Timeline

Include all significant steps of your research. We understand that the actual progression will likely change as your work on your project, but a clear timeline strengthens your application because it indicates that you have carefully considered the full scope of your project and understand what is involved in seeing it through.

The timeline can be bullet points, Gantt chart, or visual representation, but must be uploaded as PDF.

Requirements

  • To adhere to the Grant Award Terms, your timeline must include the URCA Week presentation and
  • Include the anticipated time of any purchases listed in the budget. Any expenses must be incurred between January 1, 2025 and June 1, 2026. Use of funds will not be extended and grants cannot be used to reimburse prior expenses.
  • If traveling for your research, include those dates

 

Typical Milestones to Include in Timeline

 

Project Start-Up and Foundational Work:

  • Project Start Date: Begin formal work on the project.

  • Meeting with Mentor(s): Discuss project scope, refine research questions, establish communication protocols, and identify immediate resources needed.

  • Refining Research Questions/Hypotheses: Based on initial mentor discussions, solidify your specific research questions and testable hypotheses.

  • Comprehensive Literature Review: identify literature to understand the current state of knowledge, identify gaps, and support your methodological choices.

Development of Research Protocol/Methodology:

  • Design your experiment, survey, or data collection instruments. This includes defining your population, sampling strategy, data points, and analytical approach.

  • Ethical Approvals and Preliminary Work (if applicable):

  • Preparation of IRB Application: Draft all necessary forms, consent documents, recruitment materials, and detailed descriptions of your procedures for ethical review.

  • Submission of IRBApplication: Submit your completed application to the Institutional Review Board (IRB). Given the tight timeline, work closely with your mentor to ensure the application is robust and aims for an expedited review if applicable.

  • Preliminary Data Collection/Pilot Study Setup (if not requiring full IRB): If your project allows, begin setting up equipment, practicing techniques, or conducting pilot studies that do not involve human or animal subjects requiring full IRB/IACUC approval.

  • URCA Week Application Submission: Submit your application for URCA Week, outlining your proposed research, methodology, and expected preliminary findings or progress.

Data Collection and Preliminary Dissemination:

  • Participant Recruitment/Sample Acquisition: Begin actively recruiting participants or acquiring your necessary samples/data sources. This starts immediately upon receiving IRB approval.

  • Pilot Study/Preliminary Testing (if applicable): Conduct pilot studies or preliminary testing.

  • Primary Data Collection/Experimentation (Initial Phase): Begin the core data collection or experimental procedures.

  • Preparation for URCA Week Presentation: Focus on summarizing your research plan, initial progress, and any preliminary findings for your presentation.

  • URCA Week Presentation: Present your work to the university community. This is an excellent opportunity to share your progress and get feedback.

  • Primary Data Collection/Experimentation (Completion): Finish gathering all necessary data for your project.

  • Data Entry/Organization: Systematically enter and organize all collected data. This can be done concurrently with data collection to save time.

Data Analysis and Final Deliverables:

  • Initial Data Cleaning and Preparation: Review your dataset for errors, missing values, and prepare it for statistical or qualitative analysis.

  • Statistical Analysis/Qualitative Data Coding: Conduct the core analysis of your data using appropriate software and methods.

  • Interpretation of Results and Discussion with Mentor: Analyze your findings, draw conclusions, and discuss implications with your faculty mentor. This is crucial for shaping your final report.

  • Draft Research Report/Paper: Begin writing the various sections of your research report (Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion). This can start as soon as initial analysis begins.

  • Mentor Feedback and Revisions: Get your mentor's feedback on your draft report and make critical revisions.