Work on Preliminary Data Posted on December 3, 2007 When selecting preliminary data, you don't need to mine for diamonds, says Gary S. Sachs (bio).

It really is important to find a way to get preliminary data so that you can get started with your new research proposal, whether that’s for an R01 or a K award. And I think often people think that they have to start from scratch, actually do a full project. That’s not the case.

Looking to pull things out of other data sets is completely acceptable. It’s a justification for what you’re doing. It shows that you can manipulate data, and that’s important for reviewers to see.

I would also say this idea of doing preliminary studies, you can try to do something that is incredibly complex that you may find you can do, but very often you get frustrated and you find you can’t do. I would say look for projects that are much more like picking nuggets off a riverbed than they are like drilling a diamond mine. That’s a much harder task, not what you need to do.

So if this is the greatest idea in the world and it’s going to advance science, that may be what you’ll do for your whole career. For now, let’s define something much simpler. Let’s define something that you can actually imagine completing within a 6- to 12-month period. If you can do that, that’s fine as a preliminary project. I’d love you to be able to walk in, sit down with the data set, produce your preliminary study in two weeks. If that’s not possible, let’s find a way to get it done in 6 to 12 months. If you can’t do that, that’s not a preliminary study in my book.

While you’re doing your task and whether you’re a post-doc or you’ve just got another year to go to residency or you’re a fellow, you want to be productive during that time. Why should somebody give a grant to you? Well, you have to show some promise. You have to show that you’ve mastered the basic material. And these preliminary studies are a very good way to show that you’re dedicated to the task, that you’ve got the skill set required, that you’re a good bet to deliver something for the money that you’re given.

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