Getting Started

In the Code of Federal Regulations (45 CFR 46.102(d)) pertaining to the protection of human subjects, research is defined as: “A systematic investigation (i.e., the gathering and analysis of information) designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge.”

The National Academy of Sciences states that the objective of research is to “extend human knowledge of the physical, biological, or social world beyond what is already known.”

Department of Health and Human Services- Office of Research Integrity

A research project may arise from a question or idea you have, or you may have the opportunity to participate in research that a faculty member has already started. Most research projects have at their core a hypothesis, a proposal that serves as a starting point for an investigation made on the basis of limited prior evidence. To start a project, you should (a) have a thorough knowledge of the subject, (b) have read prior information, especially research studies, on the topic, and (c) come up with a question whose answer will improve upon this knowledge.

Research projects require a faculty mentor from Radiology or another department. You may find a topic of interest from among those posted by the Radiology faculty. If you have your own hypothesis to propose, it is best to find a faculty member in the appropriate content area to act as a mentor.

• Review prior research on the topic.
• Develop a hypothesis for the study.
• Determine what resources you will need for the study.
  • Mentors & other key personnel
  • Equipment
  • Database access
  • Funding
• Draft your research proposal using this Research Template.
• Submit project proposal to IRB to the Dartmouth Health Human Research Protection Program (HRPP). For more information, please visit: https://www.dartmouth-hitchcock.org/research/hrpp-irb.
• Complete the D-HH CPHS training requirements:   CITI (Collaborative IRB Training Initiative) Group 1 Biomedical Basic Course—Click here for instructions
• To have the Office Research Operations assign you a research administrator for a grant proposal, complete this form: https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/df640efee8b64dd0bc722d5b3a3e88f5
• To have the Office Research Operations assign you a research administrator for a grant proposal, complete this form: https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/df640efee8b64dd0bc722d5b3a3e88f5
• If you have specific questions about budget item estimates involving imaging scans or image guided procedures, contact Tracy Frazee (Tracy.E.Frazee@hitchcock.org).
• If you have general questions about clinical trials at DH, use this form: https://www.dartmouth-hitchcock.org/research/new-study-submission
• Consider consulting expert help for project design and statistics (Contact Vice Chair of Research)

All research that involves human subjects or animals, including retrospective use of data from human subjects, requires review and approval from our Institutional Review Board (IRB). The IRB for Dartmouth-Hitchcock is the Dartmouth Health Human Research Protection Program (HRPP).

Some quality improvement (QI) projects do not have to be submitted to the HRPP, particularly if the project is just for internal quality improvement and you are never going to present or publish the results outside of Dartmouth Hitchcock. If you are uncertain, click the worksheet below and answer the questions that will help to determine if your project should be considered research or QI. Even if you determine that you are working on a QI project, please check with the departmental research coordinator (Tracy Frazee) before proceeding.

Is your project research or QI?

For projects that have to be submitted HRPP, there are different categories of IRB review:

• Exempt from further D-HH IRB review: Survey and interviews to which the identity of the participant can be linked but the information obtained is innocuous. Disclosure of this information would NOT reasonably place the participant at risk of criminal or civil liability or be damaging to the participant's financial standing, employability, or reputation. Determination that a research project is exempt from review is made by the D-HH IRB.
• Expedited review: This level of review applies to research involving only minimal risk. Minimal risk is defined as a risk level similar to risks encountered in daily life.
• Full Committee Review: Any study that does not meet criteria for exempt or expedited review

Most retrospective data review studies fall into the expedited review category.

For more resources on how to write an IRB protocol and on the IRB review process, please refer to this page: https://www.dartmouth-hitchcock.org/research/hrpp-irb-training-materials

Many research projects require funding to pay for equipment, software, imaging time, and personnel. There are many sources of funding.

Small amounts of funding may be obtained from the Radiology Department. In general, this money is intended to act as seed funding to get projects started and is usually in amounts of 5K or less. To access this funding submit your IRB-approved proposal along with a line item account of specific funding requests to the Vice Chair for Radiology Research. These requests are reviewed by the Radiology Research Committee and sent to the Department Chair for final approval.

Somewhat larger amounts of money are available through institutional grants. These include:

• Hitchcock Foundation Grants: Intended to fund pilot projects. Usually <30K.
• Norris Cotton Cancer Center Grants: Funding of various types available for oncology projects.

National organizations offer funding for larger projects. These include disease-specific organizations like the American Heart Association, American Cancer Society, and the federal government.

