From the Editor's Desk
Author
Jennifer E. Taylor, Ph.D., M.B.A.
Rush Medical Center and University
The Journal of Research Administration (JRA) is the premier scholarly publication in the field of research administration and management. We publish timely critical work that adds to the knowledge base for research administration and contributes to enhancing the work of research administrators across the globe. Through these contributions, JRA is an essential educational and career development resource for our field. Our contributors share best practices and innovative approaches to address research administrators' challenges and opportunities in our fast-paced, ever-changing contexts while advancing their careers by publishing peer-reviewed scholarly journal articles that enhance our field..
As the current Editor-in-Chief of JRA, I would be remiss if I did not express my gratitude to those who have previously served in the editor’s role and led the JRA to a level of excellence I am privileged to build upon. The success of JRA is also built on the hard work and dedication of our current and prior incredible staff, deputy and associate editors, reviewers, and the SRAI communication committee members. I also want to thank our authors, editorial board members, and staff for all their contributions and efforts as we assembled another exceptional issue of JRA. Once again, the current issue is characterized by high-quality, important manuscripts from our outstanding authors that will contribute to the knowledge base and work of those in research administration and those who depend on that work. The continuing excellence of the contributions we receive for inclusion in JRA reflects the ongoing growth of the field that so many in SRAI and our field, more broadly, have nurtured over the more than 50-year history of JRA and SRAI. On behalf of JRA, I want to encourage you to think of JRA as an outlet for your manuscripts regarding your work in research administration.
The articles in the current issue of JRA come from researchers and research administrators who represent SRAI's international emphasis. We thank them for continuing to view JRA as a preferred outlet for their work and a source of critical conceptual and practical scholarship to guide that work. As always, the manuscripts herein reflect the broad range of settings in which research administrators conduct their work, key issues and challenges they deal with daily, and the innovative and essential solutions research administrators bring to bear as they perform their work. The manuscripts range from consideration of the development of a process for enhancing the efficacy of the support available to investigators in a research-intensive university, where such support is distributed across dozens of offices, to the strategies employed by a Research Management Office to promote multi-disciplinary research. Additionally, our authors address the development of a more efficient approach to dealing with the critical task of reducing the turnaround time for generating high-quality NIH Data Training Tables for NIH training grants. Importantly, this issue also offers a thoughtful consideration built on equity, diversity, and inclusion principles, specifically addressing the challenges of establishing accessibility for those who are differentially abled as an integral part of the research enterprise.
More specifically, team members from Duke University, including members from a wide array of backgrounds, bring us our first article, “myRESEARCHpath: An Interactive Tool for Investigators and Research Administrators.” Team members, including Jamie S. Wylie, MA, PMP, Rebecca J. Namenek Brouwer, MS, Derek M. Jones, M.Div, and Geeta K. Swamy, MD, describe the development of a process in a large, research-intensive university to address the challenges of helping investigators and research administrators locate and access critical information when that information is distributed across multiple locations and offices in the institution. They describe how they developed a web-based interactive research roadmap called “myRESEARCHpath” to guide those who use it in accessing what they need when they need it, and how this information relates with that provided by other support offices. They also discuss initial data on the use and impact of the tool.
Our next manuscript, entitled “Researching Multi-Disciplinary Diversities and Optimizing Their Inherent Strengths and Opportunities: The Role Played by UNILAG Research Management Office,” is from the University of Lagos. Dr. Emeka P. Okonji, Gbadamosi Morufu, MS, and Dr. Amuda Mohammed Olawale Hakeem Ph.D. provide a discussion of the strategies employed by the Research Management Office of the University to promote multi-disciplinary research, the results of efforts to encourage collaboration across a broad range of academic and research disciplines among researchers in over 12 faculties of the University, and the challenges faced. They close by providing recommendations for advancing these strategies and suggestions for pragmatic solutions to challenges experienced.
