Research Curriculum
Research Philosophy
The BEACON researchers believe that good research starts with a good question and leads you down a path of investigation in a systematic way on a quest to gain knowledge and insight. Your Fellowship mentors and research coordinator are committed to guiding you throughout the process, with all the resources that you need.
At BMC, you will have a plethora of research opportunities and options to conduct a research study of any methodology, be it qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods. We will help select your research mentors based on the type of project you select. The research coordinator will provide support with your IRB application, strategize recruitment plans, and assist with data collection and analysis. Her goal is to ensure that your research is running smoothly, helping you manage timelines and problem solve challenges as they arise.
Additionally, fellows have the opportunity to get involved in the different research projects that are ongoing within the BEACON group. The Boston University BEACON Research Team is a group of researchers who hope to improve reproductive health care for women in Boston and beyond, through clinical research studies.The mission of the BEACON Research Team is to improve contraceptive care and abortion services through cutting-edge clinical research studies.
Research Curriculum
Fellows participate in the NIH Introduction to Principles and Practice of Clinical Research Course (IPPCR), a virtual, self-directed course which trains participants on how to effectively and safely conduct clinical research. The course focuses on the spectrum of clinical research and the research process by highlighting biostastitistical and epidemiological methods, study design, protocol preparation, patient monitoring, quality assurance, ethical and legal issues, and other relevant components of conductive research.
Your Project
Research Principles
1) The idea for a project must come from you—it’s too hard to do research that you do not care deeply about. Your project may be part of a larger division project, or it may be a completely new idea. Either way, the directors’ job is to partner with you to formulate a research project that addresses a question that you personally want to answer.
2) Mentorship is key—even fellows with research experience can struggle to complete a project on the accelerated time frame of fellowship. Your primary research mentor will meet with you weekly to help keep your study on track.
3) There are many ways to have a research career (if you want one)—all paths can look different. We will teach you the difference between being a “big R” and a “little R” researcher, and how your fellowship experiences can set you up for the research involvement that feels right to you in your post-fellowship career.
Research Project Development
Most fellows do not begin fellowship with a fully formed research idea. In fact, you may not have any specific research idea at all. We have an 8-week summer plan that begins shortly after you arrive at BMC to create a research project that fits the three goals of fellowship research:
- Feasible. You have a limited amount of time and an even more limited budget.
- Meaningful. You want a project that improves clinical care, moves research forward, or impacts policy. Also known as “publishable.”
- Completable. You will build in sufficient time to finish your project so that IRB roadblocks, slow recruitment, or even a global pandemic won’t get in your way.