Research Projects
A core component of the training is developing, conducting, and completing a research project that fits into one of the two following plans: 1) primary data collection project + potential secondary data analysis project, or 2) secondary data analysis from one data set with two independent analyses. Fellows will work closely with their primary research mentor. Fellows become a key member of their mentor’s research team, and attend regular research team meetings, participate in IRB applications/renewals, and learn about budget management. Fellows apply information from didactic coursework and seminars on research design, implementation, and analysis. Fellows gain skills in multiple research areas utilized to study health equity, including clinic and hospital-based health services, large database analysis, health policy, and community-based participatory research. Finally, research projects launch each fellows’ academic careers in a focused area of study that they will pursue after leaving fellowship. By January of the first year, the fellows complete a project proposal with a literature review showing the gaps that their project fills; they also submit an IRB application and present their research project at a Works-In-Progress session.
The execution of the major research project typically occurs from the late winter to spring of the first year and throughout the majority of the second year. For fellows who are obtaining a master’s degree, the major research results in a thesis, which, at UW, consists of a journal-ready manuscript. Fellows are highly encouraged to complete a secondary data analysis project, either as a secondary research project, or as their primary research project if they have more than one main analysis from the data. There are a number of national and multi-state datasets that fellows can use for a secondary data analysis; these are datasets that mentors have experience with and have published on as well. These include, but are not limited to, the National Survey of Children’s Health, National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, Healthy Passages, Kids’ Inpatient Database, Pediatric Health Information System, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, and National Health Interview Survey.
Presentation of a fellow’s research at a national meeting occurs during the second year of the fellowship. Submission of manuscripts for publication begins by the spring of the second year. By the end of their training, the fellows are outstanding, highly competitive candidates for faculty positions at academic medical institutions and are well prepared to embark on planning an NIH K-award or similar career development application at their new institution.