SUBMIT 12 COPIES TO:
Committee on Institutional Studies and Research
c/o College of Science, Engineering and Technology
201 Industry and Technology Building, Murray State University

Address questions to Rhonda Rogers, 2888

WHAT IS THE COMMITTEE ON INSTITUTIONAL STUDIES AND RESEARCH (CISR)?

CISR funds scholarly research and creative activity conducted by faculty and staff at MSU. Funding is available on a competitive basis. Since the amount of funding requested usually exceeds that available for grants, CISR works diligently to determine which projects are most worthy of support. The committee's major consideration is the quality of the proposal, but the total cost of the proposal can be a factor in the distribution of grant funds.

Each Dean appoints two persons to the Committee for a term of two years. A list of current CISR members appears on the CISR website. See any committee member if you have questions before writing your proposal.

Proposals are judged on their clarity, thoroughness, and adherence to committee guidelines. REMEMBER, you are writing more for readers outside of your area than for specialists in your field.

The average CISR grant for last year (2008-2009) was $1688

Number of Grants: 32     High:   $2,500     Low:   $640

I.   GENERAL INFORMATION

WHO MAY APPLY?

Any full-time faculty, staff member, or administrator may apply. Regular grants are appropriate for research in its initial stages as well as research in advanced stages. CISR does not fund proposals for Doctoral dissertation research. Graduate students may not apply. Projects focused on faculty development, instructional development, and skills enhancement are not appropriate for CISR support. Projects of this type should seek support from the Faculty Instructional Development Grant Fund.

ARE THERE ANY SPECIAL WRITING CONSIDERATIONS?

In writing the proposal, the applicant should delineate carefully how the proposed project relates to the existing field of scholarship, why the project is appropriate, and what it will contribute to current knowledge in the field. In addition, the applicant should include a discussion of the special skills, training, and the relevant educational and investigative competencies the researcher possesses which would contribute to the successful completion of the project.

If the proposal is a renewal project, a copy of the progress report for any previous grant(s) must accompany this grant request. (Renewals are not automatically funded.)

If your project will involve the use of a survey instrument, the survey instrument must be attached as an appendix to the proposal.

Since the proposal is the applicant's primary contact with CISR, and since it will be reviewed by faculty members from varied disciplines, the care, thoroughness and clarity with which it is written will have an obvious bearing on its acceptance. The writer must use language which is reasonably clear to all members of the academic community. For example, consider reading your insurance policy. Your agent understands it, but as a reasonably intelligent non-specialist reader is it clear to you? Symbols and terminology peculiar to the writer's discipline should be avoided wherever possible. Where such expressions are deemed necessary, they must be explained so that their meaning is understandable to the non-specialist.

ALL budget items in the proposal must have thorough and complete justification. A factor in judging proposals is how well they adhere to committee guidelines.

MAY I APPLY FOR OTHER GRANTS?

A person may hold contracts for extramural funding while receiving funds from CISR as long as there is full disclosure of all such funding.

WHAT ARE MY REPORTING REQUIREMENTS?

Each grant recipient is required to submit a final report to the Chair of CISR within 60 days following the end of the grant period. The final report should not exceed two pages in length. It should include a brief summary of work performed under the grant, and should list any publication(s), presentation(s), exhibition(s), or performance(s) resulting in whole or in part from CISR support. The report should also note the number of students supported by the award, if applicable. This report may be submitted in hard copy or electronically as a word document. Failure to submit a final report may jeopardize future CISR funding for a faculty member. Grant recipients may request a one-time, one-year extension if justification is provided for the request. The CISR expects that the recipient has planned carefully for implementation of the grant, and therefore the need for extensions should be rare.

Requests for CISR grant renewals or grant extensions must be accompanied by a progress report. This report should summarize grant activity to date, and should present a rationale for the requested renewal or extension. This report should not exceed one page.

WHAT HAPPENS TO EQUIPMENT, BOOKS, etc. BOUGHT WITH GRANT FUNDS?

If the grant contains funds for equipment that has a unit cost of over $500.00, the equipment must receive an MSU inventory number when the equipment is purchased and the inventory number noted in the final report.

II.    PREPARE YOUR PROPOSAL STRICTLY IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE

       FOLLOWING OUTLINE

Standard forms are available at the "Regular CISR Application" link. Standard Forms must be used for the title page, as well as biographical and budgetary information. These forms plus a narrative must be included in the proposal. Twelve (12) copies of the completed proposal, collated and stapled, must be forwarded to the Chair of CISR before the deadline. LATE PROPOSALS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. The cost of proposal preparation is the sole responsibility of the applicant.

A. THE TITLE PAGE (page 1)

The title should be clear and concise.

The type of proposal should be shown by circling the appropriate response.

The abstract, not to exceed 200 words, should include a description of the proposed project, the methods to be used, and a statement of significance. Illustrations may be included provided the space for the abstract is not exceeded.

B. BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION (page 2)

Respond to all 7 areas. If the space provided on the standard form is insufficient, additional pages may be included (2a, 2b... as necessary).

C. THE BUDGET (page 3 and page 4)

The budget is divided into six basic categories, each of which contains the subcategories most often used by CISR. This format has been extracted from the university budget form and will be the format you will use if your proposal is funded.

