providing reviewers a roadmap to your entire application. In this single-spaced one-pager, aim to include no more than five paragraphs. Excite your reader in the introductory paragraph by capturing the vision of project with a broad goal. Be sure to identify gaps in knowledge by briefly situating the project in the key literature to justify the need for the research. Next, describe your unique and innovative solution to the question/problem. Move on by engaging the reader with specific objectives to be achieved with the project. The objectives/aims should accompany strong, testable hypotheses, or, discrete, finite descriptive goals, depending on your project methodology. Boldface each of your aims to help them standout for your reader (you should have no more than 3, fewer is often better). Include a brief description of the approach/methods to be used to accomplish your aims. End with the overall potential impact of your project by defining what a successful outcome would look like and point to the future. That is, how will the project contribute to our knowledge on the subject matter? You should use the entire one-page allotment for the ‘Project Summary’. The goal is to intrigue the reader in this introduction to your project and persuade them to WANT to know more detail provided in your ‘Research Strategy.’ Importantly, while the ‘Abstract’ does NOT use citations and serves as an abbreviated 250-word overview of the project provided on your Proposal Cover Page, citations are used in the ‘Project Summary.’ Remember to include a full APA style reference list after the ‘Research Strategy’ and before the investigator CVs. For further guidance on writing a one-page ‘Project Summary, see attached PPT and PDF written by the Division of Research to aid NSU researchers in preparing these critical documents for grant applications.
3) Research Strategy (must contain the following 3 subsections totaling a maximum 6 pages; shorter is absolutely fine too!)
a) Significance-Innovation-Aims (~1.5 single spaced pages, or ¼ of the Research Strategy section):
b) Approach-Research Methods and Procedures (~3 single-spaced pages, or ½ of the Research Strategy section):
In this section, you will tell your readers how you will accomplish each of your specific aims. Please provide as much detail as possible! You should include your study design, who your participants will be, your materials and/or measurements (including detailed descriptions and psychometrics of all scales/measures to be used), how you plan to recruit your sample, how you plan to analyze your data (i.e., statistical tests to be used to test your hypotheses, if applicable; or qualitative methods and driving frameworks), and your intended sample size. Also provide specific details on what you will be asking participants to do. That is, your total plan of work and study procedures should be clearly outlined in this section. Again, be as specific as possible. For instance, instead of saying, ‘participants will be recruited via emails to relevant listservs’ say ‘a recruitment email will be sent to the following nine professional listservs: 1) xx, 2) yy, .. 9) zz.’ Finally, end by describing potential obstacles or challenges and how you plan to resolve them by giving alternative strategies.
c) Key Personnel-Timeline-Budget (~1.5 single spaced pages, or ¼ of the Research Strategy section)
The Key Personnel section should list the investigator(s) involved in the study, their experience and expertise related to the project, and what roles they will play. Tell us who will be responsible for what components of the project. The study Timeline should provide readers with a specific outline of study activities and how long they are anticipated to take. Be as specific as possible and realize how projects can be delayed by seemingly hidden timelines (e.g., the timeline from initial IRB submission to final approval might be measured in weeks instead of days). Use of a gantt chart is often a helpful method for visually displaying the timing for activities. (see https://www.teamgantt.com)
The Budget section should include a table like shown below (add or delete lines as needed). Be sure to also include a budget narrative that adequately justifies the need for each of the items listed in the table. NOTE: A budget cap of $5,000 is recommended. Only request as much as you need to complete the project goals. The SRA does NOT permit conference-related expenses.
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Total Amount Requested |
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The proposals will be evaluated by a panel of faculty members in the Department of Clinical and School Psychology using the rubric below (1 to 9 scoring system). Overall impact scores will be averaged based on scores given to the three criteria outlined below. The criteria are mapped onto the sections of the ‘Research Strategy’. The significance, rigor, and feasibility of the project should also be evident from the information provided in the one-page ‘Project Summary’.
Project Significance (1-9; best score =1)
We will evaluate project significance primarily with Part A of the Research Strategy. That is, how well did you outline a gap in knowledge and situate the project in the context of the existing literature? Did you provide clearly articulated aims/objectives? How important and innovative are your project’s objectives to the advancement of knowledge in this specialized field?
Project Rigor (1-9; best score =1)
We will evaluate project rigor primarily with Part B of the Research Strategy. How clearly do you outline your plan of work? Do you connect each aim to a sound approach? That is, does your study use appropriately rigorous research methods and analyses to achieve the goals of the project? Is the approach appropriate for the state of the knowledge in this specialized field? Are potential obstacles discussed, including ways of addressing those challenges?
Project Feasibility (1-9; best score =1)
We will evaluate project feasibility primarily with Part C of the Research Strategy. Did you provide sufficient detail about investigator roles, timeline, and necessary budget? What is the likelihood of a successful outcome given the expertise of the student investigator(s), faculty advisor(s), and the resources available? Is the timeline and budget appropriate to the tasks required for achieving the goals of the project?