Developing a
Research Profile
INHR Research week
Professor Kader Parahoo
University of Ulster
20TH May, 2014
• A doctoral qualification is the highest
academic qualification one can
obtain.
• A doctoral study is the start of a
research career...........not the end
of it!
YOUR PROFESSION NEEDS YOU !
Main points
• What is a research profile?
• Main considerations in developing a
research profile.
• Why develop a research profile?
What is a research profile?
A track record in:
• Publications
• Research
• Conference presentation
• Research supervision (build a team)
• Membership of committees, panels,
(editorial)boards etc.
• International collaboration
Research Interests
My research is primarily focused on evaluating the
efficacy of group- and individual-based stress
management interventions on reducing distress, and
improving quality of life and physical health among
older adults (> 50 yrs.) with chronic illnesses such as
Cancer and HIV. I am particularly interested in how
psychosocial factors such as stress, coping and
personality style may interact with health behaviors
(e.g., treatment adherence), neuroendocrine function
and the age-related decrements in immune function
(i.e., immunosenescence) seen in older populations.
More specifically, I am interested in how stress and
other psychosocial factors may interact with, and
exacerbate, age-related decrements in immune
function that may promote disease progression in
Cancer and HIV.
What marks a desirable research profile?
• enough output to have an impact;
• output in areas of strategic importance;
• high quality.
Rayner (2012)
• Do experts in your area know your
work?
• Have you worked with them on
projects / committees?
Exercise and well-being in older people
Example of potential Projects:
• Exercise and quality of life
• Exercise and constipation
• Exercise and appetite..food consumption...weight
• Physiological effects of exercise
- Develop interventions
- Develop tools
- Carry out systematic reviews
Understanding & supporting men
and cancer
A Programme of work
Users, Clinicians, Voluntary Sector &
Academics
Information and support
needs of newly diagnosed
cancer patients
To explore how men with
prostate cancer experience
the effects of radiotherapy
treatment over a period of 18
months, post-treatment
Exploring and comparing the
experience and coping
behaviour of men and
women with colorectal
cancer: a qualitative
longitudinal study
The effectiveness of
psychosocial interventions
for men with prostate cancer:
A systematic review
Information seeking
behaviour of men living with
cancer: experiences of
support groups
Developing & evaluating a
couple-based intervention for
men with prostate cancer
and their partners: A
feasibility study
Multi-site RCT
Living with and beyond prostate
cancer: Does more investigation
result in better health? A study of
the impact on men of increased and
variable investigation and treatment
of prostate cancer in the Island of
Ireland
Publications
• ISI journals
ISI Highly Cited is a database of "highly cited
researchers"—scientific researchers whose
publications are most often cited in academic
journals over the past decade, published by the
Institute for Scientific Information. Inclusion in
this list is taken as a measure of the esteem of
these academics and is used, for example, by the
Academic Ranking of World Universities.
WIKIPEDIA 2012
Journal impact factors
Journal impact factors (IFs) are scores based on
citation analysis that are calculated annually
through Thomson-Reuters’ Institute of Scientific
Information
(ISI) and published in the Journal Citation
Reports (JCR) each June for the preceding year.
Top 10 nursing journals in 2008
1. Birth – Issues in
Perinatal Care
(2.84)
2. International Journal of
Nursing Studies
(2.31)
3. Oncology Nursing
Forum
(2.21)
4. Cancer Nursing
(1.71)
5. Journal of Advanced
Nursing
(1.65)
6. Nursing Research
(1.54)
7.Pain Management
Nursing
(1.54)
8. Journal of
Cardiovascular Nursing
(1.47)
9. Research in Nursing &
Health
(1.46)
10. Journal of Clinical
Nursing
(1.38)
Hirst index (H factor)
The h-index is an index that attempts to measure both the
productivity and impact of the published work of a scientist or
scholar. The index is based on the set of the scientist's most cited
papers and the number of citations that they have received in
other publications.
The index was suggested by Jorge E. Hirsch, a physicist at UCSD,
as a tool for determining theoretical physicists' relative quality[1]
and is sometimes called the Hirsch index or Hirsch number.
Other indexes:
• Egghe's g-index
• Zhang's e-index
• Contemporary h-index
• Age-weighted citation rate (AWCR) and AW-index
• Quality should always be the first goal. This
doesn't mean that articles in lower impact
journals that explain and promote your work
is not valuable. It certain is sensible and
important to make your work available to as
wide an audience as possible, and to keep
your name and that of your unit and
university in the public arena.
Rayner (2012)
How can individuals develop their research
profiles
• It is a lifetime project
• Can be daunting for beginners
• Requires basic training (research methodology,
proposal writing, publishing,
presentation/dissemination skills etc.)
• Requires focus
• Develop a research programme
• Work with others (networking)
• Requires motivation, incentive and self-discipline.
Organisations’ responsibility
• Recognise the importance and value of research
and its potential benefit to the organisation.
• Support researchers through training, protected
time, rewards and investment.
• Provide the infrastructure to encourage and
facilitate research.
Conclusions
• Research productivity depends on individuals and
on the organisations in which they work.
• Individuals must perceive research as an
essential component of the make-up of
academics, not as an add-on or hobby.
• Organisations must recognise provide the support
and environment in which research can flourish.
The success of individuals is also the success of
the organisation.
J C W Rayner
http://www.newcastle.edu.au/Resources/Schools/Mathematical%20and%20Physical
%20Sciences/Publications%20Lists/Samples/rayner_john_on_building_an_academic
_research_profile.pdf
Owen S Maslin-Prothero S E (2001) Developing your research profile
Nurse Education In Practice , 1, 5–11.