This course is the second in a two-part scale development course series on scale development. Part one of the series focused on the general theories and methods used in the scale development process. This second portion focuses on the analytic methods used to statistically test, refine, and validate scale data. These methods include Cronbach’s alpha, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and basic structural equation models testing for predictive validity.

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This course will teach participants how to use the programming language Julia to load, clean, plot, and analyze social-science data. Julia is a newer programming language with a focus on high-performance scientific computing, and allows efficient manipulation of large datasets. The course will cover the basics of loading tabular data; cleaning, filtering, and joining that data; calculating descriptive statistics; and estimating statistical models.

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Descriptions in textbooks about classic approaches to coding qualitative data rarely coincide perfectly with the demands imposed by time and resources in the real world of practice. This short course reviews three approaches to coding qualitative data. The first two approaches - a purely inductive approach and an approach that combines deductively and inductively derived codes are more familiar than the third approach. The third approach is when a coding scheme is developed by mixed analysis that links qualitative and quantitative data on related constructs. Advantages and disadvantages of each approach are identified, as well as suggestions about how the coding process can be adapted to be less time intensive. In an interactive component, participants will experiment with different approaches to coding. The course will be useful to researchers engaged in qualitative research projects, as well as those who are interested in using an approach with mixed methods.

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This course will teach participants how to use the programming language Julia to load, clean, plot, and analyze social-science data. Julia is a newer programming language with a focus on high-performance scientific computing, and allows efficient manipulation of large datasets. The course will cover the basics of loading tabular data; cleaning, filtering, and joining that data; calculating descriptive statistics; and estimating statistical models.

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OVCR Leadership and the Office of Federal Affairs will provide updates on the recent executive communications and actions from the new Presidential administration that could potentially affect research operations at UNC.

Speakers: Vice Chancellor Penny Gordon-Larsen, Senior Associate Vice Chancellor Andy Johns, and Director of the Office of Federal Affairs Kelly Dockham

There will be a dedicated Q&A session for participants to ask questions, and questions should be submitted in advance to ensure all are covered. You can submit questions by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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This online training session will provide an introduction to qualitative research methods. Topics covered will include differences between quantitative and qualitative research, qualitative research methodologies, strategies for qualitative data collection, and methods of qualitative data analysis. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions and share experiences conducting qualitative research.

Presenters:
MaryBeth Grewe, MPH
Program Manager, Qualitative Research Service
Research Specialist, Patient and Community Engagement in Research (PaCER) Program
NC TraCS Institute

Simone Frank, MPH
Senior Project Manager, Patient and Community Engagement in Research (PaCER) Program
Research Specialist, Qualitative Research Service
NC TraCS Institute

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The NC TraCS Biostatistics Seminar Series is appropriate for those with a basic familiarity with statistics. These seminars introduce topics not often included in STATS 101. In this seminar Jeff Laux, PhD, will discuss statistical models for binary outcomes (e.g., died / did not die), covering how they work and how to understand the results of such analyses.

Please note: This event will not be recorded. Materials such as slides or handouts will be shared with documented attendees only. Attendance may be determined through Zoom meeting attendance reports.

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Improving Symptom Control in Pediatric Cancer Patients With SSPedi and SPARK

This NIH Collaboratory Rethinking Clinical Trials Grand Rounds features:

Lillian Sung, MD, PhD
Canada Research Chair in Pediatric Oncology Supportive Care
Division of Haematology/Oncology
Chief Clinical Data Scientist
The Hospital for Sick Children
Ontario, Canada

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A Robust and Well-Balanced Gut Microbiome: Strength & Defense Against GI Infections

Join the Children's Research Institute for a hybrid seminar with M. Andrea Azcarate-Peril, PhD, Professor of Medicine and Director of the UNC Microbiome Core at UNC-Chapel Hill. Participate in the seminar either in person at 3116 Mary Ellen Jones Building (with lunch provided) or via Zoom.

Zoom information - Meeting ID: 985 6644 6544 | Password: 097476

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Different than Research For Me, ResearchMatch is a national platform to recruit for your study. Join a live training to learn how to add a study to ResearchMatch, search for volunteers, send a contact message, and manage your enrollment continuum. The ResearchMatch team have extended their training an additional 30 minutes for “office hours.” Anyone is welcome to welcome to join this national call to ask questions about their specific study on ResearchMatch. National office hours are held on the second Thursday of every month at 2 p.m. ET right after the monthly Researcher Training.

