Statement of research accomplishments

Are herehome » postdoc careers » documents for the job search » research g a research is a research statement? Common component of the academic job application is the research statement (or statement of research interests). This statement provides a summary of your research accomplishments and current work and discusses the future direction and potential of your work. The statement can discuss specific issues such as funding history and potential, requirements for laboratory equipment and space, and potential research and industrial collaborations. The strongest research statements present a readable, compelling, and realistic research agenda that fits well with the needs, facilities, and goals of the department. Research statements can be weakened by overly ambitious proposals, by lack of clear direction, by lack of big-picture focus, or if inadequate attention is given to the needs and facilities of the department or general advice on research statements:The goal of the research statement is to introduce yourself to a search committee, which will probably contain scientists both in and outside your field, and get them excited about your research. The statement may be 2 or more pages, keeping in mind that you want people to read it. It is better to use a larger font and let it run over another page than to squeeze it all onto two of the overarching theme guiding your main research subject area. If you think that your research could lead to answers for big exciting questions - say so! You've already built up credibility in the previous section, now reach for the it all off with a final paragraph that leaves the reader with a good overall impression of your is a delicate balance between a realistic research statement where you promise to work on problems you really do think you can solve and over-reaching or dabbling in too many subject areas.

You probably want to select an over-arching theme for your research statement and leave some miscellaneous ideas or projects out of it. Make sure that you describe your research in language that many people outside your specific subject area can understand. Remember that the goal is to get the search committee excited about you - they won't get excited about something they can't will be helpful to point out how some faculty at the department/university that you are applying to could be your collaborators in research and/or sure to include potential funding partners, industrial collaboration! Research statement should convince the search committee not only that you are knowledgeable, but that you are the person to carry out the you have something that sets you apart, (e. A publication in science, nature, or a very prestigious journal in your field) you may want to include are no excuses for spelling are herehome » postdoc careers » documents for the job search » research g a research is a research statement? A publication in science, nature, or a very prestigious journal in your field) you may want to include are no excuses for spelling job hunting sign portfolio ation you will find here the purpose of a research statement timeline/getting started with your research statement research statement samples additional research statement resources how career services can help youthe purpose of a research statementthe main goal of a research statement is to walk the search committee through the evolution of your research, to highlight your research accomplishments, and to show where your research will be taking you next. To a certain extent, the next steps that you identify within your statement will also need to touch on how your research could benefit the institution to which you are applying. This might be in terms of grant money, faculty collaborations, involving students in your research, or developing new courses. Your cv will usually show a search committee where you have done your research, who your mentors have been, the titles of your various research projects, a list of your papers, and it may provide a very brief summary of what some of this research involves. However, there can be certain points of interest that a cv may not always address in enough got you interested in this research?

What direction will your research take you in next, and what new questions do you have? You may not have a good sense of where your research will ultimately lead you, you should have a sense of some of the possible destinations along the way. You want to be able to show a search committee that your research is moving forward � and that you are moving forward along with it in terms of developing new skills and knowledge. Ultimately, your research statement should complement your cover letter, cv, and teaching philosophy to illustrate what makes you an ideal candidate for the job. The more clearly you can articulate the path your research has taken, and where it will take you in the future, the more convincing and interesting it will be to read. Note: separate research statements are usually requested from researchers in engineering, social, physical, and life sciences, but can also be requested for researchers in the humanities. In many cases, however, the same information that is covered in the research statement is often integrated into the cover letter for many disciplines within the humanities � and no separate research statement is requested within the job advertisement. Seek advice from current faculty and new hires about the conventions of your discipline if you are in ne: getting started with your research statementyou can think of a research statement as having three distinct parts. The first part will focus on your past research, and can include the reasons you started your research, an explanation as to why the questions you originally asked are important in your field, and a summary some of the work you did to answer some of these early middle part of the research statement focuses on your current research. How is this research different from previous work you have done, and what brought you to where you are today?

