Research Road Map
for Queen's University Residents

15 Steps to a Successful Research Project

1. Meet with your Departmental Research Coordinator
.
• Find out what is expected in your department.
• Talk about potential research areas and mentors.
2. Attend PGME core academic session on research skills.

(PGME: Postgraduate Medical Education)
3. Find a qualified mentor.
• What is their publication record?
• Do they have research funding?
• Are they readily available for advice?
4. Pose a focused research question.
   • In a [describe the patient] does [the intervention compared to the standard of care or placebo] decrease / increase / predict / prevent [the outcome]?

5. Develop a proposal.
   • Conduct thorough literature search.
   • Check for a systematic review in The Cochrane Library.
   • Collaborate with experts in the field.
   • Propose a methodological approach.
   • Write it down.

6. Meet with methodological specialist in your department
   and/or staff of the KGH Clinical Research Centre.
• Discuss research design.
• Estimate sample size. (Rollin Brant)
• Discuss proposed analysis.
• Select analytical tools.
• Discuss compatible data format for Excel spreadsheet that will allow you to import the data into a stats application such as SPSS.
• Finalize methodological approach.
7. Obtain institutional approval.
   • Research at Kingston General Hospital
   • Doing research @ KGH
   • Guidelines for Students and Residents
   • Obtaining hospital approval for research projects
   • Data Summary and Signature Sheet (DSS)
   • Accessing Patient Data
   • Committee Information
     • Animal Care
     • Biohazards
     • Pharmaeceuticals and Therapeutics
     • Radiation Safety

8. Obtain Research Ethics Board (REB) approval.
   • Submitting a Research Study for the First Time? (Veronica Harris-McAllister, KGH)
   • Sample Patient Information and Consent Form
   • Health Sciences REB
   • Ethics Romeo Online Application System (NEW!)
   • How to log into Queen's Ethics Romeo system
   • Romeo training workshops
   • Submission schedule
   • Contacts
   • Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans
   • Tri-Council Policy Statement (December 2010)
   • Queen's-created Ethics Tutorial [News: October 2011]
   • Course on Research Ethics (CORE) [TCPS Tutorial]

9. Seek funding.
   • Getting started: How to submit a grant?
   • Postgraduate Awards (School of Medicine)
   • Internal funding programs
   • External funding agencies

10. Register your clinical trial.
    • What is the Clinical Trials Registry? (Veronica Harris-McAllistar)
    • ClinicalTrials.gov (NIH Clinical Trials Registry)
    • Registering Clinical Trials with ClinicalTrials.gov (PDF Brochure)
    • RegisterClinicalTrials.gov (Register Here)
    • Frequently Asked Questions (Protocol Registration System)

11. Collect and analyze data.
• How to pick the correct statistic
• Statistical tools
12. Present findings at Dept research day and clinical meetings.
• Associations and Societies
• Tips for creating effective PowerPoint presentations (PDF)
• For posters see Queen's Medphoto
• Media tips (Queen's News Centre)
13. Submit manuscript to medical journal.
• Establish authorship credits (John Hoey, CMAJ)
• Acknowledge university and hospital support
• Uniform requirements for manuscripts (ICMJE)
• CONSORT statement
• If accepted, revise manuscript according to reviewer's comments.
14. Record publication in annual research report.
• MEdTech login (password required)
15. Share a bottle of champagne with coauthors.

Updated: Phil Hahn, October 25, 2011