Each category of expenditure must be explained on the budget page and justified in the budget section of the narrative.

If the project director overspends the approved CISR budget, they will be required to cover these expenses from other accounts.

1000/Salary/Wages: Grant recipients cannot draw a salary from a CISR Grant. Pay rates are $6.55 per hour (or current minimum wage) for undergraduate workers and $7.00 for graduate students. The total number of hours, duties, responsibilities and/or significance of the person(s) employed for the project must be justified in the space provided on the budget page and addressed in the budget justification/explanation portion of the grant. For the purpose of calculating salary, a maximum of 13 weeks will constitute a semester.

2000/Benefits: Student employees who are registered for less than ½ time for the period in which you employ them will have Social Security deducted from their pay and the university matching portion will be charged against your grant. If the grant director employs a person for whom Social Security must be paid, that 7.65% adds to the cost of your proposal.  In addition, all employees are now charged 0.93% of salary for workmen's compensation.

3000/Services: Routine maintenance/repair of equipment and postage are the responsibility of the researcher's department or college. If you think you can justify costs in these areas, your request, with appropriate justification, will be considered.

4000/Commodities:
1. Operating Supplies. This category contains lab supplies, chemicals, photo/audio supplies, library materials and other general items which are necessary to conduct your research. A separate list of chemicals and /or supplies with itemized costs may be attached to the budget. Justification of general groups of supplies and chemicals must be made in the space provided on the budget page and addressed in the Budget Justification of the proposal.

2. Printing and Copying. Routine printing and copying charges at the library are the responsibility of the researcher's department or college. If you think you can justify costs above departmental/collegiate participation in these areas, your request, with appropriate justification, will be considered.

3. Miscellaneous. Items or expenses not applicable in other categories. Be sure to justify.

5000/Travel: CISR will consider funding transportation and lodging only under exceptional conditions. Requests for these funds should be well thought out as to length of stay necessary to accomplish what you have proposed, the most economical means of transportation and lodging. In no case will travel be funded in excess of the amounts allowed under current university travel regulations.

TRAVEL IN SUPPORT OF PRESENTATIONS OF RESEARCH RESULTS IS NOT FUNDED UNDER REGULAR CISR GRANTS. (See site link to CISR Travel Support.)

7000/Capital Outlay: Capital Equipment. Any instruments or apparatus costing more than $500.00 and purchased with CISR funds must be inventoried and numbered immediately upon purchase.

D. THE NARRATIVE (page 5, etc.)

This part of the proposal, not to exceed six (6) typed, double-spaced, 8 ½ by 11 inch pages, should be attached to the completed forms (pages 1- 4). The pages are to be numbered consecutively, with the first page of the narrative being page 5. The information requested should be presented in the order given in the headings listed below. Each section should be labeled. References to related works may be appropriate. Should this format not be functional for the proposed project, an alternative may be discussed with the Chair of CISR.

REMEMBER, BE CLEAR TO THE NON-SPECIALIST!!!

1. Title of the Proposed Project: Repeat the title from the title page.

2. Introduction: The historical background of the project should indicate the basis for the anticipated contribution of the research.

3. Objectives and Procedures: The specific objectives of the project should be identified, and the procedures to achieve each objective should be described. For research that will require a survey, questionnaire or other instrument, a copy of this document must be attached to each proposal as an appendix. If additional space is needed to define and explain the project to the committee, an appendix may be added.

4. Budget Justification: ALL budget requests in the proposal must have thorough and complete justification including a job description for all personnel and significance of all equipment and materials necessary to complete the research. This section is a summary and/or clarification of the budget justifications provided on the budget pages.

5. Significance: The general significance of the project should be discussed in language understandable to one not expert in the field. Remember, your proposal is evaluated by members of the academic community--the vast majority of whom are not in your field.

6. Results: The form in which the anticipated results will be presented (e.g., printed publication, project, exhibit) is to be specified.

7. Facilities: The facilities required and available for completing the proposed project should be discussed.

E. HUMAN SUBJECTS

Compliance of this proposal with the university policy concerning human subjects is essential. MSU policies and application forms for the Institutional Review Board (IRB) are available from Sally Mateja, Coordinator IRB, 328 Wells, (2916) or on the web:

http://campus.murraystate.edu/adminst/irb/msu_irb_home_page.htm

You, and any workers who may help you with the research must receive special training. You must indicate how you are going to comply with this requirement if your grant involves human subjects. If your proposal involves human subjects, it must be approved by the Murray State University Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Subjects in Research BEFORE CISR FUNDS WILL BE AWARDED. Dr. Paula Waddill, 401A Wells Hall, phone 809-2317, is the chairperson of this committee. The approval of the Murray State University Institutional Review Board does not mean your proposal will be funded by CISR but non-approval means it will not be funded by CISR. CISR is the sole judge as to the quality of all CISR research proposals as they compete with other CISR proposals across the MSU campus. If applicable this section must address your compliance with Human Subjects, if not applicable indicate by the letters N/A.

F. ANIMAL SUBJECTS

For projects involving work with non human animals, compliance with NIH guidelines must be discussed. Information regarding university policy concerning work with non human animals can be obtained from Michael Wetherholt, 809-3536, the chair of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee.

G. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Include a listing of the literature cited in the proposed project.