AP-LS Early Career Professional Grants-in-Aid

Purpose of Grant-In-Aid

The AP-LS Committee on Early Career Psychologists (ECPs) was formed about a year ago to initiate programs geared toward issues commonly faced by ECPs.  ECPs face a number of unique challenges and issues when making the transition from graduate study to professional life.  More than ever, today’s ECPs are likely to struggle with juggling multiple roles. Challenges faced by ECPs include financial concerns or strains, meeting licensure requirements, developing a professional identify, obtaining tenure, health and wellness issues, etc (Green & Hawley, 2009). In 2008, we held a focus group with 60 ECPs attending the AP-LS Conference, and learned that several ECPs struggle with obtaining grant funding for their research early in their careers.  We then conducted a survey of our membership and found that overall, both early and later career members supported the idea of a Grants-in-aid program for ECPs in AP-LS (95% of the 270 members agreed with the statement ‘AP-LS should support a small grant competition for ECPs (like it currently does for students).’).  

The purpose of this award is to support AP-LS members who are ECPs in conducting research related to psychology and law.  It is the committee’s desire that these awards are not limited only to members who are psychologists, but instead open to AP-LS members from all backgrounds who want to conduct research related to psychology-law issues.   

Award Amounts

Funding up to $5,000 per award for expenses associated with conducting the research (e.g., equipment, participant payments, software, data transcription, research assistants, and expenses incurred at sites away from the home institution while collecting data) is available for each award.  Travel to conferences and salary expenses are not eligible costs.  Only direct costs are available for funding; no indirect costs will be paid.  APLS requests that universities match the funding request. Thus, proposals should be accompanied by an appropriate official university agreement to match the amount requested.

Eligibility

To receive an award, the applicant must be an Early Career Professional, defined by APA as those within 7 years of receiving their last degree.  Applicants must be classified as ECPs upon the application deadline for that year.  Applicants may only submit one award proposal per deadline. In addition, to maximize the impact of the program, a strong preference will be given to those applicants who have not ever received an AP-LS ECP Grant-in-aid. Under exceptional circumstances, the committee may consider a second award. The possibility of a second award will be a rare occurrence, and the previous award must be completed prior to submitting a second proposal. Proposals that represent ‘seed money’ for larger projects and proposals that are complete projects will be accepted.

Applications

Applications should include:

  1. A cover sheet including all contact information (e.g., address, phone number, e-mail address) for the primary investigator(s) and the title of the proposal.  In addition, the cover letter should include the status of the human subjects review for the project.  This process must be completed prior to disbursement of the award.
  2. An abstract of 150 words or less describing the proposed research.
  3. A five-page maximum project description including the following:
    1. Statement of the problem. A clear statement of the research problem and the significance of the problem to psychology and law. 
    2. Relation of the problem to the state of the field. A concise overview of the relevant empirical literature, theoretical background, and/or law related to the project.
    3. Project method. A detailed description of the methodology and analytical strategy to be employed, including an outline for expected completion of the project.
    4. Anticipated contribution. A statement of the significance of the project within the field of psychology and law.
  4. A proposed budget with budget justifications.
  5. A curriculum vitae.
  6. A list of at least 5 suggested outside reviewers for the project with expertise in the area of the proposal.  External reviewer suggestions must exclude those with a potential conflict of interest (e.g., former advisors, collaborators).  

Evaluation Criteria and Review Process

Applications will first be reviewed by at least two outside reviewers, and proposals will be subject to blind review. After receiving outside reviews, the ECP Committee will meet to evaluate the proposals and to make funding decisions.  Both the external reviews and a panel summary will be provided to the applicant, regardless of award decision.

In evaluating each proposal, outside reviewers and the panel will evaluate and provide feedback about the intellectual merit of the project using the following criteria:  

  1. What is the quality of the proposed project? Is it methodologically rigorous? Is the method thorough and complete?
  2. What is the potential contribution of the proposal to the field of psychology and law? Does it have potential to contribute to advancing knowledge in the field?
  3. Does the proposal present an original idea in psychology and law? Does the proposal use new or creative methods or viewpoints to address old problems?

 Application Deadline, Notification of Award, and Ending the Award  

Applications will be accepted annually on December 15.  Applications need to be electronically submitted to the ECP Committee Chair, Lora Levett, at llevett@ufl.edu. Late applications will be held until the next award date.  Awardees will be notified each year by February 15, and will be announced at the AP-LS Conference. In addition, awardees will be required to submit yearly progress reports on February 15 of each year until the project is complete. Upon completion of the project, awardees must submit an end-of-project report (to be displayed on our website) and must present the results of their research at either a subsequent AP-LS conference or in the division’s APA program (applicant’s choice).

We are looking forward to reviewing your application! If you have questions about the grant-in-aid, please contact Lora Levett at llevett@ufl.edu.