Tips for Applying for an AFAANZ Research Grant Business School Tips for Applying for an AFAANZ Research Grant Professor Gary Monroe UNSW Business School UNSW Sydney

My presentation

Researchers Make sure everyone is eligible to be on the grant application e.g., don’t have a Professor as one of the researchers Professor can be a mentor several grants were disqualified because of this one Put your team together early so you can think about the idea and give feedback to one another

Project summary Use plain English rather than buzzwords and technical jargon State: What you will examine One sentence on research method Why it is important

Total AUD requested Don’t ask for excessive amounts e.g., $50,000 given the limit is $10,000 makes us think you can’t do the project even if we gave you $10,000

Research methods Use plain text, not buzzwords and technical jargon Describe your research method, e.g., archival, experiment, survey, interviews, etc. Brief overview of your research design,, e.g., test variables, dependent variables, RQ / topics to be addressed in interviews Brief discussion of sample, e.g., Australian listed companies, auditors, environmental committee members

Pick a RQ that has potential for research impact Impact can involve academic impact, economic and societal impact or both Academic impact is the contribution that social and economic research makes to scientific advances, across and within disciplines, including significant advances in understanding, method, theory application Economic and societal impact is the contribution that social and economic research makes to society and the economy, of benefit to individuals, organisations and nations

Categories of social science research impact Instrumental: influencing the development of policy, practice or service provision, shaping legislation, altering behaviour Conceptual: contributing to the understanding of policy issues, reframing debates Capacity building: through technical and personal skill development

Assess the potential impact of your study How new and innovative is it? Where are you likely to publish your study? Will it matter to anyone? Who will benefit from your study? Is the answer obvious?

High vs Low Impact Papers

Measuring impact

(C) Key papers Very important to check that the research has not already been done by someone else Several applications were rejected because someone had already done the same study and the application had not cited that paper Several applications were rejected because someone had already done a very similar study and the application had not cited that paper and/or not explained how their study was different and why that difference was important

(D) Motivation / Puzzle - What is a good research idea? A great idea is one that confronts or contributes to a “grand challenge” “grand challenges” are the big puzzles How do we solve poverty and climate change, cure cancer, etc.? Not many studies address the “grand challenges” An idea that deals with a large unresolved problem that tackles that problem with a bold and innovative way that goes beyond existing explanations An idea that allows you to explain how your study solves a piece of a larger puzzle, and in doing so moves the discipline forward with rigor and relevance An idea that is novel and interesting - would it change the way that people think about an issue?

What is a good research idea? An idea that results from knowledge recombination with something new being created by building a bridge between two literatures or disciplines An idea that is not perceived as a marginal extension of the existing literature Avoid topics in very mature areas unless you can really come up with something novel An idea that is not so narrow that the results cannot be generalised to other settings Narrowness can be the result of the topic itself or the result of a researcher salami slicing rather than going for one big important paper An idea that counters a reader’s taken-for-granted assumptions

What is a good research idea? An idea that makes an important contribution to the literature that also has implications for practice (i.e., the results are actionable) – McGahan (2007) Offers counterintuitive insights Highlights the effects of new and imported practices Show inconsistencies in, and consequences of, practice Suggests a specific theory to explain an interesting and current practice or proposed practice Identifies an iconic phenomenon that opens new areas of inquiry and practice

What is NOT a good research idea? One that is motivated by nobody has ever examined that topic before One that is motivated by nobody has ever examined that topic in a particular country The results are trivial One that adds to conflicting results rather than reconciling conflicting results One that we already know the answer to or the answer is just obvious One where you cannot get data to address the issue One that nobody is interested in the answer to your RQ

(E) Idea Be brief and don’t use buzzwords and/or technical jargon you are writing a a broader audience don’t be too technical pretend you are explaining it to someone who knows nothing about your topic

So you think you’ve got a good idea..... Draft an introduction or two page summary and see whether you can sell your idea to others Introduction should answer three sets of questions – Grant and Pollock (2011) Who cares? What is the topic or RQ and why is it interesting and important to theory and practice? What do we know, what don’t we know, and so what? What significant, unaddressed puzzle or controversy does your study address and why does it need to be addressed? What will we learn? How does your study significantly change, challenge or advance our understanding of this topic?

(F) Data and (G) Tools Present the same level of discussion about the data that would be presented in a journal article Don’t be too technical in describing your model avoid technical jargon and buzzwords Can discuss your IV and DV if an experiment, archival or survey study and how measured You don’t need to go into a long discussion of all your control variables

(H) What’s new? and (I) So what? Describe in layman’s terms what you are doing and why it is important Who will benefit from the study? What’s the new thing we will learn? What issues will it resolve? What results will it reconcile?

(J) Contribution Your contribution is what you add to the literature, e.g., what you add to our understanding of a topic related to ”So What” It is not the same as just describing what you will do in your study or stating that your study is the first to do this.

Budget Don’t ask for amounts significantly above the maximum Don’t include items specifically excluded from funding, e.g., funds for conferences Don’t include items not necessary for you to do the project, e.g., a laptop so you can work at home (you can do the project at work!!) or money for a RA to write up your literature review (that’s your job!!) Do justify your budget, e.g.,, how did you come up of $6,300 for a RA

Good luck with your grant application!