Latest research and knowledge exchange news at Bournemouth University
On Weds 20th November, BU were delighted to welcome Dr Tracey Henshaw, Assistant Director of Leverhulme Trust to speak about the funding opportunities available from Leverhulme. Tracey provided an overview of who the Leverhulme Trust are, what they will (and won’t!) fund, their funding programmes, and what they are looking for in funding applications including useful hints and tips for their main programmes.
You can now view the slides via Brightspace here.
Suzy Wignall (Clinical Governance Advisor – Research Development & Support) and Juan Campos-Perez (Clinical Research Coordinator – Bournemouth University Clinical Research Unit) have compiled a checklist (PDF and word formats) that can be used to support researchers through the process of applying for and conducting clinical research.
The document contains links to various documents and further resources to guide researchers through areas such as applying for external approvals, running the study and closing the study. The checklist clearly sets out what tasks are required, the support/resources available to complete this tasks, a space to write your own notes/how this task was resolved and the date it was completed. Using this document will help you ensure that all the required tasks are completed during your research journey.
The document is also here on the Clinical Governance blog.
Remember – support and guidance is on offer at BU if you are thinking of conducting clinical research, whether in the NHS, private healthcare or social care – contact details for Suzy and Juan are on the checklist, and you can also take a look at the Clinical Governance blog for resources and updates.
On Tuesday 5th November, Research Development & Support are running a 2 hour workshop on clinical research documentation and filing.
This workshop is designed to share best practice in ensuring that records are completed, stored and shared appropriately, in accordance with the ‘ALCOAC’ general principle, and Good Clinical Practice standards.
The workshop will cover the ‘essential documents’ to be kept during the research project, as well as what to do once the study has ended. Also covered will be how to ensure compliance when storing data on paper and electronically and requirements for source data.
By the end of this workshop you will have an understanding about:
If you’re interested in attending then reserve your place via Organisational Development.
The Standard Operating Procedures relating to Clinical Governance at BU are now live and can be found on SharePoint.
A full list of documents and links to each are provided in this table, with a link also present on the Clinical Governance blog.
If you have any queries surrounding the information present within the SOPs, or cannot access the links, please email Research Ethics.
Remember – support is on offer at BU if you are thinking of introducing your research ideas into the NHS – email the Research Ethics mailbox, and take a look at the Clinical Governance blog.
Happy reading!
Join the brand new Postgraduate Researcher Development Steering Group to provide direction to postgraduate researcher development at BU.
Some of the main responsibilities include:
See the full Terms of Reference for details on the Steering Group if you are interested in becoming a member. There will be 2 meetings per academic year.
Please submit your Expression of Interest, including a half-page as to why you are interested, the knowledge, skills and experience you can bring to the group, via email to Natalie at pgrskillsdevelopment@bournemouth.ac.uk by midday, Friday 1 November.
Membership available:
– PGR Student Champion: 1 per Faculty (open to all PGRs)
– Academic Champion: 1 per Faculty (ideally an active PGR supervisor)
– Early Career Researcher: 1 representative
Expressions of Interest will be assessed by the Chair and Deputy Chair of the Steering Group, we look forward to receiving them.
Last month, approval was provided by the University’s Research Degree Committee for a brand new Postgraduate Researcher Development Steering Group to provide direction to postgraduate researcher development at BU, and I am recruiting members.
There will be 2 meetings per academic year and ad-hoc if required. Some of the main responsibilities include:
See the full Terms of Reference for details on the Steering Group if you are interested in becoming a member.
Please submit your Expression of Interest, including a half-page as to why you are interested, the knowledge, skills and experience you can bring to the group, via email to Natalie at pgrskillsdevelopment@bournemouth.ac.uk by midday, Friday 1 November.
Membership available:
– PGR Student Champion: 1 per Faculty (open to all PGRs)
– Academic Champion: 1 per Faculty (ideally an active PGR supervisor)
– Early Career Researcher: 1 representative
Expressions of Interest will be assessed by the Chair and Deputy Chair of the Steering Group, we look forward to receiving them.
Academia has become more demanding than twenty years ago, particularly, the job outwith university. Just this morning I received three requests to review a paper. Each from a very reputable journal and a each a legitimate requests, i.e. I asking me to assess a paper in a my academic field. 
