Researcher Journey Map

Before beginning proposal development, consider meeting with the Office of Sponsored Programs to discuss your research or creative activity idea. OSP can help you identify sources of grant funding, provide information about sponsor priorities and evaluate sponsor fit, and outline resources which support proposal development and submission. Early engagement with OSP can help you identify funding opportunities, anticipate compliance requirements, and develop a competitive proposal strategy.

The CMU Library has also created a guide which identifies sources of grant funding and provides guidance on the process.

Before you begin collecting data, consult with CMU’s research computing staff about your project’s technology needs. The Office of Information Technology will provide helpful guidance related to specialized software, custom instrumentation, managing large datasets, data security, and the types of ongoing tech support available to you.

• Will it be stored on an internal (CMU) or an external server? Someplace else? 
• What are the privacy and/or security requirements for your data? 
• Who will have access to your data in addition to yourself, and for how long? 
• How long will your data be retained? Will it be kept beyond the life of the project? 

Questions about storing and maintaining your data on a CMU server can be answered by the Office of Information Technology.

If your project involves identifiable human-subject data, FERPA data, HIPAA-regulated data, or some form of restricted data, request a CMU data security consultation before collection begins.

Your subject librarian can suggest external sites such as disciplinary repositories. This research guide provides a list of recognized repositories suitable for the storage and maintenance of various types of data. 

Librarians can also help you organize and make your data accessible through the application of metadata

Preparing a proposal for external funding is a complex process. The Office of Sponsored Programs provides support throughout the proposal development process, including help with:

• Proposal development and editing
• Grant-writing assistance
• Identification of possible consultants and collaborators
• Budget preparation
• Compliance with sponsor and CMU budget requirements
• Proposal review and revision
• Institutional approvals and proposal submission

If you are receiving data from another institution or sharing your data with a non-CMU researcher(s), you must create a data use agreement. This agreement will determine where data can be stored, who may access it, how it will be secured, and who is responsible for retention and disposal. Typically, the project’s principal investigator (PI) will be responsible for these decisions.

An important step before beginning your research is a survey of existing published literature on your topic. This step brings you up to speed on existing topic knowledge and ensures your research is adding new knowledge to the topic area and not simply restating existing research. Your subject librarian can help you with this step.  

Your planned research project may include collecting original data, or you may be interested in an evidence synthesis project. 

If you will be gathering original data, be sure to contact the CMU Institutional Review Board (IRB) for guidance on human subject research (more below) and the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) for guidance on vertebrate animal research. The Office of Research Compliance will provide guidance to researchers on proper data collection.  

Examples of evidence synthesis include systematic reviews with or without meta-analysis, scoping reviews, and other methods for analyzing data from the published literature as a whole. Librarians are essential to evidence synthesis research, which requires a highly structured and reproducible search strategy. This research guide describes the evidence synthesis service model available from CMU Libraries. 

Depending on the nature of your research, you may need to obtain clearance for your activities. Research involving human subjects must receive approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) while animal research will require clearance from the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). CMU’s Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) and Office of Laboratory and Field Safety should also be consulted. This process ensures the safety of research project participants and compliance with accepted research practices. The Office of Research Compliance can provide guidance on these requirements. 

Researchers at CMU must abide by institutional policies and federal laws related to international research collaboration. These measures govern things like data transfer, data storage and access, privacy and security issues, technology, and international travel. The Office of Research Compliance can provide guidance on international research collaborations.

A data management plan (DMP) is a formal document outlining how the data created by your research will be identified, stored, and preserved during the life of your project. It is an important organization tool, and a DMP may be a required component of a federal grant award. 

The library has created a helpful research guide about the data management plan. For additional guidance, contact your subject librarian. 

If your proposal is funded, the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) will provide support throughout the life of the award. OSP works with principal investigators, sponsors, Grant Accounting, and other university offices to facilitate award acceptance, project administration, sponsor communications, and required modifications to funded projects. OSP will also support requests for project extensions (if needed), assist with required reporting, and act as a liaison between you and all sponsoring agencies for the duration of the project.

Depending on your research topic, locating existing data in support of your research may be required. The library has created a research guide linking to several important data repositories. If you need help finding additional data, please contact your subject librarian.  

When you’ve collected your data, the CMU Statistical Consulting Center will help you analyze, interpret, and communicate your data findings effectively. They are experts in a variety of data analysis tools.   

Once you’ve finished your article, you’ll need to identify possible journals in which you might publish your work. Your subject librarian can help here by addressing such considerations as impact factor, traditional paywall publishing versus open access with an article processing charges (APCs), and predatory practices from publishers.

Having a project closeout plan is important. This plan will address issues around data sharing and data retention, destruction of data (where appropriate), and what happens to data if project personnel or the PI leave CMU. 

Work with the Office of Sponsored Programs and Grant Accounting to complete sponsor-required closeout activities, final reports, financial reconciliations, and award documentation.

Not all research projects result in commercial products or intellectual property, but if you feel your work has potential for patent protection, licensing, industry partnerships, or other forms of commercialization you should contact the Office of Sponsored Programs to discuss available opportunities.