SBE Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grants

Physical Anthropology
Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences
Jean Turnquist, Program Director

Physical Anthropology Dissertation Due Dates: February 9 and August 16

The program solicitation number for Doctoral Dissertations is NSF 06-605.

Proposals for Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grants submitted to the Physical Anthropology Science Program must comply with or have information about the following bulleted items:

• Deadlines: February 9th (or the first subsequent business day if the 9th falls on a weekend or Federal holiday) in order to be reviewed at the spring panel. August 16th (or the first subsequent business day if the 16th falls on a weekend or Federal holiday) in order to be considered at the autumn panel. These are firm DEADLINES.
• Project Duration: no maximum -- as needed
• Project Budget : The maximum award is $15,000.
• Proposal Title should read, "Doctoral Dissertation Improvement: ....."
• Project Description The text of the proposal is limited to 10 single-spaced pages. Up to 5 additional pages can be used for maps, figures etc. Maps, figures and tables should be consolidated at the end of the proposal's project description section, after the 10 pages of prose - they should not be interspersed in the text. Please make certain to review the requirements in the Grant Proposal Guide. If your proposal does not conform to the various requirements it will be returned without review. Note particularly the standards for font size and the need to address the broader impacts of your research.
• The dissertation advisor should be listed as the Principal Investigator and the dissertation student should be listed as the Co-Principal Investigator.
• All proposals must be submitted electronically via Fastlane or Grants.gov.

If you have additional questions, please contact the Program Director listed above.

Dissertation Advice to Students

The Physical Anthropology Program supports research by doctoral students in all the subfields of physical (biological) anthropology - human and general primate biology, anatomy, paleontology, genetics, evolutionary ecology, bioarchaeology, and primate behavior.

The Foundation welcomes proposals on behalf of doctoral students at U.S. universities who are about to undertake their dissertation research. The Foundation strongly encourages proposals on behalf of women, minorities and persons with disabilities. The PI's must be affiliated with a U.S. university, but need not be U.S. citizens. In accordance with Federal statutes and regulations and NSF policies, no person on grounds of race, color, age, gender, national origin, or disability shall be excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any program receiving financial assistance from the National Science Foundation. The Foundation offers Facilitation Awards for Scientists and Engineers with disabilities to provide supplemental funding for special assistance or equipment to enable persons with disabilities to work on NSF-supported projects, including GTR's.

Dissertation improvement proposals should have the same format as other NSF proposals (see specific guidelines in the NSF Grant Proposal Guide). Where there are differences between this announcement and the GPG, follow the directions on these pages.

• A 200 to 300 word project summary of the research suitable for a lay reader. All project summaries MUST include separate paragraphs addressing intellectual merit and broader impact or they will be returned without review. The summary should clearly indicate why this research is interesting and important. Also included are the CV's of the PI and the student (co-PI). These biosketches are limited to 2 pages each. Do not include letters of reference or grade transcripts.
• A detailed budget identifying the items for which funds are requested and their costs. Each item in the budget should be justified in notes. The budget should cover the costs of items necessary to accomplish the specific goals of the research, not items of general need. Costs for transportation, per diem while in the field, sample surveys, informant's fees, computers and research equipment are appropriate if justified and not normally available through the student's university. These grants cannot be used as a stipend for the student, for tuition, textbooks or journals, for travel to scientific meeting, or for typing or reproduction of the dissertation for publication costs. Applicants can contact the Program to determine more specific guidelines. Expenses incurred before the start date of the award cannot be reimbursed except under stringent conditions. (see Grant General Conditions GC-1 Article 3). No indirect costs are allowed.
• Other forms as required by the GPG, including IACUC and Human Subjects approval as appropriate. If IRB or IACUC approval has been obtained and is so indicated on the cover sheet, including the date of approval, then it is not necessary to include the actual document. If approval is obtained after the proposal is submitted, then you must send a signed copy of the approval to the program officer before an award can be recommended. NSF does not support research on the etiology, diagnosis, or treatment of disease. However research that deals with basic biological and behavioral processes that underlie health and disease may be eligible for support.

A panel of experts will review dissertation proposals. Proposals are not sent to mail reviewers and therefore it is not necessary to suggest potential reviewers.

For more information, consult the Doctoral Dissertation Program Announcement, the Grant Proposal Guide, and the Guide to Programs. These documents may be accessed electronically on NSF's Web site at: http://www.nsf.gov/. Paper copies may be obtained from the NSF Publications Clearinghouse, telephone 301.947.2722 or by e-mail from pubs@nsf.gov.

Outstanding proposals specify how the knowledge to be created advances our theoretical understanding of the study situation, so that people interested in similar situations in different contexts will learn from the project's outcome. The key is to be explicit in showing how the general theory explains the local situation, and in showing how the new knowledge from the local situation will advance the theory.

Use a clear and concise writing style. Reviewers will include physical anthropologists from a variety of specialty areas. It is possible that no specialist from your particular area of research will be on the panel. Defining key terms and keeping your proposal free of jargon will ensure that all reviewers will be able to understand your proposal and evaluate it fairly.

Reviewers are well aware that there are no perfect strategies for conducting research, but will be looking for evidence that you understand the strengths and weaknesses of the approach selected. In a competitive review process where only a subset of excellent proposals can be funded, reviewers need to be told how the new knowledge to be gained from your particular study will yield generalizations that advance our theoretical understanding of the problem.

Under NSF's data sharing policy, the Foundation expects investigators to share with other researchers, at no more than incremental cost and within a reasonable time, the data, samples, physical collections, and other supporting materials created or gathered in the course of the work. To implement that policy in ways appropriate to Physical Anthropology and Archaeology, beginning July 1, 2005 these Programs will require that all proposals include a one-page detailed description of the applicant's data access plan in the "Supplementary Documents" section. This page will be in addition to the standard 10-page project description. Applications lacking this statement will not be reviewed. The Programs realize that individual cases may differ widely and recognize that any absolute timeline or rigid set of rules is not possible. They also recognize that revision and adjustment may often be required as the work proceeds. The data access plan, however, will be considered an integral part of the project and therefore subject to panel evaluation. Major departure from it will constitute a significant project change and require NSF approval. Successful applicants will be required to address this issue in the final report. PIs on all awards made under these guidelines will be expected to discuss implementation of their plans in the "Results of Prior Research" section when they submit subsequent applications.