• https://grants.nih.gov/grants/oer.htm
• http://nexus.od.nih.gov/all/2017/05/19/new-tutorials-on-preparing-and-submitting-your-nih-grant-application

When you are preparing a grant proposal, you will need the assistance of a Department Research Administrator (DRA) who will help you to prepare the proposal submission forms, prepare a budget and related documentation.  Use the following Funding Proposal Intake Form to request that a DRA be assigned to your grant proposal:  https://one.hitchcock.org/intranet/education-research/office-of-research-operations/grants

If you require a research coordinator or a research nurse for your proposed research, you will need to include a budget item to ensure adequate funding for the services of such research support staff.  You can contact the Clinical Research Unit for a quote for the services required for your research:  https://www.dartmouth-hitchcock.org/research/clinical-research-unit

Radiology Department Contacts

• Jessica Sin MD, Vice Chair, Research: Jessica.M.Sin@hitchcock.org

Office of Research Operations, Dartmouth Hitchcock

Clinical Trials Office, Dartmouth Hitchcock

Clinically Oriented Academic Radiology Department Research Initiative (COARDRI)

• COARDRI is a multi-institutional effort to promote academic productivity among clinically-oriented radiology departments. They offer a mechanism to pair researchers with mentors at other institutions and foster collaborative research efforts. https://www.coardri.org

Writing it Up: A Step-by-Step Guide to Publications for Beginning Investigators

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT DARTMOUTH-HITCHCOCK (D-H) RESEARCH OPERATIONS:

For information about the Office of Research Operations (ORO) at D-H:

http://one.hitchcock.org/intranet/education-research/office-of-research-operations

For information about the Clinical Trials Office (CTO) at D-H and information about new study submission:

http://one.hitchcock.org/intranet/departments/dartmouth_clinical_trials_office

For ORO resources about research grants and contracts:

http://one.hitchcock.org/intranet/education-research/office-of-research-operations/grants-and-contracts/resources

HUMAN RESEARCH PROTECTION AND INSTITUTION REVIEW BOARD (IRB)

For the contact information for the D-H IRB:

http://one.hitchcock.org/intranet/education-research/office-of-research-operations/d-hh-human-research-protection-program-(irb)

For information about how to submit and IRB at D-H:

https://video.dartmouth-hitchcock.org/media/1_0nivbn61

For additional training resources for IRB submission at D-H:

http://one.hitchcock.org/intranet/education-research/office-of-research-operations/d-hh-human-research-protection-program-(irb)/resources/training-materials

For information about the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) training:

http://one.hitchcock.org/intranet/education-research/office-of-research-operations/education_and_training/citi-training

GRANT WRITING TUTORIALS AND WEBINARS:

For the AUR RRA online video tutorials on grant writing:

https://www.aur.org/affinity-groups/rra/rra-on-line-grant-writing-series

For information about Dartmouth Grant Proposal Support Initiative (GrantGPS) grant writing workshops:

https://www.dartmouth.edu/gps/programming/index.html

RESEARCH COORDINATOR AND RESEARCH NURSING SUPPORT

To request research coordinator or research nursing support from the clinical research unit:

https://www.dartmouth-hitchcock.org/research/clinical-research-unit

DATA COLLECTION, EXTRACTION AND MINING

To submit a request to the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Analytics Institute to extract data from the Data Warehouse:

http://one.hitchcock.org/intranet/departments/the-analytics-institute/research-data-requests

DATA MANAGEMENT

REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture) is a secure web application for building and managing online surveys and databases.

For more information about requesting access to REDCap:

http://one.hitchcock.org/intranet/departments/the-analytics-institute/training#RC

For access to online videos about how to use REDCap:

https://redcap.hitchcock.org/redcap/index.php?action=training

STUDY DESIGN AND DATA ANALYSIS

For assistance with study design, statistical analysis, or machine learning, use this online form to request help from the Quantitative Biomedical Sciences Program (QBS):

https://docs.google.com/forms

For AUR RRA webinars on statistical analysis:

https://www.aur.org/en/resources/rahsr-rra-on-line-webinar-series

LIBRARY SERVICES AND LITERATURE SEARCHES

To request research consultation or help with literature searches through the Dartmouth Biomedical Library:

https://www.dartmouth.edu/library/biomed/services/research.html

CITATION MANAGEMENT

For information about citation management software:

https://researchguides.dartmouth.edu/citingsources/refman

For training videos about how to use citation management tools:

https://researchguides.dartmouth.edu/c.php?g=1080262&p=8010079