Reviewing papers and grant applications is, of course, part of my academic responsibilities, and hence part of my scholarly practice. But I am already reviewing five NIHR (National Institute for Health Research) grant applications this weekend, as well as an other paper for BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth, and there are two PhD theses next my bed which I need to exam. On top of this I have been ignoring several reminder invitations to review a research proposal for the Croatian Science Foundation, as I simply do not have time to do so, however, much I would like to do so.
The forthcoming REF 2021 is not helping. UK academics are frantically submitting their manuscripts to academic journals to have them in print before the end of 2020, to beat the REF 2021 deadline. The flip-side of this reviewing coin is that my collaborators and I have had three papers turned down in the past year by a reputable journal as it could not find appropriate reviewers. Three articles on three very different aspects of our work, one a UK-based study, one a European study and one a study based in Nepal. For two of these manuscripts the journal took nearly a year to come back to us, wasting the chance to submit the paper elsewhere.
Perhaps it is due the rose-tinted spectacles of looking at the past, perhaps is it simply my level of seniority (compared to twenty years ago) but I don’t think so. The underlying trend is that the volume of papers submitted to journals is growing faster than the number of academics volunteering to review. This blog is, therefor, also a call for my academic colleagues to step up and agree to review on (extra) paper. Interestingly, I made a not dissimilar call in a BU Research Blog eight years ago! Unfortunately, the overall situation has not improved.
I haven’t even mentioned the exponential growth in email requests to academics submit papers to so-called predatory journals! I counted 15 requests in the past two days alone and it is only 10 AM on Saturday morning so more to follow later today.
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
CMMPH
Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash
The publishers have also been getting involved with numerous events, one of note is Royal Society Publishing who made all their content free to access this week. You can browse journals here.
Our international, peer reviewed journals publish high quality science and provide an excellent service to our authors and readers.
It's #OpenAccessWeek 2019, which means all of our content is free to access all week. Browse our Journals: https://t.co/qgZXq1Rjdp @RSocPublishing pic.twitter.com/xQvJWo54RA
— The Royal Society (@royalsociety) October 21, 2019
Southampton University hosted a A Very Short Introduction to Open Access using Biscuits –
We are using biscuits to represent different models of OA, based on an idea by @ginjabookchick #OAbiscuit #OAWeek2019 pic.twitter.com/dsXDqYGagP
— UniSouthamptonLib (@UniSotonLibrary) October 21, 2019
Edge Hill University hosted as a webinar with Open Book Publishers. This non-profit organisation publishes academic books on an OA basis and doesn’t charge authors fees to use the service.
Open Access Week has been truly international with events across the globe:
OA week by Open Access Bangladesh 2019 pic.twitter.com/uwit9Wr39V
— Annie Cruze (@Annie170385) October 16, 2019
UoEm Library welcomes all students and staff to this year's International Open Access Week. This is an annual International event aimed at promoting access to electronic Information resources.#oaweek2019 #MondayMotivation #UoEm pic.twitter.com/0tNs1xOuVc
— University of Embu (@UoEmbu) October 21, 2019
To end, here is a lovely quote posted by University of Tennessee which reminds us why open access matters…
It's #OpenAccessWeek! Want to know why open, public access to your research and scholarship matters @UTKnoxville? Here's one answer from an East Tennessee nonprofit organization who attended a workshop at UT's University Libraries. Talk to us (@UTKLibraries) about open access. pic.twitter.com/Hm3kqKOcY6
— Rachel Caldwell (@TheLibIsOpen) October 21, 2019
For Open Access week, all of the The Royals Society’s content is free to access. Browse their journals: http://bit.ly/2W1pIac
Our international, peer reviewed journals publish high quality science and provide an excellent service to our authors and readers.
It's #OpenAccessWeek 2019, which means all of our content is free to access all week. Browse our Journals: https://t.co/qgZXq1Rjdp @RSocPublishing pic.twitter.com/xQvJWo54RA
— The Royal Society (@royalsociety) October 21, 2019
Yes it’s here again that joyful time of the year when we highlight and discuss all things open access. First up is a quick reminder…
What is Open Access?
Open access is about making the products of research freely accessible to all. It allows research to be disseminated quickly and widely, the research process to operate more efficiently, and increased use and understanding of research by business, government, charities and the wider public.
