Call for Proposals to support dissertation research investigating the impact of “supported electronic text” on middle or high school students’ comprehension of content area reading materials.
National Center for Supported eText (NCSeT)
Dissertation Grants Program
2009 Application
Overview
The National Center for Supported eText (NCSeT), under the direction of Dr. Lynne Anderson- Inman at the University of Oregon is pleased to announce a Call for Proposals to support dissertation research investigating the impact of “supported electronic text” on middle or high school students’ comprehension of content area reading materials. “Supported electronic text” (or “supported etext”) is digital text that has been enhanced in ways that are designed to improve reading comprehension and increase learning. The assumption is that content area texts, when moved to digital formats and modified, augmented, or presented in ways that support individual learning needs, will better help students overcome the physical and cognitive challenges presented by print materials. For more information on supported etext and the eleven types of supportive resources under investigation at NCSeT, potential grantees are referred to Supported eText: Assistive Technology through Text Transformations by Anderson-Inman and Horney (2007). To learn more about the research currently underway at NCSeT, applicants should consult the NCSeT web site: http://ncset.uoregon.edu.
Application Timelines
Applications will be accepted continuously until September 15, 2009. Applicants will be notified about the status of their proposal within 30 days of submission. Unsuccessful proposals may be refined and resubmitted at a later date.
Eligibility
Doctoral students are eligible to apply for an NCSeT Dissertation Grant Award if they have advanced to candidacy and are either in the process of preparing their dissertation proposals or already have an approved proposal. Prior to receiving funds, grantees must submit evidence that: (a) their dissertation proposal has been approved by their committee and (b) their research protocol has been approved by their Institutional Review Board (IRB) for the protection of human subjects.
Funding Priorities
Funded proposals must:
- investigate interventions that are anchored in the NCSeT typology of supported etext (For more information, please see Anderson-Inman & Horney, 2007 and/or the NCSeT website: http://ncset.uoregon.edu in the “Supported eText” section;
- be conducted in school settings with students with disabilities in grades 6-12; and
- employ rigorous research methodologies.
The purpose of the dissertation grants program is to support doctoral students as they conduct rigorously designed research that increases our understanding of how students learn using electronic text that has been supported in ways designed to enhance comprehension and extend learning. NCSeT recognizes the central role of the dissertation committee, and does not seek to interfere with this process. Instead, funding is designed to support the dissertation researcher with resources that will enhance the quality and value of the dissertation research and also connect the dissertation researcher with a national community of researchers with similar interests.
Awards
NCSeT dissertation research grants will range from $2,000 to $10,000, depending on project scope and funding needs. Payment will be made in two installments. The first payment will be sent upon receipt of documentation that the student’s dissertation proposal has: (a) been approved by his/her dissertation committee, and (b) been approved by their Institutional Review Board (IRB). The second payment will be sent after the student completes all obligations of grant recipients (see below). All budgets should itemize direct costs only. No institutional indirect charges will be allowed.
Obligations of Grant Recipients
The intent of the NCSeT dissertation grants program is to produce new knowledge that informs research, policy, and practice related to the impact of supported electronic text on secondary students’ comprehension and learning of content area material. Therefore, as a condition of the grant award, grant recipients will be expected to complete each of the following activities:
- Conduct the research as described in the grant proposal.
- Provide quarterly updates about research progress at the NCSeT web site.
- Acknowledge NCSeT funding in all publications and presentations using a standard acknowledgement statement.
- Prepare a two-page research brief (template to be provided) for use by NCSeT.
- Prepare and submit a final report following guidelines to be given by NCSeT.
Application Procedure
All application materials should be sent electronically as email attachments on or before the grant deadline to Dr. Mark Horney, NCSeT Dissertation Grants Program Manager. A complete application will consist of the following materials:
1. Letter of application on institutional letterhead, signed by the doctoral student and the student’s dissertation advisor certifying that the dissertation researcher is eligible to submit an application to this competition and agreeing to the obligations set forth for all grant recipients.
2. Cover Page that includes: (a) the title of the research study, (b) name and complete contact information for the dissertation researcher and his/her major advisor, and (c) an abstract of no more than 150 words that briefly describes the proposed research study.
3. Project Narrative (6-page maximum, single-spaced). The narrative should include:
- Purpose and Significance. A statement of the purpose of the study and the significance of the research questions relative to one of more of the etext supports as described in the NCSeT Typology (see Anderson-Inman & Horney, 2007.) This section should include a brief review of relevant literature, with a focus on studies that have explored similar or related questions about the impact of supported text on literacy and learning.
- Methodology. A description of the research procedures, methods, instruments, and data analysis. Include a description of the research sample and access to research participants/subjects.
- Timeline/Milestones. A timeline for implementing the study broken into monthly units. Specific dates for completing key components of the study (milestones.)
- Adequacy of Resources. A description of the local resources that will be utilized in conducting the research and how the funding request will augment and extend resources already obtained for conducting the study.
4. Budget. The applicant must submit a Project Budget using the designated Excel spreadsheet. When preparing the budget, keep the following issues in mind:
a. NCSeT dissertation grant funds may be used to pay for:
- Costs associated with the intervention (e.g., software for instruction, stipends for collaborating teachers, incentives for student participants);
- Costs associated with data collection (e.g., hourly pay for assistants to collect data or conduct reliability checks, mileage for local travel to research sites, cost of purchasing assessment instruments, or software for data capture); Costs associated with data analysis (e.g., data coding, transcription of interviews, advanced statistical consulting, etc.)
- Travel funds for the researcher to attend a national NCSeT meeting held in conjunction with an annual conference (e.g., TRLD, AERA, CEC.)
b. NCSeT dissertation grant funds may not be used to pay for:
• time/salary for the dissertation researcher;
• time/salary for any faculty member/advisor
• infrastructure expenses (e.g., computer, printer);
• professional development;
• institutional indirect costs.
Selection Criteria
All proposals submitted to the NCSeT Dissertation Grants program will be screened for compliance with the above guidelines. Proposals meeting NCSeT guidelines for the Dissertation Grants Competition will be reviewed by a grant review committee comprised of the members of the NCSeT Technical Review Board and NCSeT staff. The following criteria will be used to determine which proposals will be recommended for funding:
• Importance of the Problem (25 points total): The extent to which the problem is significant, has potential for beneficial impact and is related to the goals of NCSeT;
• Research Design (50 points total): The quality of the research plan including the extent to which the methodology serves the research questions, the research sample is viable for producing generalizable findings, the procedures and instruments are appropriate for data collection, and the plan for data analysis is sound.
• Timeline/Milestones (15 points total): The extent to which the timeline is clearly described and feasible and major milestone events are indicated.
• Adequacy of Resources (10 points total): The extent to which appropriate local resources are applied to the research project and how NCSeT funding will augment and extend local resources.
Questions
Questions about NCSeT proposal preparation for the Dissertation Grant Programs should be directed to Dr. Mark Horney, NCSeT Dissertation Grants Program Manager.