Learn more about ResearchMatch overall at researchmatch.org. For local information and approval process of ResearchMatch at UNC, please visit our Resource Center (requires login to SharePoint) or submit a ticket to the NC TraCS Recruitment & Retention Program.

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This interactive online workshop will focus on semi-structured interviewing, a data collection method used in qualitative research. Topics covered will include basics of semi-structured interviews, development of interview questions and probes, interviewing skills, and considerations for conducting virtual interviews. Participants will have the opportunity to practice developing interview questions and using interviewing skills.

Presenters:
MaryBeth Grewe, MPH
Program Manager, Qualitative Research Service
Research Specialist, Patient and Community Engagement in Research (PaCER) Program
NC TraCS Institute

Simone Frank, MPH
Senior Project Manager, Patient and Community Engagement in Research (PaCER) Program
Research Specialist, Qualitative Research Service
NC TraCS Institute

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A Clustered-Randomized Stepped-Wedge Pragmatic Trial to Enhance Goals-of-Care Communication for Older Adults with Cancer

This NIH Collaboratory Rethinking Clinical Trials Grand Rounds features:

Angelo Volandes, MD, MPH
Vice Chair of Research, Department of Medicine
Dartmouth Health
Professor of Medicine, Geisel School of Medicine

James A. Tulsky, MD
Poorvu Jaffe Chair, Department of Supportive Oncology
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School

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Academic Publishing 101: From Idea to Article...and Beyond

This course will be available online via Zoom. Registration is required to secure your spot. This course will NOT be recorded – attendance is required.

Although graduate school teaches you many things, many PhD students complete their dissertations having never been fully trained in academic publishing. How does academic publishing actually work? Where should you publish your research? How do you actually get papers accepted in strong academic journals? In this talk, we will discuss several major ideas in academic publishing (focusing on the social sciences). We will discuss (1) professional integrity and ethics; (2) the role of academic conversations and communities as a guide for publication forums and journal selections; (3) the mechanics of publishing in journals and other forums (including outlining, writing style, journal, legal, and newspaper submissions, the peer review process, revisions, and corresponding with editors); and (4) acceptance and all that follows.

There will be a 1-hour lunch from 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. and (2) 15-minute breaks (one in the morning and one in afternoon).

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Reproducibility Rounds: Reproducibility Training Initiatives

Training in Rigor and Reproducibility varies across countries and institutions. In this talk, representatives from Reproducibility for Everyone (R4E), Community for Rigor (C4R), and Framework for Open and Reproducible Research Training (FORRT) will present their courses, workshops, materials, resources, and communities working on advancing research transparency, reproducibility, rigor, and ethics.

Speakers:
Nafisa Jadavji, PhD, FAHA
Assistant Professor
Southern Illinois University

Susan McClatchy, MS
Bioinformatics Analyst III
The Jackson Laboratory

Hao Ye, PhD
Curriculum Lead
Community for Rigor

Flavio Azevedo, PhD
Assistant Professor
Utrecht University

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NC TraCS Data Science Lab Seminar Series: Leveraging big data with Apache Spark

Working with big data requires specialized tools. In this seminar, JP Powers, PhD, a research data scientist in the TraCS Data Science Lab, will introduce Apache Spark, an open-source engine for large-scale data processing.

Seminars in the NC TraCS Data Science Lab Seminar Series will cover a range of topics related to health care data science, clinical data, data engineering, and working in these areas at UNC-Chapel Hill. These hybrid seminars will be held on the third Tuesday of each month from 12:30-1:30 p.m. in the NC TraCS suite on the 2nd floor of Brinkhous-Bullitt or via Zoom.

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The Informed Consent Process: Why It Matters and How to Get It Right

This hybrid NRP Education session will be presented by Brett Phillips, MA, PMP, CCRP, Clinical Research Program Manager, from the UNC Blood Research Center. Phillips will discuss the historical and ethical significance of informed consent in clinical research, how to prepare effectively for the informed consent process, how to handle difficult conversations, and how to implement post-consent best practices.

Every breath, every beat: Integrating multi-modal Real-Time data streams for explainable clinical prediction systems in the ICU

Join the Carolina Health Informatics Program (CHIP) in-person for a talk led by Rishi Kamaleswaran, PhD, MS, an Associate Professor of Surgery and Anesthesiology at Duke University School of Medicine.

