Managing your PhD for applied health research students Professor Elaine McColl (with thanks to Dr Lindsay Pennington)

Applied health research Complex questions prevalence, severity and impact of disease acceptability and effectiveness of interventions cost effectiveness, efficiency Aim to inform policy makers, healthcare providers, patients and public

Multiple methods – quantitative and qualitative Mixed methods, synthesis of evidence Multiple supervisors: Topic expert Quantitative expert Qualitative expert

Planning The Research Question, Aims and Objectives should inform and determine the methods and the project plan Resource constraints (personnel, time, money, physical resources) may necessitate modification of the plan from ‘the ideal’ 3 months from registration to develop project proposal, to include Project plan Gantt chart Your training needs and plans

Managing your project Aims Objectives Methods Design Timing – prioritisation, duration Resources – time, money, personnel, equipment Risk management Project management session 16 November

Managing others Supervisors Gate-keepers to identification and recruitment of participants Clinicians Voluntary sector Local authority Participants To make your project successful you will be managing others as well as your project Your project may succeed or fail on this – you may have a great idea, be able to write fantastic literature review and appraise extant evidence relative to your subject and analyse your data but unless you can persuade others to work with you you won’t have any data!

Understand their priorities Get to know them Understand their priorities Work with them – give them something in return Agree timescales Keep them invested Agree methods of communication Update them Everybody will have multiple call son their time, not just you. Your project will be interesting but not necessarily import or urgent for them PPI session 24 May 2017 Social media session 7 November 2016 Communication and presentation skills session 15 May 2017

Patient and Public Involvement Involving appropriate patient/carer representatives and/or members of the public at all stages from design to dissemination is likely to enhance the work Methods of and routes to PPI need to be tailored to your specific study and its setting See INVOLVE – www.invo.org.uk See also FMS Engagement Team - https://internal.ncl.ac.uk/medical/engagement/ https://internal.ncl.ac.uk/medical/engagement/training/

Research governance Be aware of and abide by the UK Framework for Health and Social Care Research – see https://www.hra.nhs.uk/planning-and- improving-research/policies-standards-legislation/uk-policy- framework-health-social-care-research/ Sponsorship University? NHS? Ethics approval HRA approval (what used to be NHS R&D approval) Good Clinical Practice See also https://www.hra.nhs.uk/planning-and-improving- research/research-planning/student-research/ NHS ethics and research gov takes at least 3 months

Study sponsorship HRA guidance suggests that the sponsor of studies being undertaken of an educational award, including doctoral level studies, is likely to be the student’s university. Local guidance is that the decision on whether Newcastle University or an NHS Trust should be sponsor depends on who the study participants are. If they are NHS patients (or their tissue or data), it will further depend on the level of involvement the research student has with the patients, with decisions being made on a case-by-case basis. Most usually, the sponsoring NHS Trust would be NUTH NHS Foundation Trust. Early contact should be made to FMSethics@ncl.ac.uk and Trust.R&D@nuth.nhs.uk to enquire about who will take on the role of sponsorship

Ethics approval ALL projects go through the university’s initial ethical review.  This can be done via the on-line Lime survey system at https://newcastle- ethics.limequery.com/index.php/445487/lang-en or via e-portfolio.  From there the system will signal one of the following: No further review is needed – no triggers triggered! Further information for the Animal Welfare Ethics Review Board to consider (unlikely for applied health research studies) and/or Leave the university system and follow the HRA (and IRAS) route for NHS REC or Social Care REC approval OR Continue through the on-line form for NU full ethical review and approval.  If an NHS REC responds with “no opinion as it is Service Evaluation” then the researcher needs to go back to the university Lime Survey system and respond as though they are proposing to involve “humans in a non-clinical setting”.

Other “bureaucracy” If conducting research on NHS patients, staff and premises and you are NOT a healthcare professional doing research within your own NHS Trust, you may need a research passport – see http://www.nihr.ac.uk/about-us/CCF/policy-and-standards/research- passports.htm In turn this may require clearance from DBS and/or Occupational Health All this takes time If conducting research outwith the NHS but with other vulnerable populations in the UK (e.g. children, elderly) likely to need to go through Disclosure and Barring Service check – see https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/disclosure-and- barring-service/about

Good Clinical Practice (GCP) For NHS sponsored studies, involving NHS patients, staff, tissue or data, the sponsor is likely to mandate completion of GCP training for those without a valid (i.e. < 3 years old) GCP certificate For all other studies involving human subjects, GCP training is not mandatory, but is recommended. Free training, either group-based in-person courses or online training, is provided free of charge via NIHR CRN Learn – see https://learn.nihr.ac.uk/ If you have previously undergone GCP training, one of the half-day refresher courses will suffice.  If this is the first time of you undertaking GCP training, you will need to do the full Introduction to GCP face-to-face course, or the online equivalent (selecting primary or secondary care as appropriate to your individual research study).  The website provides details of course dates and of how to register for the on-line training (using your @newcastle.ac.uk email address), which can be undertaken in your own time. 

Lab books/Research notebooks Issues Decisions Justification Evidence from previous research Actions Results Personnel involved They remain the property of the University Already mentioned by Alison Tyson Capper on Tuesday 4 Oct Very important all info in one place record of the project can check back on decisions and their justification can be checked after project completion

Data collection You may be out of the University for some time (may require completion of ‘study outwith’ form) Travel risk assessment must be completed if you are travelling outside the UK for data collection Appropriate safety measures should be put in place if you are doing fieldwork in the UK Regular communication with supervisors: Deal with issues as they arise Use time wisely: Write methods section whilst involved in ‘doing it’ Make notes for Discussion – strengths and limitations, impact of methods and design Risk assessment form – session in I.H.S and others

Writing Start now! Learned skill, takes practice Figures and tables can be slotted into thesis Agree the papers that will come from the thesis Agree when papers will be written and submitted Consider use of services of Writing Development Centre and INTO Also advised by Alison It’s never too early More you write better you’ll be

Disseminating your work Start now! Learned skill, takes practice Who do you want to influence? Best medium? When? Internal seminars and RDFs, Conferences, External meetings Training for presenting Public speaking 2 and 3 November 2016 Find out what the societies are that you should join Find out when their meetings are What types of presentations do they accept When is it best for you to present Write these into the Gantt chart and project plan Add to your e-portfolio training

Challenges Complex methods, complex projects NHS Trust approval – research sites, governance These all take time Project management essential Juggling Networking Negotiation Loneliness 3 years for project to be planned, executed and written up FT PhD 6 years PT PhD These soft skills are key to project completion Skills that are highly describable in academia, research and industry Loneliness – you aren’t alone, peer support groups Eg IHS group, PANIC, PRISM; RAs, supervisors. Work with others, make the most of break out times eg coffee times, get to know staff as well as other students. Join in!

Support for students GOOD LUCK! Supervisors PGR team – PGRSC and administrators Assessors Grad School Research Student Development Programme GOOD LUCK! Formal support You can do it Supervisors will support you to do it – they want to help you University will support you – APR, PGRSC Make the most of the opportunities Be savvy Good luck!