In other words, do not talk about your research in abstract terms, make sure that you explain your actual results and findings (even if these may not be entirely complete when you are applying for faculty positions), and mention why these results are significant. When the search committee reviewed the candidate's research statement, they very quickly added his application to the "reject" pile. The candidate actually had a very complete research statement that clearly articulated the future research he wanted to do, and the questions he wanted to answer � that was not the issue. The research statement specifically stated that a primate colony was required to complete most of this research. Since the future research could not be completed at this university, the candidate was no longer a good fit. Since you are hoping that your future will be at one of the institutions to which you are applying, you should provide some convincing reasons why your future research will be possible at each institution, and why it will be beneficial to that institution, or to the students at that best time to write your research statement is when you have some tangible results that you can focus on. And you may only be able to write a convincing "future research" question when you know where you will be applying, as you will need to tailor what you write for each institution (see example of what not to do). While you are focusing on the past, present, and future or your research, and tailoring it to each institution, you should also think about the length of your statement and how detailed or specific you make the descriptions of your research. Can you go into very specific detail, or do you need to talk about your research in broader terms that make sense to people outside of your research field � focusing on the common ground that might exist? Additionally, you should make sure that your future research plans differ from those of your pi or advisor, as you need to be seen as an independent researcher.

You can give some idea of a 5-year research plan that includes the studies you want to perform, but also mention your long-term plans, so that the search committee knows that this is not a finite r important consideration when writing about your research is realizing that you do not perform research in a vacuum. When doing your research you may have worked within a team environment at some point, or sought out specific collaborations. While these aspects are not necessarily as important as your results and your papers or patents, they can help paint a picture of you as a well-rounded researcher who is likely to be successful in the future even if new problems arise, for these general steps to begin developing an effective research statement:step 1: think about how and why you got started with your research. The research you completed in the past will have brought you to where you are today; also be sure to show how your research past and research present are connected. Explore some of the techniques and approaches you have successfully used in your research, and describe some of the challenges you overcame. What makes people interested in what you do, and how have you used your research as a tool for teaching or mentoring students? Integrating students into your research may be an important part of your future research at your target institutions. Conclude describing your current research by focusing on your findings, their importance, and what new questions they generate. Familiarize yourself with the faculty at each institution, and explore the research that they have been performing. You should think about your future research in terms of the students at the institution.

You will also need to think about what equipment or resources that you might need to do your future research. You can also mention what you hope to do with your current and future research in terms of publication (whether in journals or as a book) � try to be as specific and honest as possible. Finally, be prepared to talk about how your future research can help bring in grants and other sources of funding, especially if you have a good track record of receiving awards and fellowships. Mention some grants that you know have been awarded to similar research, and state your intention to seek this type of funding. Step 3: ask faculty in your department if they are willing to share their own research statements with you. To a certain extent, there will be some subject-specific differences in what is expected from a research statement, and so it is always a good idea to see how others in your field have done it. You should try to draft your own research statement first before you review any statements shared with you. Your goal is to create a unique research statement that clearly highlights your abilities as a researcher. There are many examples of research statements online, and links to some of these resources are listed below. Step 4: the research statement is typically a few (2-3) pages in length, depending on the number of images, illustrations, or graphs included.