Rishi Kamaleswaran, PhD, MS, is a computer scientist by training, he develops machine learning models using multimodal data to improve patient outcomes, with expertise spanning ICU physiology, omics data, and biomedical engineering. Much of his recent work involves modeling complex multimodal insight to study the mechanisms behind the onset of deterioration in critically ill and immunocompromised patients across the lifespan, such as progression to single or multiple organ dysfunction, sepsis, respiratory and neurological dysfunction. His goal for his research program is based on developing intelligent systems that can be used to develop new cures for diseases and advance clinical understanding of critical and acute illness. He has been funded by the NIH and other industry and private foundations to advance research in those fields.

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The Cost of Large Teams in Innovation

The Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI) at UNC-Chapel Hill is excited to announce the next event from Accelerating Collaborative Team Science (ACTS) — a Team Science educational program.

ACTS functions as a connector, bridging the gap between researchers, coordinating centers, and other parties involved in practicing and promoting collaborative team science theory and practical applications across the scientific research landscape. With twenty years of experience coordinating team science efforts, RENCI provides a unique vantage point for those seeking to understand the role of the coordinating center and the challenges specific to large, geographically dispersed scientific teams.

While traditional studies have emphasized the benefits of teamwork, Lingfei Wu, PhD, investigates their overlooked costs in innovation. By leveraging big data and AI tools, Wu identifies disruptive innovation in science and technology, showing how large teams can hinder individual creativity that might otherwise drive breakthrough advancement in the field (Wu et al., 2019, Nature). His analysis reveals that team hierarchy is a key factor, with early-career scientists often playing a supporting role in idea implementation rather than leading the generation of new ideas (Xu et al., 2022, PNAS; Lin et al., 2023, Nature). To deepen this investigation, his team created and analyzed the world’s first observational dataset on author contributions, derived from two million LaTeX source files from preprint websites. This innovative approach reveals how large teams can obscure individual recognition, especially for junior scientists. This issue has become increasingly relevant today, as teams grow ubiquitous across domains, yet not all team members receive recognition for their contributions.

Learn more at renci.org/team-science/.

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This interactive online workshop will provide an introduction to focus groups, a data collection method used in qualitative research. Topics covered will include focus group methodology, considerations for planning a focus group, development of focus group discussion guides, focus group facilitation skills, and tips for conducting virtual focus groups. Attendees will also observe or participate in a mini "mock" virtual focus group session.

Presenters:
MaryBeth Grewe, MPH
Program Manager, Qualitative Research Service
Research Specialist, Patient and Community Engagement in Research (PaCER) Program
NC TraCS Institute

Simone Frank, MPH
Senior Project Manager, Patient and Community Engagement in Research (PaCER) Program
Research Specialist, Qualitative Research Service
NC TraCS Institute

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Hidden Gems: Lesser-Known, but Incredibly Useful Research Methods

We all know about surveys, focus groups, and qualitative interviews. These tried and true methods are foundational to the world of research, and have proven their worth through the decades. But have you ever wondered if there might be more to research, or feel that you need more tools in your methods toolbox?

This workshop takes participants on a methodological journey, exploring a wide range of less-conventional data collection and analysis methods. Participants will learn how everyday things – e.g., household garbage, restroom graffiti, plastic toys – can be used in research to produce novel and valuable insights.

In this inter-active workshop, participants will learn when, why and how to utilize more than two dozen lesser-known data collection and analysis methods. Social network analysis, geo-spatial techniques, along with several forms of observation methods, will be examined in both exploratory and confirmatory contexts. Participants will also learn when and how to employ a variety of cognitively-oriented methods, such as free-listing, pile-sorting and ethnographic decision modelling. Numerous projective techniques that are designed to evoke personal narratives and deep-rooted values – such as vignettes (qualitative and quantitative variations) - will be examined. Participants will additionally learn how to optimize traditional surveys and qualitative data collection methods by incorporating unique activities and types of questions into instruments and procedures.

The workshop is comprised of lectures, and multiple hands-on exercises. Examples are drawn from both domestic and international research contexts.

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Texting for Behavior Change: Lessons Learned Across 2 Interventions to Improve Chronic Care Management

This NIH Collaboratory Rethinking Clinical Trials Grand Rounds features:

Michael Ho, MD, PhD
Kaiser Permanente Colorado

Sheana Bull, PhD
University of Colorado School of Public Health

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Carolina Engagement Week 2025 brings together Carolina faculty, staff and students with community partners to learn about and celebrate engagement and collaboration with North Carolina communities.

Register for the events you want to attend and participate in skill-building workshops, research presentations, panel discussions and more!

View the events at engagementweek.unc.edu/events-calendar.

Carolina Engagement Week 2025 brings together Carolina faculty, staff and students with community partners to learn about and celebrate engagement and collaboration with North Carolina communities.

