Soutien à la recherche et concours FR/EN - Concours : Utilisation et valorisation de vos banques de données de recherche / Use and valorization of your research databases

Call for QPHRN regular researchers and  post-doctoral fellows of the RRSPQ 2022-2023

Use and valorization of your research databases with the help of a scholarship student

 

Submission deadline: August 31st, 2022

4 x 8000$ 

Introduction

The Fonds de recherche du Québec - Santé (FRQS), which funds the Network, strongly supports initiatives and measures to improve access to public data that can stimulate research capacity[1]. At the same time, the current movement towards open science involves greater sharing of research data (see presentations given at the 2019 Scientific Days of the Global Health axis). The QPHRN is working in the same direction by widely supporting the sharing of resources and expertise useful for improving the health of populations and related public policies. 

Many researchers now have data from their previous research projects that they have not been able to fully exploit. The Network, and in particular the Social Inequalities of Health and Equity Axis, the Global Health Axis, the Mental Health Axis and the Information Technologies & Health Axis, would like to offer the opportunity to its regular members and post-doctoral fellows to benefit from financial support to enable them to carry out new analyses from an existing database, and thus answer unresolved research questions. Eventually, the goal is also to allow members to publish new results in a scientific journal.

The QPHRN also aims to strengthen the capacity of population health research in Quebec. To this end, the network recognizes the importance of helping young researchers acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to increase their independence and build a successful research profile. In this perspective, at least 50% of the funds granted by this competition must be devoted to the remuneration of a student - hired to carry out the analyses and/or write the publication.

The possibility for the student or postdoctoral fellow to appear as an author or the recognition of his/her contribution in the publication must respect the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals (International Committee of Medical Journal Editors: http://www.icmje.org/icmje-recommendations.pdf).

This competition is held in two stages: 

  1. Call to regular members and post-doctoral fellows of the Network: regular members of the Network and post-doctoral fellows of the Network are invited to express their interest in mentoring a student (PhD or post-doctoral for regular members, PhD for post-doctoral for post-doctoral fellows) in order to solve a research question involving the analysis of data in their possession and to publish the results obtained. Full details regarding the submission of projects are outlined below. 
  2. Call to students (PhD students or post-doctoral fellows): the second step aims at inviting students/post-doctoral fellows interested in the selected projects to apply. Recipient researchers are free to hire the student of their choice and are responsible for the call for applications. The QPHRN can help them, if needed, to disseminate their call.  

Full description of the call for applications from researchers

Eligibility Criteria

  • Be a regular member or post-doctoral student member of the Network. Post-doctoral members of the Network must submit their application with a regular investigator member to whom funds may be transferred.
  • Have a database of qualitative or quantitative data collected in previous research projects. 
  • If applicable, have obtained the consent of all co-investigators who would have control over the use of the data contained in the database.
  • The research question must address themes related to: 
    • Social inequalities in health and equity and/or
    • Global health (improving health care and services in low- and middle-income countries, indigenous health, migrant/refugee health) and/or
    • Population mental health and/or
    • Health information and communication technologies. 
  • If relevant, ensure that the proposed research question is within the scope of consent that was granted by participants in the previous research or that a research committee approval covers secondary use of these data.
  • The same project cannot be supported more than once by the QPHRN and its axes.

Content of the submission
Please download the application form (and save it on your computer before completing it). It contains all the necessary information regarding the content of the applications.

Evaluation Criteria

Four projects can be supported up to a maximum of $8,000 for each of them. Each axis (ISSE, SMP, SMo, ICT) will be able to support one project related to its themes. Note that addressing the themes of several axes in your project could increase your chances of selection.

Applications will be evaluated by a committee of peers according to the following criteria:

  • Quality, originality, innovative character and potential impact of the proposed project (the research question and the analysis plan);
  • Relevance and appropriateness of the new research question to the available data;
  • Collaborations (interdisciplinary, inter-institutional, inter-sectoral, inter-axis or FRQS thematic networks, and/or international). New collaborations (new partnerships with people not involved in the research that led to the creation of the database) will be judged favorably;
  • Link to the mission, objectives and strategic priorities of the Global Health and/or Social Inequalities of Health and Equity and/or Population Mental Health and/or ICT and Health axes;
  • Timeline;
  • Quality of the mentoring plan (how the student or trainee will be coached to develop skills and knowledge: schedule of meetings, support during the data analysis and scientific journal submission process, other available resources);
  • Potential prospect of publication in a scientific journal.

Commitments

  • Recipients agree to initiate the necessary steps to hire a student within two weeks of the award letter.
  • The laureates agree to accompany the student or trainee in the analysis of the data and/or the writing of a resulting publication for a period of 4 months following their engagement. Delays due to the availability of the mentor may be subject to a request for extension.  
  • Recipients agree to ensure the quality of the journal chosen for the publication. BEWARE OF PREDATORY JOURNALS (See: https://predatoryjournals.com/journals/). 
  • All researchers who have the right to control the use of the database concerned agree that the student may appear as a co-author of the publication or, as the case may be, that his or her contribution may be mentioned if he or she so wishes and in accordance with the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (http://www.icmje.org/icmje-recommendations.pdf).
  • The support of the QPHRN must be mentioned in all communications and publications related to the project.
  • The winners agree to publish the title and an abstract of their project (in French and English) on the QPHRN website.
  • The winners and the student or post-doctoral fellow may be invited to make an oral presentation of their project at the QPHRN annual scientific day.

Submission of applications

Applications must be submitted by e-mail within the deadline (see the Network website) with the subject line "Competition: Mentoring Databases 2022" by the deadline date to the following address: annie-claude.harvey.1@ulaval.ca

For more information, contact Annie-Claude Harvey, ISSE Coordinator at: annie-claude.harvey.1@ulaval.ca

 


[1] FRQ policy on open access: https://frq.gouv.qc.ca/science-ouverte/