RazorGrant: IRB Submission Training

The Office of Research and Innovation has rolled out a new RazorGrant module. This module changes the Institutional Review Board (IRB) protocol submission process by utilizing the online RazorGrant system. The IRB is the body that ensures researchers use safe, ethical practices when engaging in research involving human subjects. Bring your laptop to the training.

• May 2 at 1 p.m.
• ADMN 206
• Register

RazorGrant: Proposal Training

Learn about proposal development in RazorGrant, PI and Co-PI certifications, working with your grant specialist and routing and approval completion.

• May 9 at 3:30 p.m.
• ADMN 206
• Register

IACUC Protocol 

The IACUC is charged with monitoring adherence the university's Policy on Animal Care and Use and federal and state statutes and regulations. All research or teaching using live vertebrate animals must have prior, written approval of a Vertebrate Animals Protocol .

The IACUC meets on the first Friday of each month. Investigators are not expected to attend the meeting unless specifically requested to do so. Protocols must be received at least seven working days prior to the meeting. See the Research Website for more information on IACUC.

Vice Provost for Research and Innovation Search

The University of Arkansas invites nominations and applications for the position of Vice Provost for Research and Innovation, who will serve as the chief research officer on all matters related to the institution's research mission. The university seeks a dynamic and progressive leader who will provide leadership, give strategic vision and foster innovation and excellence to advance the research enterprise.

NSF Fastlane and Research.gov Changes

Effective immediately, the National Science Foundation has changed its registration process. The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs is here to assist you through this transition; however, we can no longer create your NSF FastLane/Research.gov account. The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs has created an NSF FastLane & Research.gov changes webpage to support you during this transition.

Reminder about Materials Transfer Agreements

All Material Transfer Agreements (MTAs) for biological materials should be reviewed and signed by the Office of Research Compliance, and researchers buying materials from the ATCC repository in Manassas, VA should do so using the institutional account rather than establishing new accounts. For more information about research compliance, contact Jason Ramage, assistant vice provost for research compliance.

Grants.gov Proposal Submission Changes

Grants.gov phased out the Legacy Application Package effective January 1, 2018. This means that applicants will no longer be able to apply using the older, single PDF package of forms. Applicants will apply for grants using the new, web-based Grants.gov platform called Workspace. For more information on Workspace and a list of resources, see the Research Website.

Budget Workbook Template Updates

The RSSP Budget Template Workbook has been updated. You can find the most recent version in the Investigator’s Toolbox section of the RSSP website, under “Proposal Preparation/Pre-Award.” Several items on the template have been updated to reflect changes that will go into effect in July 2018, including changes to F&A, fringe benefits and tuition, so be sure you are using the current version of the template.

Selecting a Journal for Your Next Publication: Tools for Finding the Perfect Fit

Thanks to the proliferation of specialty and interdisciplinary journals, you have more publishing opportunities than ever. But sorting through all the choices takes time – time you’d rather spend doing research. Fortunately, journal selectors allow you to efficiently identify your best options.

Journal selectors resemble Zillow, the popular real estate shopping website, and Perfect Dog, the app for finding the ideal canine companion. You simply set the variables and click the “search” button. As with any search engine, the quality of the results depends on the scope and accuracy of the information in the database. On the one hand, selectors offered free of charge by Elsevier, IEEE, and Springer include only the publisher’s own journals but presumably the publisher has direct access to accurate information. On the other hand, selectors such as EndNote Match, which requires a subscription to the citation manager EndNote, and Edanz Journal Selector, which offers a complementary selection tool as well as fee-based editorial services, boast a broader database but may rely on journal editors to provide the data. Forrester, Björk, & Tenopir (2017) provide a valuable assessment of popular selectors. With these precautions in mind, you may want to test-drive multiple selectors in order to determine which yields the most useful results.

As you begin, consider your obligations and goals. Does your sponsor mandate open access publications? Does your tenure/promotion committee require peer review or expect publication in a journal with a particular impact factor? Whom do you want to reach? Researchers in your subfield? Colleagues across your discipline? An interdisciplinary audience? Enter these factors as your search variables, and the selector will recommend potential journals. Before firing off your article to the first one on the list, however, you want to evaluate each with care. Visit the journal’s website for information about its mission, scope, audience, submission requirements, review process, editorial board, and editorial policy. Make sure the journal is respectable – not predatory. (Learn how to spot a predatory journal in the May 2017 issue of the Catalyst.) Read a few recent issues and imagine your article in these pages. Finally, look for comments from authors on user-review websites such as SciRev. Then, when you’ve found the best-fit for your article, submit it with confidence.

By using a journal selector, you can identify opportunities to bring your research to new audiences, increase its impact, and achieve your goals.

Melody Herr, PhD

Head, Office of Scholarly Communications

 

Reference

Forrester, A., Björk, B. C., & Tenopir, C. (2017). New web services that help authors choose journals. Learned Publishing, 30 (August), 281–287. https://doi.org/10.1002/leap.1112