Specific Aims

Overview

A specific aim outlines how the researcher will address the study's primary goal or objective. They are typically crafted using action-oriented verbs, such as “to determine”, “to compare”, or “to estimate”. Specific aims can be exploratory or confirmatory, intended to either generate or test a hypothesis, respectively. In a grant proposal, the Specific Aims section is a succinct one-page document that summarizes the main research questions, hypotheses, and overarching goals of the proposed project, as well as the rationale and significance within the research domain.

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Readings

  • Monte, A. A., & Libby, A. M. (2018). Introduction to the specific aims page of a grant proposal. Academic Emergency Medicine: Official Journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, 25(9), 1042–1047. https://doi.org/10.1111/acem.13419
  • Goldstein, A. M., Balaji, S., Ghaferi, A. A., Gosain, A., Maggard-Gibbons, M., Zuckerbraun, B., & Keswani, S. G. (2021). An algorithmic approach to an impactful specific aims page. Surgery, 169(4), 816–820. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surg.2020.06.014
  • Santen, R. J., Barrett, E. J., Siragy, H. M., Farhi, L. S., Fishbein, L., & Carey, R. M. (2017). The jewel in the crown: Specific aims section of investigator-initiated grant proposals. Journal of the Endocrine Society, 1(9), 1194–1202. https://doi.org/10.1210/js.2017-00318
    • Emphasizes the important characteristics of the specific aims section, and offers a roadmap for writing
  • Chasan-Taber, L. (2022). Writing Grant Proposals in Epidemiology, Preventive Medicine, and Biostatistics (2nd ed.). Chapman and Hall/CRC. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003155140
    • Chapter 6 focuses on strategically meeting the NIH guidelines specific to each section of the specific aims
  • Chung, K. C., & Shauver, M. J. (2008). Fundamental principles of writing a successful grant proposal. The Journal of Hand Surgery, 33(4), 566–572. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhsa.2007.11.028
    • Includes example Specific Aims section

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