STAR Awardee Encourages Colleagues to Launch Their Research Proposals
The PAEA Support to Advance Research (STAR) Program is an amazing opportunity for PAEA members to conduct important research focusing on PA education. The ability to add 10 questions on a focused topic to a national survey with a high response rate yields robust and powerful data. Findings make important contributions to PA-led research and literature.
On a personal level, research from the STAR Program resulted in publications and national and international presentations and was used as part of my doctoral dissertation. It has also led to strong relationships with collaborators and laid the groundwork for numerous future research projects.
If you are thinking about applying, I would strongly encourage you to consider doing so!
To support a strong application, you need a solid research plan. This includes a problem statement that clearly defines the issue and how your proposed research will contribute to addressing the problem. How will your project fill a gap in knowledge and why is it important? The research question(s) should be very concise, focused, answerable, and relevant. Your proposal should also include the background on the topic. How is your topic area already addressed in the peer-reviewed literature? For example, has this been studied in physician training but not PA training? You’ll also be describing your proposed methodology for the research. This includes your survey questions and how you plan to analyze your data. Be sure your survey questions are clear and will result in the data you desire. If writing about data analysis feels daunting, you might include a collaborator on your research team with expertise in this area.
There are some other things to consider as you prepare a research proposal. One is that you are committed to your topic. You will be spending a good amount of time focusing on the topic, reviewing the data, and writing about your findings so be sure this will be of interest to you. It’s also important to consider who is on your research team and to strategically select collaborators with the expertise and work style that complements your own. It can also be helpful to have a colleague who is not involved with the project review your proposal and provide feedback. Finally, if you are not selected, consider applying again. My project wasn’t accepted the first time around and I used reviewer feedback and additional collaborators with content expertise to strengthen my application. Good luck!
For more information about the STAR Program, visit the web page. If you have any questions or would like advice, email research@PAEAonline.org or call 703-651-8540.
