Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38669240›Full record

ArticlePloS one2024

Granting access: Development of a formal course to demystify and promote predoctoral fellowship applications for graduate students.

Pamela K Geyer, Darren S Hoffmann, Jennifer Y Barr, Heather A Widmayer, Christine M Blaumueller

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Degree Background and NIH K-to-R01 Transition Among Investigators Using Experimental Neuroscience to Advance Psychiatry.Academic psychiatry : the journal of the American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training and the Association for Academic Psychiatry · 2026
    Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Pamela K GeyerDepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0001-9275-1407
Darren S HoffmannMedical Scientist Training Program, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America.
Jennifer Y BarrScientific Editing and Research Communication Core, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0002-1688-730X
Heather A WidmayerScientific Editing and Research Communication Core, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America.
Christine M BlaumuellerScientific Editing and Research Communication Core, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America.

Funding

Medical Scientist Training ProgramT32GM139776 · NIGMS · UNIVERSITY OF IOWA · PI Gordon F Buchanan · 2021 to 2026
$6.4M
NIGMS NIH HHS T32 GM139776
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Strong scientific writing skills are the foundation of a successful research career and require training and practice. Although these skills are critical for completing a PhD, most students receive little formal writing instruction prior to joining a graduate program. In 2015, the University of Iowa Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) addressed this issue by developing the scientific writing course Grant Writing Basics (GWB). Here we describe the structure of this course and its effectiveness. GWB is an interactive, workshop-based course that uses a National Institutes of Health (NIH) F30 predoctoral fellowship proposal as a platform for building writing expertise. GWB incorporates established pedagogical principles of adult learning, including flipped classrooms, peer teaching, and reiterative evaluation. Time spent in class centers on active student analysis of previously submitted fellowship applications, discussion of writing resources, active writing, facilitated small group discussion of critiques of student writing samples, revision, and a discussion with a panel of experienced study section members and a student who completed a fellowship submission. Outcomes of GWB include a substantial increase in the number of applications submitted and fellowships awarded. Rigorous evaluation provides evidence that learning objectives were met and that students gained confidence in both their scientific writing skills and their ability to give constructive feedback. Our findings show that investment in formal training in written scientific communication provides a foundation for good writing habits, and the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in this vital aspect of a scientific research career. Furthermore, they highlight that evaluation is valuable in guiding course evolution. Strategies embedded in GWB can be adapted for use in any graduate program to advance scientific writing skills among its trainees.

Indexed as

Education, GraduateFellowships and ScholarshipsWritingCurriculumHumansStudentsUnited States

Identifiers

PMID38669240
PMCPMC11051599

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.