College of Nursing

Research and Scholarly Endeavors

 

Advancement of the profession through active research and subsequent dissemination of findings through scholarly publications are expectations of tenured/tenure track (regular) faculty. While no absolute standards for scholarly activities have been established, regular faculty need to exhibit an organized, well-developed program of research that includes tangible evidence of advancement over time. Faculty members are strongly encouraged to work with the Associate Dean for the PhD Program and Research to develop written plans for their programs of research in order to make it more likely that the College can provide timely support for those activities. Nontenure track faculty members are not required to pursue research activities.

Research Related Activities

Regular tenure track faculty members are expected to maintain active research programs that culminate in on-going successful external funding. Assistant Professors are given a course equivalent release per semester during the initial year of appointment to implement a research program that has strong potential for funding. This release may be extended to the second year of appointment if sufficient evidence of progress is seen.

Internal campus sources may be pursued for initial funding. System-level funding opportunities are also available for initial funding purposes. The expectation of both is that they are to be viewed as funding for pilot studies or initiation of new research directions in order to make future larger scale, extramural funding more likely. Successful pursuit of external funding is to be the goal for all regular tenure track faculty. Faculty members are encouraged to work closely with the Associate Dean for the PhD Program and Research, and the Director of Research in the pursuit of successful funding opportunities. Faculty members who are not actively engaged in funded research will be assigned increased teaching loads consistent with the University of Missouri-St. Louis workload policy.

All research proposals are to undergo rigorous internal review before submission; peer review is an expectation. The Research Advisory Committee provides an important venue for peer review. Editorial support is available to assist in proposal preparation through the Associate Dean for the PhD Program and Research, and the Director of Research. Faculty members are expected to work closely with the Director of Research, the College's Fiscal Affairs Specialist, and the UMSL Office of Research Administration to establish realistic budgets that are consistent with requirements of the relevant funding agency. Budgets are to include investigator support via course release when appropriate and require support of the Associate Dean for the PhD Program and Research, and the Director of Research. Endorsement by the Associate Dean for the PhD Program and Research is required prior to submission to the Dean for signature. All grant applications must have the endorsement or signature of the Dean before submission to the Office of Research Administration. The Dean will not approve any grant application without support of the Associate Dean for the PhD Program and Research.

A copy of all grant applications and all subsequent documentation related to acceptance or denial of proposals are to be maintained in the College's Office of Research. Evidence of IRB approval by all affiliating agencies are to be submitted to the College's Office of Research and the University's Office of Research Administration. Approval must be obtained from the University of Missouri-St. Louis' IRB for all research activities and must retain active status for the duration of the study. Guidelines for IRB application are available here. A copy of any ocumentation or progress reports required by the funding agency is also to be given to both the University and College Offices of Research.

Graduate Research Assistants

Assistants are available to support faculty in the research process. Applications for graduate research assistants are available from the College's Office of Research. Requests for assistants are to be submitted to the Director of Research no later than one semester prior to the semester required. The Director of Research hires and supervises all research assistants. No research assistants will be hired without approval from the Director of Research.

Office space has been designated for research assistants. This office includes desk space, computer support and locked file cabinets. The Office of Research will provide a general orientation to the College for all research assistants; individual faculty members are responsible for orienting assistant(s) to their research protocols.

Scholarly Writing Activities

Tenure track faculty members are expected to publish findings of research endeavors through successful submission and acceptance of peer-reviewed (refereed) evidence-based manuscripts. While collaborative manuscript submission is viewed acceptable, regular senior authorship is an expected goal. Submission over time needs to demonstrate expansion of research activities. Acknowledgement of manuscript acceptance is to be submitted to the Associate Dean for the PhD Program and Research. Nontenure track faculty members are strongly encouraged to present and publish papers describing their scholarly teaching and/or clinical activities.