Register for the events you want to attend and participate in skill-building workshops, research presentations, panel discussions and more!

View the events at engagementweek.unc.edu/events-calendar.

Designing Web Surveys

This 4-hour course will be held online only. Attendance is required as it will not be recorded.

This course will provide an introduction to effectively designing web surveys to avoid common pitfalls that impact data quality and introduce measurement error. The course will focus on the following elements of web survey design – overall formatting and visual layout of screens, selecting and designing questions and response options (e.g., radio buttons, check boxes, grids, and open text fields), error and validation messaging, navigation elements, and usability. Special considerations for designing web surveys to accommodate mobile response will also be covered. This course will also provide an overview of the various web survey software systems available and offer practical guidance on selecting appropriate platforms. However, this course will not provide instruction on the technical aspects of web survey programming or introduce programming languages. The course will draw from empirical literature on best practices coupled with practical considerations when designing and implementing web surveys.

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Carolina Engagement Week 2025 brings together Carolina faculty, staff and students with community partners to learn about and celebrate engagement and collaboration with North Carolina communities.

Register for the events you want to attend and participate in skill-building workshops, research presentations, panel discussions and more!

View the events at engagementweek.unc.edu/events-calendar.

School-Based Prevention of Behavioral & Mental Health Problems: Integrating and Advancing the Evidence Base

Catherine Bradshaw, PhD, MEd

This talk will review some of the current strategies for integrating evidence-based programming in schools to reduce behavioral and mental health problems in children and youth in K-12 settings. Models, such as multi-tiered systems of support and social emotional learning will be featured, along with approaches for optimizing implementation fidelity and scaling to reach rural communities. There will also be particular attention to teacher and contextual factors, and issues related to cost, burden, and equity.

This lecture will be presented by Catherine P. Bradshaw, PhD, MEd. Bradshaw is a university professor and the senior associate dean for research and faculty development at the School of Education and Human Development and is a faculty fellow with the vice president of research at the University of Virginia. She was previously an associate professor and the associate chair of the Department of Mental Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where she maintains an adjunct faculty position.

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Accelerate your ideas through customer discovery and market opportunity validation!

KickStart Venture Services is recruiting community startups as well as faculty, post-doctoral fellows, graduate students, and undergraduate students with innovations and an interest in commercialization to participate in their virtual NSF I-Corps program. They will teach you the principles of customer discovery to help you better understand the market potential of your innovation!

The National Science Foundation’s Innovation Corps Program (I-Corps) was launched in 2011 and has quickly become one of the world’s largest and most successful technology commercialization accelerators. The I-Corps regional program helps researchers and aspiring innovators determine if they are solving a real-world problem with true market opportunity. NSF’s I-Corps Program not only provides funding, mentoring, and networking opportunities to help commercialize promising technologies, it is offered at NO COST to the community.

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For more information about the I-Corps Program, visit KickStart Venture Services.

Carolina Engagement Week 2025 brings together Carolina faculty, staff and students with community partners to learn about and celebrate engagement and collaboration with North Carolina communities.

Register for the events you want to attend and participate in skill-building workshops, research presentations, panel discussions and more!

View the events at engagementweek.unc.edu/events-calendar.

Engagement in Research 101: Introduction to Engaging Patient & Community Partners in Research (Carolina Engagement Week)

In this training, we use engaging, interactive methods to provide an overview of engagement in research, highlighting that engagement is not "all or nothing" or "one-size-fits-all", but instead encompasses a wide variety of low touch to high touch approaches that could be right for your study. The session will cover common myths/misconceptions about engagement in research, benefits of and key considerations for engaging patient and community partners in research, and initial steps/existing resources attendees can leverage to begin engaging partners in research. We will use interactive polls, "chat storms," and breakout rooms to make the session interactive.

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This seminar is offered as part of Carolina Engagement Week and is co-sponsored by NC TraCS and the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Program. For more information about this seminar, please visit engagementweek.unc.edu.

The NIH is postponing Rare Disease Day 2025 and will reschedule it to occur in the coming months.

FDA-NIH Rare Disease Day is scheduled for February 27–28, 2025.

This year, NCATS is co-hosting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to provide a free, public event held on the NIH Main Campus at the Natcher Conference Center and virtually. Rare Disease Day aims to raise awareness about rare diseases, the people they affect and NIH and FDA collaborations that address scientific challenges and advance research for new treatments.