There are two complementary mechanisms for achieving open access to research.
The first mechanism is for authors to publish in open-access journals that do not receive income through reader subscriptions.
The second is for authors to deposit their refereed journal article in an open electronic archive.
These two mechanisms are often called the ‘gold’ and ‘green’ routes to open access:
Article first published – http://www.hefce.ac.uk/rsrch/oa/whatis/
To encourage all academic communities to consider open access publishing, Authors Alliance has produced a comprehensive ‘Understanding Open Access‘ guide which addresses common open access related questions and concerns and provides real-life strategies and tools that authors can use to work with publishers, institutions, and funders to make their works more widely accessible to all.
To access and download the guide, please follow this link – http://authorsalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/Documents/Guides/Authors%20Alliance%20-%20Understanding%20Open%20Access.pdf
More information on Open Access Week and activities happening across the world can be found here – http://www.openaccessweek.org/
These re-orientation events are your opportunity to receive Faculty and Doctoral College updates for the forthcoming academic year. You’ll also hear about the updates to the 2019-20 Researcher Development Programme and a reminder of support services available to you throughout BU. You’ll be asked to consider research ethics during and towards the end of your research degree and there will be a bite-size effective researcher session appropriate to each re-orientation stage.
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Pre-Major Review Re-Orientation Tuesday 8 October – 9.30 – 1pm – Lansdowne This re-orientation will also include a preparation session for the Major Review. |
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Post-Major Review (Transfer) Re-Orientation Tuesday 15 October – 10.00 -1.30pm – Lansdowne This re-orientation will also include a preparation session for the Viva Voce examination. |
I look forward to seeing you at one of these bespoke sessions.
Natalie
(Reasearch Skills & Development Officer)
pgrskillsdevelopment@bournemouth.ac.uk
On Tuesday 24th October, RDS are running a 2 hour workshop to give an overview of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Clinical Research Networks and the NIHR ‘portfolio’.
This workshop is designed to raise awareness of the benefits of the NIHR’s portfolio of research studies to BU and NHS partners. It will also explore the role of the NIHR Clinical Research Networks (CRN), with an emphasis on the set-up and work of our local network, Wessex.
The workshop will cover the requirements to be eligible for the NIHR portfolio, how to apply so that your study may be considered for adoption, and how to access the support of the NIHR CRN.
By the end of this workshop you will have an understanding about:
If you’re interested in attending then reserve your place via Organisational Development.
Last Friday ResearchGate informed us that ‘Writing an Abstract for a Scientific Conference’ [1] published by three Bournemouth University (BU) scholars (Prof. Vanora Hundley, Dr. Bibha Sinkhada and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen and a BU Visiting Professor (Prof. Padam Simkhada) had reached 2,500 reads. 
This paper is one of a series of articles BU academics have published on several aspects of academic writing and scientific publishing. The range of publications includes issue such as: predatory publishers, authors earning from copyright; finding the best title for your paper, and issues of authorship [2-13]. These are great resources for budding academic writers, especially as nearly are Open Access publications and hence freely available across the world.
Other useful BU resources include the work by Dr. Kip Jones, such as his blogs on Organising & Writing a PhD thesis or his advice on Writing Blogs. Another great BU resource is the online publication by Dr. Miguel Moital, who wrote the e-book Writing Dissertations & Theses: What you should know but no one tells you, where he shares valuable practical information about the process of writing academic work, notably dissertations. The book starts with explaining the six criteria, expressed in the form of 6 ‘C’s, required to produce high quality dissertations: Confined, Corroborated, Critical, Coherent, Concise and Captivating. The e-book then goes on to share a range of ‘tips and tools’ which contribute to fulfilling the 6 Cs. 
Moreover, it is also worth pointing out that there are some great web resources on writing and publishing produced by BU Library staff, for example on plagiarism; academic writing; or how to cite references.
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
Centre for Midwife
References
Following the implementation of GDPR in May of this year, the Health Research Authority released transparency wording for use in Participant Information Sheets.
The recommended wording for data transparency has been updated following consultation with various stakeholders and public involvement and feedback on the initial published wording to provide a clearer more layered approach.
The user group developed a short summary text for the Participant Information Sheet which is supplemented by a generic leaflet. The text for both is now live on the HRA website.
