Research Support

Good science involves more than just generating innovative ideas and testing them rigorously. To conduct high-quality, impactful research that is replicable, researchers must adhere to best practices. These practices include designing research processes with built-in guardrails to minimize or eliminate data inaccuracies, human errors, information misrepresentation, selective reporting, and unpenalized multiple testing. Just as research methods undergo scientific scrutiny, so too should research conduct.

CHIBE has developed a comprehensive set of guidelines and practical tools to support researchers in conducting high-quality, trustworthy research. Here’s an overview below. Contact Director of Data Analytics Jingsan Zhu, MS, MBA, for more info at jingsan@pennmedicine.upenn.edu.

1. Data Management and Analytics Planning:
   • Focuses on robust data management practices, including source data protection, standardized folder organization, version control, and structured statistical reporting
   • Utilizes Data Analysis Plans as analyst-led project management tools
     
2. Study Closeout:
   • Formalizes study closeout procedures, including documentation and reporting of locked-down programs and study data
   • Provides guidance on data disposition and data sharing plans, along with feature comparisons of public data repositories
     
3. Data Management and Sharing Plan:
   • Describes key requirements from NIH’s updated Data Management and Sharing Policy
   • Includes templates and examples for Data Management and Sharing Plans (DMSP)
     
4. PHI Protection and De-identification:
   • Addresses handling of Protected Health Information (PHI) and Personally Identifiable Information (PII)
   • Explains Safe-Harbor methods for de-identifying variables
     
5. Code Review and Replication:
   • Offers guidelines for choosing code review approaches, from collaborative reviews to independent result replication
     
6. Data Standards (Work in Progress):
   • Emphasizes standardized data collection, reporting, and coding
   • Provides examples of using standardized surveys across studies or research groups
     
7. Research Integrity and Fighting Research Misconduct:
   • Comprehensive considerations and tools to minimize research misconduct
   • Focus areas: Data Management, Data Standards, Data Analysis, Project Closeout, and Data Sharing
   • Balances research transparency with addressing critique (work in progress)

Leading the Center’s qualitative core, Tamar Klaiman, PhD, MPH, is our Senior Qualitative Research Scientist and can provide expertise and input a variety of ways, including helping select the most appropriate qualitative method for the research question, sampling, setting timelines, securing access, and identifying a theoretical framework. See a comprehensive list of the ways Dr. Klaiman and her team can help below, and contact Tamar.Klaiman@pennmedicine.upenn.edu with questions.

• Oversight and leadership for multi-site, national, federally funded, collaborative qualitative research studies

• Content for grant proposals and input into study design, including: selection of most appropriate qualitative method for the research question, sampling, timeline, securing access, recruitment and identifying a theoretical framework

• Adequacy of the sample size based on an ongoing assessment of saturation and purposive sampling of key informants and close monitoring of data quality

• Training and supervision of research staff in the collection, management and analysis of qualitative data

• Data collection from a diverse array of settings using: ethnographic observations, semi-structured in-depth interviews and focus groups

• High-level analyses of qualitative data from a grounded theoretical perspective and present interpretations to the study PI and academic collaborators

• Expertise and input into drafting of study results for national meetings and peer-reviewed publications

• Help working with study team to develop dissemination materials for study participants

The Joint Research Practices (JRP) Working Group develops and disseminates best practices and guidelines for the conduct of inclusive and anti-racist research that advances the science and practice of health equity. The JRP has developed several practical resources, including tips for language/interpretation services and guides for things like plain language, inclusive language, payment and incentives, equitable research payments, and participant-centeredness topics. The JRP is chartered by the leadership at CHIBE and the Palliative and Advanced Illness Research (PAIR) Center. Find the toolkits and read more about the JRP here.

Way to Health is an integrated, cloud-based platform that blends behavioral science with scalable digital technology to conduct randomized controlled trials of healthy behavior interventions and strategic telehealth programs. Operated as a partnership between CHIBE and the Center for Health Care Transformation and Innovation, the platform provides both remote monitoring and engagement solutions as well as tools for developing and deploying new interventions. The platform has supported hundreds of clinical and research projects that focus on facilitating improvements in a wide range of clinical contexts including blood pressure, medication adherence, weight loss, physical activity, and more. Read more about Way to Health here.

Interested in disseminating your behavioral science-related study findings? CHIBE’s Associate Director of Communications Meghan Ross can help share research on social media, in the monthly Healthy Nudge newsletter, the CHIBE annual report, and through CHIBE blog posts. She can also help facilitate infographics and one-pagers with a graphic designer. In addition, if research teams are interested in disseminating research findings with study participants, CHIBE can assist in formatting letters or creating blog posts in plain language. Contact the Joint Research Practices working group at JRP@pennmedicine.upenn.edu or Meghan Ross at Meghan.ross@pennmedicine.upenn.edu.