Why Stating Hypotheses in Grant Applications Is Unnecessary.

This Viewpoint argues that a hypothesis-centric approach to writing grant applications is problematic and instead suggests that funding applications should be evaluated by their relevance and methodological quality rather than by qualitative assertions before the study is conducted.

Financiamiento en investigación en salud: obteniendo financiamiento. Consejos útiles para aumentar las chances de éxito. Parte 2 / Health research funding: obtaining grants. Tips to improve the success rate. Part 2

Esta es la segunda parte de un artículo sobre la búsqueda de financiamiento para un proyecto de investigación. Todo proyecto de investigación requiere una fuente de financiamiento para poder ser llevado adelante. La búsqueda de fondos es una tarea que lleva tiempo y esfuerzo con una baja tasa de éxito. Compartimos algunos consejos que podrían ayudar a aumentar esa tasa de éxito en relación con: 1) cómo reconocer la necesidad de búsqueda de una fuente de financiamiento externo, 2) de dónde provienen los fondos, 3) qué gastos se pueden financiar habitualmente con los fondos y 4) cómo mejorar la escritura y la presentación a una convocatoria. (AU)

This is the second part of our series on searching funds for a research plan. Every research proposal requires a source of funding to be carried out. Looking for funds is a time and effort consuming task with a low success rate. We share some tips that may help to improve that success rate related to (1) how to recognize the need of an external funding source, (2) where the funds are coming from, (3) what costs can be funded and (4) how to improve a proposal writing and submission. (AU)

Financiamiento en investigación: ¿qué necesito antes de comenzar a buscar una fuente de financiamiento?: parte 1 / Research funding: what do I need before I start looking for a funding source?: part 1

Esta es la primera parte de un artículo sobre la búsqueda de financiamiento para un proyecto de investigación. Esta entrega resume los principales ítems para tener en consideración a la hora de postularse a una convocatoria. Requerimientos del proceso: 1. Tiempo protegido. 2. Propuesta de investigación sólida. 3. Equipo calificado y con experiencia. 4. Definición y organización de actividades. 5. Cronograma de actividades. 6. Estimación de costos. (AU)

This is the first part of an article about finding funding for a research project. This delivery summarizes the main ítems to take into consideration when applying for a call. Process requirements: 1. Protected time. 2. Strong research proposal. 3. Qualified and experienced team. 4. Definition and organization of activities. 5. Schedule of activities. 6. Cost estimate. (AU)

The promise of crowdfunding to finance R&D of novel diagnostics and therapeutics for incurable diseases.

The level of funding available for research and development (R&D) of diagnostics (D) and therapeutics (T) for incurable diseases varies and is not associated with the extent of their disease burden. Crowdfunding is a promising way to increase funding for R&D of D&T for underfunded incurable diseases, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, which has not been exploited to its full capacity. Investing into efforts to educate patients and researchers about its prospective is a worthwhile endeavor, which could lead to the generation of substantial new capital to finance the development of novel therapeutics for these diseases.

[Participant-funded clinical trials on rare diseases]. / Ensayos clínicos en enfermedades raras financiados por los participantes.

The development of medicines for certain rare diseases can be frustrated by lack of funding. In certain cases the patients themselves, or their relatives, occasionally fund the clinical trial in which they will be treated with the investigational medicine. There are 3models of self-funded research: 2of them, "pay to try" and "pay to participate", have already been put into practice. The third, the "plutocratic" proposal, which has been recently put forward is still a theoretical model. In this work the scientific, social and ethical benefits and risks of the 2clinical research models, "pay to participate" and the "plutocratic" proposal, are reviewed. Patient-funded clinical trials are frequently performed through crowdfunding. The most controversial aspects of this funding modality are also addressed in this article from several perspectives. Finally, a future scenario that would allow the launching of self-funded clinical trials in Spain by the "plutocratic" proposal is proposed.

Evaluating the Diversity of Emergency Medicine Foundation (EMF) Grant Recipients in the Last Decade.

INTRODUCTION: To study diversity of researchers and barriers to success among Emergency Medicine Foundation (EMF) grant recipients in the last 10 years. METHODS: EMF grant awardees were approached to complete a brief survey, which included demographics, queries related to contributions to the literature, success in obtaining grants, and any perceived barriers they encountered. RESULTS: Of the 342 researchers contacted by email, a total of 147 completed the survey for a response rate of 43%. The respondents were predominately mid to late career white-male-heterosexual-Christian with an average age of 44 years (range 25-69 years of age). With regards to training and education, the majority of respondents (50%) were either Associate or Professor clinical rank (8% instructor/resident/fellow and 31% Assistant). Sixty-two percent of the respondents reported perceived barriers to career advancement since completion of residency. The largest perceived barrier to success was medical specialty (26%), followed by gender (21%) and age (16%). CONCLUSION: Our survey of EMF grant recipients in the last 10 years shows a considerable lack of diversity. The most commonly perceived barriers to career advancement by this cohort were medical specialty, gender, and age. An opportunity exists for further definition of barriers and development of mechanisms to overcome them, with a goal of increased success for those that are underrepresented.

Plataformas online y redes sociales para la creación de perfiles de investigación / Online platforms and social networks for the creation of research profiles

Hoy en día, la comunicación científica se está viendo enriquecida debido a la utilización de nuevos modos de almacenamiento, publicación y difusión de los resultados. Entre ellos se encuentran las denominadas plataformas de perfiles académicos, dentro de las cuales se encuadrarían Scopus author ID, ORCID, Publons y Kudos y, por otro lado, las redes sociales de investigación, entre las que se incluirían ResearchGate, Academia.edu y Google Scholar citations. Estas herramientas tienen como principal objetivo aumentar la visibilidad e impacto de los contenidos y publicaciones. Son páginas web multidisciplinares que contienen perfiles investigadores individuales con hipervínculos en red a revistas, bases de datos y otras fuentes. En algunos casos incluyen indicadores bibliométricos, que permiten medir el impacto causado por un trabajo a partir de la literatura. En este artículo se comparan las principales plataformas online, así como algunas de las redes sociales de investigación que existen hoy día para la creación de perfiles de investigación

Nowadays, scientific communication is enriched by the use of new ways of storing, publishing and disseminating research findings. Said new ways of scientific communication are known as the so-called academic profile platforms, which include Scopus author ID, ORCID, Publons and Kudos and on the other hand-social research networks, including ResearchGate, Academia.edu and Google Scholar citations. These tools have a main objective: enhancing both visibility and impact of contents and publications. They are multidisciplinary web pages that contain individual research profiles with network hyperlinks to magazines, databases and other sources. In some cases, bibliometric indicators are included, which allow measuring the impact caused by studies based on literature. This study compares the main online platforms, as well as some of the social research networks that currently exist for the creation of research profiles