Research Exemplar Project, United States, 2017 (ICPSR 38961)

Version Date: Dec 11, 2023

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Principal Investigator(s):
Alison L. Antes, Washington University in St. Louis

Series:

https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR38961.v1

Version V1

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Summary

The Research Exemplar Project was a qualitative study using semi-structured interviews followed by thematic analysis. In this study, 52 federally-funded researchers in the United States identified as exemplars by peers provided their perspectives on building effective, productive, and high-quality working relationships and research teams. The purpose was to study the behaviors, practices, and priorities the exemplars use to promote high-quality and impactful research and to uphold standards of research integrity and compliance in their research labs. These behaviors help to elucidate leadership and management practices that foster the production of excellent research. The analysis focused on thematic analysis of behaviors, practices, and individual characteristics reflected in the interviews. Quantitative demographic information such as age group, gender, academic rank, race, ethnicity, and education level was also collected.

Citation

Antes, Alison L. Research Exemplar Project, United States, 2017. Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2023-12-11. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR38961.v1

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Funding

National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) (K01HG008990)

Subject Terms

Geographic Coverage

Restrictions

This data collection may not be used for any purpose other than statistical reporting and analysis. Use of these data to learn the identity of any person or establishment is prohibited. To protect respondent privacy, this data collection is restricted from general dissemination. To obtain this file, researchers must agree to the terms and conditions of a Restricted Data Use Agreement in accordance with existing ICPSR servicing policies.

Distributor(s)

Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research
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Time Period(s)

2017-03-01 -- 2017-07-13

Date of Collection

2017-03-01 -- 2017-07-13

Data Collection Notes

  1. This study is part of the Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL) Qualitative Data Sharing (QDS) project.

  2. ICPSR has zipped the 52 interview transcripts in a qualitative data package (DS1), which is available for restricted download. The demographic data (DS2) has been released as received by the depositor, aside from changes made to reduce disclosure risk.

  3. For additional information on the Research Exemplar project, please visit the project webpage on the P.I. Program website.
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Study Purpose

The purpose was to study the behaviors, practices, and priorities that individuals recognized by the broader research community as exemplars use to promote high-quality and impactful research and to uphold standards of research integrity and compliance in their research labs.

Study Design

Project investigators employed an exploratory design using in-depth, semi-structured interviews with participants.

Participants were recruited through a nomination solicitation process from research institutions in the United States. The research team sent approximately 1,500 calls for nomination emails to academic deans, chairs, and research administrators at research-intensive universities ("highest" or "higher" by Carnegie classifications), accredited medicine and public health schools, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Intramural Research Program, in addition to principal investigators of centers funded by the NIH Clinical and Translational Science Award program. Nominations were sought for U.S. federally-funded researchers in any career stage who performed high-quality, high-impact, federally-funded research and had reputations for professionalism and integrity. Nomination submissions included the nominee's curriculum vitae; a narrative detailing the nominee's research, professionalism, and integrity; and contact information for others for secondary endorsement.

A volunteer panel of 10 federally-funded researchers reviewed the nominations to select researchers to invite to participate and rated each nominee on research quality and demonstrated professionalism and integrity. The principal investigators reviewed all nominations and the panelists' ratings, additionally considering diversity of research disciplines, gender, and nation of birth. The final group of "research exemplars" (n=52) included highly accomplished researchers in diverse scientific disciplines.

Exemplars completed a brief demographic form and a phone interview lasting about 1 hour with study investigators. The research team used Dedoose software to analyze the transcripts. Inductive and causation coding were used to create a codebook to detail and refine themes and definitions as they emerged during the analysis.

Sample

Purposive criteria sampling was used. 81 nominations were initially received, with 74 receiving at least one additional endorsement. 73 nominees agreed to conduct an interview if selected as a finalist. The investigators selected 55 exemplars; of those, 52 participated in the study.

Time Method

Cross-sectional

Universe

Researchers in the United States funded by national funding agencies.

Unit(s) of Observation

Individual

Data Type(s)

Mode of Data Collection

Description of Variables

Interview questions were grouped into the following themes:

  • Background information: motivations for pursuing a research career, description of research in non-technical terms, description of team/lab, and ethical/compliance/social issues that arise in research
  • Factors, habits, and practices that contribute to success and integrity: research personality/key traits; fostering rigor and reproducibility; supporting good working relationships; ensuring compliance with regulations, ethical rules, or good clinical practice; social responsibilities; managing stress, workload, and uncertainty; level of institution support
  • Key experiences/turning points that molded their conduct as a professional
  • Recommendation(s) for newer researchers

Pre-interview demographic items included gender, age group, academic rank, region of birth, race, ethnicity, and degrees obtained. Additional items in the survey asked about type(s) of research conducted, years of research experience, and research ethics instruction completed.

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Original Release Date

2023-12-11

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Notes

  • The public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public. Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.

  • One or more files in this data collection have special restrictions. Restricted data files are not available for direct download from the website; click on the Restricted Data button to learn more.