Developing a Program of Research: An Essential Process for a Successful Research Career

Navigating the Post-PhD

Transition to Independent

Researcher

Mary Ann Murray

and Colleen Davison

Introduction

The fox has many tricks, and the hedgehog

only one, but that is the best of all.

Archilochus Carmina Archilochi, 1963

Moving beyond graduate or post-doctoral studies to establish yourself as an independent researcher can be challenging. For many, this is a key time to develop a program of research. This chapter is born out of our experiences as we transitioned from being graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and practitioners to becoming independent researchers. We developed the ideas in this chapter, using a reflective approach, informed by partial and situated personal narratives (Ellis & Bochner, 2000, p. 750). Our narratives pivoted around issues and questions such as: What have our research trajectories been? How does context inform our conceptualizations of our programs of research? How did we actualize these conceptualizations? What has helped or hindered the development of our research program?

The overall aim of the chapter is to describe and discuss key issues facing new investigators as they transition from the unitary focus of a PhD research project to becoming independent researchers with a cohesive program of research grounded in a unifying core concept and executed through a set of projects.

The chapter features four themes: (1) solidifying and articulating your research focus; (2) expanding your networks beyond traditional academic and clinical groups to include stakeholders, decision-makers, thought influencers, and organizational leaders; (3) seeking funding to support your research; and (4) balancing research with other responsibilities at this early time in your research career. Themes are explored and described using practical examples from our experiences, from our emerging programs of research, and from research and scholarly projects we have been involved in.

Evolving Your Program of Research: The Hedgehog Concept

In thinking about developing a thriving program of research, we found the parable of the hedgehog and the fox (Gould, 2003) helpful. In the parable, when hunted, the fox uses many crafty ways to escape, compared with the hedgehog, who always rolls up into a tight ball. While predators such as the fox may be quite clever or agile, few are able to overcome the hedgehog’s simple, repetitive response. Typically, the antagonists give up and go on their way, leaving the hedgehog to emerge a bit stressed and stretched by the encounter, but fundamentally unscathed and ready to resume his path. The hedgehog rolls with the punches and consistently maintains his inner integrity and focus (Gould, 2003). In other words, the hedgehog focuses on one defining idea. In the research world, this defining idea becomes the basis for an organizing framework for inquiry that moves the idea from conceptualization to concrete action (i.e., problem identification, target intervention, intervention evaluation, practice change, and/or patient/system outcomes). Articulating and using a guiding organizing construct seems to be the essence of a successful program of research.

When I think about the work of those I consider to be great researchers, they, like the hedgehog, remain grounded by a central idea that seems to become more parsimonious as time goes on. That parsimony is fuelled by the diverse ways they have chosen to explore their concept—through different clinical situations, methodologies, and theoretical approaches—yet at all times the central concept is kept crystal clear as the guiding force of the inquiry. (Personal narrative, Murray)

Collins (2001), who studied companies that emerged as leaders in their field, used the hedgehog principle to illustrate the power of focused simplicity. A singular focus and unrelenting attention to clearly articulating a passion, and then being the best in the world in meeting the need associated with that passion, were the defining criteria for success in great companies. From there, Collins (2001, 2005) proposed the creation of a personal hedgehog concept, which includes having a passion and being excellent at pursuing that passion.

We see Collins’s ideas as a fundamental starting point in making the transition to independent researcher and staying the course as you evolve a sustainable program of research. As a new researcher, you must learn to clearly articulate your passion, communicate how your passion can leverage contributions to science and humanity through research and personal and practical excellence, and thoughtfully derive a plan to sustain your program of research through partnerships and funding. We have learned that the transition to independent researcher can be smoothed by recognizing the intersection of your passion and fundamental desire to use research findings for health and social improvements, your drive to do exemplary research, and your ability to sustain exemplary research through practical supports and relationships. A complementary set of linked projects will create a momentum to advance your central line of inquiry. The challenge and goal for a new researcher is to engage successfully in an evolving set of fundable, coherent research projects that will move forward a specific area of knowledge creation.

Solidifying Your Research Focus

While we realized that articulating our research focus was important, honing this focus was challenging. We believed that a researcher’s research focus should be grounded in some passion, clinical background, professional lens, life experience, or intense curiosity to understand a phenomenon.