The HRA website section is here. Click on ‘Transparency wording for all sponsors’ – this will take you to this page which contains the information to be used.
To access the text to be used in preparing the leaflet to accompany your PI Sheet, click here. If you are on the HRA website section, the text appears once you click the heading ‘Template wording for generic information document’.
If you have any queries or concerns please email Research Ethics.
Are you currently in the process of designing, setting up or planning your research study, and would like to extend your project into the NHS?
Yes? Then you may want to take advantage of this training opportunity.
Oliver Hopper (Research & Development Coordinator, Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospital) and Suzy Wignall (Clinical Governance Advisor, RDS) will be running a training session on how to use, and complete your own application within the IRAS system.
IRAS (Integrated Research Application System) is the system used to gain approvals from the NHS Research Ethics Committee and Health Research Authority, before rolling out your study to NHS Trusts. To support this, the session will include the background to research ethics and the approvals required for NHS research.
The session will also be interactive, and so as participants, you will have the opportunity to go through the form itself and complete the sections, with guidance on what the reviewers are expecting to see in your answers, and tips on how to best use the system.
The training will take place in Studland House – Lansdowne Campus, room 103, Tuesday 20th August at 09:30am – 12:30pm.
Get in touch with Research Ethics if you would like to register your interest and book a place.
The latest podcast from the National Institute for Health Research is available and this time concentrates on Research Ethics Committees.
All research with human participants should have appropriate ethical reflection – the podcast this month contains the thoughts and guidance of Dr Hugh Davies who is an established Research Ethics Committee Chair and former Ethics Advisor for the Health Research Authority.
If you are interested in learning more about NHS Research Ethics Committees you can view the dedicated section on the HRA website here, and even register your interest to sit as an observer at a committee meeting.
Happy listening!
Involving the public in your study is important, especially at the research design stage, this is known as ‘Public Involvement’ or ‘Patient & Public Involvement’ (PPI). This involvement can greatly improve the quality of your study design and documentation.
To better support researchers with this process (in particular for the purposes of clinical research), there is now a dedicated space for guidance, resources and wider reading, on the Clinical Governance blog space.
You can find the page here – as always if there are any specific queries, please get in touch with Research Ethics.
The call for the next round of BA/Leverhulme Small Research Grants will open on 4 September and close at 5.00 pm on 6 November 2019.
We welcome Intention to Bid (ITB) forms from Early Career Researchers and/or for bids that deliver pump priming / seed corn funding purposes.
Due to the volume of bids that are received by RDS in every round, the internal deadlines will be strictly applied to ensure that the pre-award team can provide all interested academics with optimal support in a timely manner.
Where ITB forms are received after 18 September 2019, they will be moved automatically to the next round.
The British Academy will be visiting BU on 10 September from 11.00 am to 2.00 pm – this has been organised in place of a workshop; it is highly recommended that you attend this to hear them and ask any questions.
The British Academy has provided guidance and FAQs.They have stipulated that all applicants must read the documentation carefully before starting their application.
Timeline
The call closes at 5.00 pm on 6 November 2019.
| Date | Action |
| 4 September | Call opens – start reading guidance and FAQs. |
| 10 September | British Academy’s visit to BU. |
| 18 September | Intention to Bid forms to be submitted to your Faculty Funding Development Officer.
At this date, advise your referee that you will be sending them your completed application on FlexiGrant and they will need to provide their supporting statement by 22 October.
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| 25 September | If you are Grade 8 or below and you wish to use the support of an External Application Reviewer (EAR), you must submit a first draft of the application to RDS by this date.
An EAR will not be allocated to you if you send a draft to RDS after this date.
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| 21 October | Latest date for you to fully complete your application on FlexiGrant, so it is ready for your referee to complete the supporting statement via FlexiGrant.
Note that the earlier you complete you application on FlexiGrant, the more time the referee will have to review your bid and provide the supporting statement by 22 October.
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| 22 October | Latest date for referee to complete the supporting statement via FlexiGrant.
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| 23 October | Click ‘submit’ and the form will be sent to BU’s account for RDS checks.
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| 23 October – 5 November | Institutional checking process – RDS will work with you to ensure compliance with all funder’s requirements.
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| 6 November | Submission deadline – latest date to formally submit on FlexiGrant.
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If you have any queries, please contact your Research Facilitator or Funding Development Officer.
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