Focusing on research administrators, discusses how an effective training program improves employee performance by including comprehensive needs assessment, employing appropriate training methodologies, and anticipating factors beyond the actual training event that influence the transfer of skills from the training environment to the work…

Describes the research administration curriculum developed by the Office of Research Administration (ORA) at the Naval Medical Research Center. The curriculum educates students in the philosophical, legal, and sociological values and principles that undergird the responsible conduct of research, and serves as an important new pathway for promoting…

Within Australia there is a growing interest in e-research and the use of cyberinfrastructure. There is also increasing recognition that the use of cyberinfrastructure is often inhibited, not by technical issues, but by so-called "soft" issues, such as those related to work practices, intellectual property issues, the nature of research…

The release of the "Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research 2007" by the Australian Government in 2007 was welcomed by Go8 (Group of Eight) institutions, particularly in relation to the improvements and broader scope of the matters covered by Part A of that Code. However, as foreshadowed by the Go8 during the consultation…

This paper presents an empirical investigation into how universities approach the need and means for motivating university researchers through their management practices. The role of work motivation for this group deserves attention because pressures from outside and within the universities are said to have made university research less of a…

In South Africa, dominant discourses on research development are characterised by a technical-rational approach combined with a focus on the individual. Working from the notion that research is best characterised by the notion of communities of practice, it is claimed that more attention must be given to the building of intellectually engaging…

Presents a framework for multisite clinical studies based on research in 17 hospitals. Five areas of key research tasks are addressed: general systems design, public relations, human resource issues, data quality, and data management. (SK)

Provides a broader perspective on research grants. Outlines several key types of problems with grant schemes (bias, waste, discouragement, orientation to interests) and presents several methods for decision making (administrative decision, peer review, performance-based funding, equality, community-based allocation). Assesses recent changes in…

Reports on the increasing vigilance with which institutional review boards are applying federal standards in the use of human subjects in social science research. Reports the case of one Berkeley professor whose conversations (uncleared with the IRB) with a 112-year-old jeopardized his tenure bid. Other examples are from Florida State University,…

To date, qualitative research into occupational groups and cultures within academia has been relatively scarce, with an almost exclusive concentration upon teaching staff within universities and colleges. This article seeks to address this lacuna and applies the interactionist concept of "identity work" in order to examine one specific…

Social workers in academic and agency settings have the opportunity to do funded research using the National Institutes of Health (NIH) R03 small grant mechanism designed for discrete, clearly defined projects that can be completed within a 1- to 2-year time period with limited funding. This article describes the R03 mechanism and provides a guide…

Our system of research self-regulation, designed to provide internal checks and balances for those who participate in research involving human subjects, is under considerable stress. Much of this crisis has been caused by what we call mission creep, in which the workload of IRBs has expanded beyond their ability to handle effectively. Mission…

On October 14, 2008, Canadians will travel to the polls for the 40th Canadian General Election--only two years since the 2006 election which brought the Conservative Government to power. In preparation for the election, the Educational Policy Institute (EPI) is publishing a series of election-related papers, including an overview of the top…

An experienced research administrator who has worked in both pre-award and post-award administrative roles offers her perspectives of both sides and suggests that a smooth relationship between pre-award and post-award research administrators is critical to the conduct of research. (DB)

Using institutional ethnography we examine the Own-Your-Own-Home (OYOH) movement as a configuration of ideological practices designed to reorder gender, family and housing arrangements in the United States during the early 20th century. We describe the social organization of these practices -- with particular emphasis on the coordinating activity…