The goals of FDA-NIH Rare Disease Day are to:

• Demonstrate the NIH and FDA commitment to advancing research and regulatory support for people affected by rare diseases.
• Highlight NIH and FDA supported rare diseases research and the development of diagnostics and treatments.
• Initiate a mutually beneficial dialogue among the rare diseases community.
• Exchange the latest rare diseases information with stakeholders to advance research and therapeutic efforts.
• Shine a spotlight on stories told by patients living with a rare disease, their caregivers, and their communities.

FDA-NIH Rare Disease Day seeks to bring together a broad audience including patients, patient advocates, caregivers, health care providers, researchers, trainees, students, industry representatives, and government staff. 

For more details, visit ncats.nih.gov.

register

Carolina Engagement Week 2025 brings together Carolina faculty, staff and students with community partners to learn about and celebrate engagement and collaboration with North Carolina communities.

Register for the events you want to attend and participate in skill-building workshops, research presentations, panel discussions and more!

View the events at engagementweek.unc.edu/events-calendar.

This online training will provide an introduction to qualitative data analysis, focusing on content/thematic analysis. The session will cover the basics of qualitative data analysis and steps in the analysis process, including transcribing, memoing, codebook development and coding, exploring content areas or themes, and interpreting and communicating findings. Participants will have the opportunity to practice developing and applying codes.

Please note: We will not be demonstrating how to use qualitative data analysis software during this session.

Presenters:

MaryBeth Grewe, MPH
Program Manager, Qualitative Research Service
Research Specialist, Patient and Community Engagement in Research (PaCER) Program
NC TraCS Institute

Simone Frank, MPH
Senior Project Manager, Patient and Community Engagement in Research (PaCER) Program
Research Specialist, Qualitative Research Service
NC TraCS Institute

Register

The NIH is postponing Rare Disease Day 2025 and will reschedule it to occur in the coming months.

FDA-NIH Rare Disease Day is scheduled for February 27–28, 2025.

This year, NCATS is co-hosting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to provide a free, public event held on the NIH Main Campus at the Natcher Conference Center and virtually. Rare Disease Day aims to raise awareness about rare diseases, the people they affect and NIH and FDA collaborations that address scientific challenges and advance research for new treatments.

The goals of FDA-NIH Rare Disease Day are to:

• Demonstrate the NIH and FDA commitment to advancing research and regulatory support for people affected by rare diseases.
• Highlight NIH and FDA supported rare diseases research and the development of diagnostics and treatments.
• Initiate a mutually beneficial dialogue among the rare diseases community.
• Exchange the latest rare diseases information with stakeholders to advance research and therapeutic efforts.
• Shine a spotlight on stories told by patients living with a rare disease, their caregivers, and their communities.

FDA-NIH Rare Disease Day seeks to bring together a broad audience including patients, patient advocates, caregivers, health care providers, researchers, trainees, students, industry representatives, and government staff. 

For more details, visit ncats.nih.gov.

register

The NIH is postponing Rare Disease Day 2025 and will reschedule it to occur in the coming months.

FDA-NIH Rare Disease Day is scheduled for February 27–28, 2025.

This year, NCATS is co-hosting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to provide a free, public event held on the NIH Main Campus at the Natcher Conference Center and virtually. Rare Disease Day aims to raise awareness about rare diseases, the people they affect and NIH and FDA collaborations that address scientific challenges and advance research for new treatments.

The goals of FDA-NIH Rare Disease Day are to:

• Demonstrate the NIH and FDA commitment to advancing research and regulatory support for people affected by rare diseases.
• Highlight NIH and FDA supported rare diseases research and the development of diagnostics and treatments.
• Initiate a mutually beneficial dialogue among the rare diseases community.
• Exchange the latest rare diseases information with stakeholders to advance research and therapeutic efforts.
• Shine a spotlight on stories told by patients living with a rare disease, their caregivers, and their communities.

FDA-NIH Rare Disease Day seeks to bring together a broad audience including patients, patient advocates, caregivers, health care providers, researchers, trainees, students, industry representatives, and government staff. 

For more details, visit ncats.nih.gov.

register

Behavioral Economic and Staffing Strategies To Increase Adoption of the ABCDEF Bundle in the Intensive Care Unit (BEST ICU): Protocol, Challenges, and Major Updates

This NIH Collaboratory Rethinking Clinical Trials Grand Rounds features:

Michele C. Balas PhD, RN, CCRN-K, FCCM, FAAN
Associate Dean of Research
Dorothy Hodges Olson Distinguished Professor of Nursing
University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing

Eduard Vasilevskis, MD, MPH
Professor of Medicine
Department of Medicine, Division of Hospital Medicine
University of Wisconsin-Madison

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