I know that I want to make a significant and positive impact with the research I do over my career, but I have often been pulled in many different directions with my research because I have varied interests. In the past, I have been largely reactive to opportunity and then, once involved in a project, did the best I could with and in it. There have been a few cases where, after finding myself involved in something, I realized I wasn’t always looking forward to those morning meetings. Sometimes I ended up moving away from those activities. But what happened often was that I continued my involvement and over time was spreading myself quite thin over too many activities. (Personal narrative, Davison)

Defining our research focus was, and continues to be, an iterative process that requires reflection and hard self-questioning. Our first steps involved determining what mattered most to us as researchers and citizens, followed by concisely articulating our passions and interests in a way that could focus our personal drive. We also realized that our programs of research needed to be adapted to, and somewhat reactive to, other drivers and facilitators, including research funding and emerging cutting-edge ideas. Furthermore, we needed to find our own niche in relation to others working in our research areas. It was challenging yet vital to identify what knowledge gaps might provide the basis for our research programs. Was there space for a new approach or methodology? What nuance(s) could be explored and illuminated? Was there an emerging paradigmatic shift about our research issue that would provide a promising direction for a program of research?

As a practising clinician I never lose sight of the end goal: improvement in the way we care for patients, reduce suffering, and support patients to achieve their goals for care. Resources are stretched thin, so one needs to be effective and strategic to make the most of scarce dollars and tools. For my program of research to be relevant, patients’, families’, and clinicians’ perspectives on decision-making with regards to their health, personal preferences, and goals of care needed to be a central thrust to my work. The clinical context could change; however, this central construct was my guiding focus. This orientation for my program of research helped make it distinctive from others. (Personal narrative, Murray)

As I entered the research and academic workforce, it became my task to balance my own research and intellectual interests with the directions being set out by funders and the work of new colleagues. While I wanted to maintain a grounding in my own interests and the research questions that were closest to my own heart, when funding was being sourced from a particular place, when a network of researchers and a particular set of research projects (including access to data and possible involvement in team publications) were being made available to me, I wanted to find a way to use these opportunities maximally all around. This is a balancing act I continue to work on. (Personal narrative, Davison)

Being able to situate your research interests within the reality of current economic pressure points, health organization preferences, patient/public expectations, professional bodies’ obligations, and the socio-political climate can help different stakeholders understand the fit between your program of research and their own missions and goals. As such, practicality may necessitate adapting a project or idea so that it aligns with a funding call or fits within a group of colleagues’ projects. However, it is important to avoid having these external influences dictate the research focus or direction entirely, particularly because external opportunities will shift over time.

Overall, we found it beneficial to identify our research focus first; this loosely defined programmatic thrust helped us examine emerging opportunities and make decisions about them. For instance, it became a basis for deciding whether or not to become involved as a co-investigator in a project or become a supervisor for a graduate student.

In one situation, examination of a grant’s deliverables suggested that the required time investment would detract from time spent on another project more aligned with my research focus. As well, the second project provided a clear stepping stone for moving my program of research forward to another phase. (Personal narrative, Murray)

Having a clear research focus also meant being able and prepared to say no, thank you when an opportunity arose.

It feels as if there does have to be quite a bit of thinking to navigate this particular time in my career. Already I have had people approach me to consider joining their grant-writing teams and to consider supervising students with particular interests. Without having a plan of action or having thought about what contribution I might want to make in the research world over the long term, it would be difficult to go about making these decisions with any confidence. (Personal narrative, Davison)

Davison reflects on the importance of taking chances with particular opportunities while a doctoral student, and on the fact that there does appear to be a right time to develop a research program:

There were a few times I thought, How (and inevitably why) did I get involved in this? Of course, some of the activities ended up being fantastic opportunities that I took a chance at and which really led to something else and strengthened my research experience, network, and curriculum vitae in many ways. It was a balance between focusing too early or too strictly and missing opportunities versus not focusing early or strictly enough. (Personal narrative, Davison)

Honing your research focus does not happen overnight. There is a constant refining of your original ideas as the direction of your program of research becomes clearer. It is important to succinctly capture your program of research description and the so what factor in plain language that works for other researchers as well as non-research partners. This may take numerous writing iterations.

I (Murray) found that the use of a planned action framework, namely the Knowledge to Action framework (Graham et al., 2006) aimed at moving research into practice, was helpful to start articulating a program of research. The Knowledge to Action framework (Graham et al., 2006) considers not only how knowledge is created and synthesized but also how knowledge can be contextualized in clinical practice. Coupling this research action framework with mentorship and graduate supervision from Dr. Annette O’Connor, an internationally renowned expert in patient decision support (see chapter 8), provided a launching pad for me to develop a program of research focused on better supporting patients living with a life-limiting illness. This orientation was clinically relevant and congruent with the shift towards patient-centred care that was beginning to surface in health