In their article “A Method for Creating NIH Data Training Tables with REDCap and NIH xTRACT,” Sally Lu and Dr. John E. Kerrigan from Rutgers University, take on one of the more challenging tasks confronted by research administrators in institutions that have received training grants funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). That challenge results from the tight turnaround time for generating high-quality NIH Data Training Tables for NIH training grants. These tables, “are required for training grant submission proposals to the NIH. They provide an overview of the different approaches that Universities with dedicated training grant submission offices versus those with less or no dedicated support for training grant submissions may employ an ad hoc approach. In these cases, department or program administrators may collect the data manually, in Excel or REDCap, or similar manually maintained methods for those tables requested to address the requirements of the NIH grant announcement for the relevant (including clinical) training programs across the university.” They then describe what they propose as a more efficient “federated” method of data collection and construction for NIH Tables for new and renewal applications by combining the use of REDCap and NIH xTract, leveraging each of their strengths.
Our final manuscript comes from Carleton University in Ontario, Canada. In their article "Accessibility in Research Administration," Catherine Malcolm Edwards, Jessie Gunnell, Vicente del Solar, David Phipps, and Jeffrey Edwards address the critical issue of increasing accessibility in the research enterprise, particularly for those who may be differently abled. The manuscript builds on a facilitated workshop at The Canadian Conference on Research Administration. In this reflective inquiry piece, the authors discuss the workshop “EDI, eh? How does accessibility factor in” and the learnings generated from the peer group who attended. The goals were for the insights obtained to foster a culture of accessibility and inclusivity within academia, where understanding and addressing academic ableism require a language and mindset shift that goes beyond the ‘duty to accommodation.’ The author ends by addressing lessons learned and the recommendations that stem from them.
I hope you enjoy this issue as much as I do.
IMPORTANT NOTICES: I want to draw your attention to several significant changes in how we process submissions and reviews for the JRA.
- As discussed in prior issues, as reflected on our webpage, there has been a significant advancement in the infrastructure of JRA to facilitate and enhance the journal's operation. JRA has “gone live” in its move to using ScholarOne software to aid in submitting, reviewing, and managing manuscripts. This will lead to a significant increase in efficiency, speed of review, and ease of communication. The information necessary to use this system, including the process for creating an account to sign in, is available at
https://www.srainternational.org/resources/journal/become-a-journal-author.
- With the implementation of the Scholar One system, updated author guidelines have also taken effect. Please refer to the JRA webpage
https://www.srainternational.org/resources/journal/become-a-journal-author to ensure you are using the guidelines in effect if you are submitting a manuscript or intending to do so in the future.
- The JRA is calling for manuscript submissions to be considered for an upcoming special issue on “Clinical Trials.” If you or a colleague are interested in submitting a manuscript, please use our online platform, ScholarOne, to submit your manuscripts by October 4, 2024.
As Editor-in-Chief of JRA, I am grateful to play a role in continuing to help move our field forward. Having the opportunity to receive and read the incredibly diverse and exciting submissions we receive is one that I feel very honored to have. Those submissions reflect the work of so many talented and committed professionals. Please email me directly with any input, questions, or suggestions you may have. On behalf of all of us at JRA, we encourage you to send manuscripts to JRA. As always, it bears repeating that the team behind the Editor is essential to the success of the Journal. The administration of SRAI and the communications committee of JRA provide crucial guidance and input on all phases of JRA, and they are vital resources for addressing unique situations.
The Editorial Board members are essential partners in ensuring that the manuscripts that appear in the Journal are exceptional and that they make valuable contributions to the work of our readers and the field of research administration more broadly. They put in countless hours for no compensation beyond the significant demands of their formal roles in their home institutions. The continued growth of the JRA would not have been possible without their contributions. I am in awe of their commitment to both JRA and the continued growth in excellence of the work of research administrators. Under the direction of our Deputy Editor Holly Zink, the Author Fellowship Committee and the Author Fellow Advisors provide essential guidance to the Author Fellows as they develop and publish their first scholarly articles. I am grateful they will continue offering this unique and vital work for JRA. To learn more about the Author Fellowship program please visit https://www.srainternational.org/resources/journal/author-fellowship.
JRA would only be able to operate at the level of quality it does with the valuable work of the SRAI staff, who have shared their knowledge, guidance, and expertise with me in my work as Editor-in-Chief. Gina Snyder is critical to our success as she works with me, reviewers, and authors, always quickly, thoughtfully, and with kindness. As always, she merits special recognition and thanks. As I have noted many times, she is core to the success of JRA – she ensures the production of the Journal meets the highest professional standards.
Lastly, as always, if you are a non-SRAI member and wish to have the Journal delivered via email, please sign up through the online system at https://member.srainternational.org/account/login.aspx.