Research at American

Universities
Presented at National University of Central Peru
Huancayo, Mexico
By
Mumtaz A. Usmen, PhD, PE - Chairman of Civil Engineering
College of Engineering
Wayne State University, USA
July 2016
Contents
Research

Definition and Purpose

Types of Research

Research and Development

Academic Scholarship

American Research Universities

Carnegie Classification

Doctorate and MS Granting Institutions

Research Project

Research Development

Proposal /Evaluation

Award

Implementation, Monitoring and Close-out

Research Administration
Research Sponsors/Funding
Research Definition and Purpose
Research: Systematic approach to obtaining and confirming new
and reliable knowledge
It can be done to:

investigate some existing situation or problem to establish

facts, answer questions

provide solutions to a problem

understand and explain a new phenomenon

construct or create a new procedure or system; or

Any combination of the above.

Research is creative work and it leads to new avenues of inquiry

Types of Research
Exploratory research gaining familiarity with appropriate
concepts, and identify patterns (when there is little or no prior
knowledge of a phenomenon)
Descriptive research establishing facts on a particular
phenomenon, focusing on what is happening, or how much of it
has happened, rather than why it is happening
Explanatory research - Explaining why something happens, and
assessing causal relationships between variables (Dependent
and Independent) analytic approach
Predictive research - forecasting future phenomena, based on
the interpretations suggested by explanatory research (modeling)
Basic vs. Applied Research
Basic (pure) research - exploring a particular concept, or issue,
without focusing on any specific problem theoretical
approach

usually carried out to simply gain an initial or fundamental

understanding of a complex phenomenon, without any
application towards a product or process in mind

Applied research - undertaken to solve a specific problem,

provide a solution to a practical question, or devise a means to
meet a specific need - data driven (empirical)
Findings of basic research may be implementable in the long term,
while applied research generally produces results that are useful in
the short term
Development
Development is defined as systematic application of knowledge
or understanding, directed toward the production of useful
materials, devices, and systems or methods, including design,
development, and improvement of prototypes and new
processes to meet specific requirements

 Industry uses Research and Development (R&D) to stay

competitive
Demonstration activities are usually a part of R&D, intended to
prove or to test whether a technology or method does, in fact,
work

Research Process
Identify the research question(s) or problem area
Perform literature review what has been already established and
what is the gap in knowledge desired
Distill the question(s) to specific research objectives
Formulate hypotheses (estimated answer to research question(s) )
Determine research approach/methodology

Experimental, theoretical

Design and implement data collection process

Laboratory, field, archival, survey questionnaire,

interview

Design/implement data analysis (statistical)

Draw conclusions; identify future research needs
Prepare research report
Disseminate through publications (journals and conferences)
Scholarship in Academia
Scholarship - Body of knowledge on principles and practices
used by scholars (professors, research staff and student
trainees) to make their claims about the world as valid and
trustworthy as possible, and to make them known to the
scholarly public (scientific and academic / educational
community)
Ernest Boyer (1990)has identified 4 dimensions of scholarship
as:

Scholarship of Discovery

Scholarship of Integration

Scholarship of Application

Scholarship of Teaching

 Traditional research alone will not always reach out to the

future world of higher education, or serve societys
educational needs, so a broader perspective/vision is needed

This promotes full intellectual life of the academy

Boyers Four Dimensions of Scholarship

Scholarship of Discovery - research that increases the
storehouse of new knowledge within the disciplines
Scholarship of Integration includes efforts by faculty to explore
the connectedness of knowledge within and across disciplines,
and thereby bring new insights to original research
Scholarship of Application - leads faculty to explore how
knowledge can be applied to consequential problems in
service to the community and society
Scholarship of Teaching - views teaching not as a routine task, but
as perhaps the highest form of scholarly enterprise, involving the
constant interplay of teaching and learning
American University Classifications
Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
provides a framework for classifying U.S. universities and colleges
for education and research purposes; it may be important to
group them under categories of roughly comparable
institutions
Basic classification (as of 2015) is as follows:

Doctorate-granting Universities

Masters Colleges and Universities

Baccalaureate Colleges

Associates Colleges

Specific Focus Institutions

Tribal Colleges

Not-classified

Each category has further sub-classifications

Doctorate-granting Universities
Institutions that awarded at least 20 doctorates in 201314.
Further classified by their level of research activity, as
measured by research expenditures, number of research
doctorates awarded, number of research-focused faculty, and
other factors

Doctoral Universities - Highest Research Activity (R1)

-115 schools

Doctoral Universities - Higher Research Activity (R2)

-107 schools

Doctoral Universities - Moderate Research Activity (R3)

113 schools

Master's Colleges and Universities

Institutions that awarded at least 50 master's degrees in 201314,
but fewer than 20 doctorates
Further subdivided into:

Master's Colleges and Universities:

Larger programs
(M1) are larger programs - at least 200 masters-level degrees
(393 schools)

Master's Colleges and Universities: Medium programs

(M2) that awarded 100199 masters-level degrees (207
schools)

Master's Colleges and Universities: Smaller programs

(M3) that awarded 50-99 masters-level degrees (141 schools)

University Research Project

Elements of research project

Development (Research team selection-based on

expertise/contribution, idea development, institutional support,
research infrastructure)

Proposal preparation and submittal (Solo, multiinvestigator, multi-university, external collaborators)

Review and evaluation (for acceptance or rejection by

sponsoring agency; feedback)

Award (set up budget, accounting for revenues /

expenditures, planning and scheduling activities)

Execution and monitoring (internal controls, project

progress meetings, sponsor review visits)

Report to sponsoring agency and dissemination of findings

Project close-out (closing the account after submitting

deliverables)

Research Administration
Research Universities typically provide administrative (and
material) support to faculty investigators through an office headed
by a Vice President for Research

 Responsibilities of this office include

Identifying research program/project opportunities

Providing matching funds (cost sharing)

Signing off on outgoing proposals (pre-award)

Training of investigators on research management processes

and procedures (research ethics and other topics)

Providing staff support for budget management (post

award)

Assisting with intellectual property matters (i.e. patents)

Providing seed funding to stimulate research

Typical Project Organization Chart

Project Budget
Salaries for research team

Principal Investigator (PI)

Co-Principal investigator (Co-PI)

Co-Investigator/ Research Associate

Graduate Research Assistant (GRA)

Student Assistant (SA) hourly

Technician/support staff

 Fringe benefits (social security, retirement / pension, health

insurance) up to 30 %
Expenses (travel, supplies, equipment)
Subcontracts (Consultants from industry, faculty from other
universities)
Indirect Costs ( 50 + % of direct costs) facilities and
administration (F & A)
TOTAL = Sum of all of the above
Proposal Evaluation Criteria
Proposals are evaluated by a panel of peer reviewers based on

Scientific merit (clear understanding of research problem,

soundness of approach and methodology, completeness of
research tasks,

Responsiveness to agencys mission and goals

Quality of institutional support (labs, computing hardware,

software))

Relevance to industry needs

Expertise and track record of research team

Compliance with proposal format requirements

Reasonableness of budget (limits may be set per each

proposal))

Appropriateness of time schedule

Funding decision is based on availability of sufficient funds

Thank you