Research statement samples the samples provided below do not represent perfect examples of research statements � these are unique documents, and there is no absolute right or wrong way to create them. These samples are provided to help you see how others have talked about their research so that you can understand the range of different approaches that can be taken. You should then review the additional resources section below to gain a more detailed understanding of what you should be thinking about when writing your own research statement. Assorted penn alumni samplescomputer science/data analysis samples:http:///~ssuri/about_me_files/p:///~kovar/ mathematical sciences samplebioinformatics samplethe academic job search handbook contains research statements from a variety of disciplines that were successfully used by candidates applying for academic jobs. Note: some of these samples represent general research statements that are not being used in specific job applications, and so you may notice the absence of attempts to tailor the statements to specific universities and institutions. Additional resources many of these resources provide a structured approach to developing and revising research statements, as well as additional samples that you can review. You may also notice that the research statements for certain subjects and disciplines have unique attributes (e. If you are in doubt about what your research statement should look like, then seek advice from current faculty in your department/school. Research statements - university of washington career centerdeveloping your research statementresearch statements - duke university career centerpreparing your application materials - university of california, san franciscoone strategy for writing a research statementacademic job search handbookavailable to current doctoral students and postdocs for purchase at penn's career services for $ we can help you can make an appointment to meet with a career advisor at any time, but you will find it more helpful if you have a draft version of your research statement (even if it is just a rough draft) to get the most useful feedback. However, given the length of academic job application materials such as research statement, these 15-minute slots may not be long enough for you to get a complete review of your a look at our calendar of events to see if we have any workshops or panel discussions that might be helpful.

Remember, the more you know about an academic institution, what they do and how they do it, the easier it will be to write more effective application job hunting sign portfolio ation you will find here the purpose of a research statement timeline/getting started with your research statement research statement samples additional research statement resources how career services can help youthe purpose of a research statementthe main goal of a research statement is to walk the search committee through the evolution of your research, to highlight your research accomplishments, and to show where your research will be taking you next. Remember, the more you know about an academic institution, what they do and how they do it, the easier it will be to write more effective application are herehome » pathways to success » prepare for your career » career guide » research is a research statement? Research statement (or statement of research interests) is a common component of academic job applications. It is a summary of your research accomplishments, current work, and future direction and potential of your statement can discuss specific issues such as:Funding history and ements for laboratory equipment and space and other ial research and industrial your research contributes to your direction of your research statement should be technical, but should be intelligible to all members of the department, including those outside your subdiscipline. The strongest research statements present a readable, compelling, and realistic research agenda that fits well with the needs, facilities, and goals of the ch statements can be weakened by:Overly ambitious of clear of big-picture uate attention to the needs and facilities of the department or a research statement? Conveys to search committees the pieces of your professional identity and charts the course of your scholarly communicates a sense that your research will follow logically from what you have done and that it will be different, important, and gives a context for your research interests—why does your research matter? Combines your achievements and current work with the proposal for upcoming hiring committees assess:Areas of specialty and ial to get ic strengths and ibility with the department or y to think and communicate like a serious scholar and/or ting of research goal of the research statement is to introduce yourself to a search committee, which will probably contain scientists both in and outside your field, and get them excited about your research. To encourage people to read it:Make it 1–2 or more pages, 3 at informative section headings and an easily readable font the margins a reasonable zation of research of the overarching theme guiding your main research subject area. Don’t sell yourself short; if you think your research could lead to answers for big important questions, say so! Sound e preliminary results and how to build on out how current faculty may become future ledge the work of language that shows you are an independent focus on your research work, not e potential funding partners and industrial collaborations.

A summary of your in background material to give the context/relevance/significance of your major findings, outcomes, and be both current and planned (future) icate a sense that your research will follow logically from what you have done and that it will be unique, significant, and innovative (and easy to fund). Your future goals or research problem(s) you want to focus on in your problem’s relevance and significance to the specific goals for the next 3–5 years, including potential impact and you know what a particular agency funds, you can name the agency and briefly outline a broad enough goals so that if one area doesn’t get funded, you can pursue other research goals and fy potential funding every institution wants to know whether you’ll be able to get external funding for to provide some possible sources of funding for the research, such as nih, nsf, foundations, private n past funding, if is a delicate balance between a realistic research statement where you promise to work on problems you really think you can solve and over-reaching or dabbling in too many subject areas. Select an over-arching theme for your research statement and leave miscellaneous ideas or projects out. May be asked to describe research plans and budget in detail at the campus interview. To start up the s of research find sample research statements with content specific to your discipline, search on the internet for “your discipline” + “research statement”.