Making Quality-Promoting Measures More Visible in DFG Projects
Guidelines for quality-promoting measures support applicants in writing proposals in the field of medicine and biomedicine / Greater consideration of these aspects in the review and assessment process
Guidelines for quality-promoting measures support applicants in writing proposals in the field of medicine and biomedicine / Greater consideration of these aspects in the review and assessment process
In 2021, the Senate Commission on Key Questions in Clinical Research of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) published the “Guide to Quality-Promoting Aspects in Medicine and Biomedicine”. This is intended to provide guidance for applicants, reviewers and review boards on which aspects of scientific quality assurance may be relevant to DFG proposals in medicine and biomedicine. It responds to the fact that the implementation of quality assurance measures is playing an increasingly important role in the review and assessment of research proposals. Applicants in the field of medical and biomedical research are called upon to outline quality-promoting measures in their proposals so that these can be taken into account in the review process and as part of the assessment by review boards.
In recent years, there has been intense discussion in many areas of science about the validity of research processes and the reproducibility of research results. In the life sciences, the requirements are particularly challenging since this field involves the study of living systems. In research areas with clinical relevance, there is the additional challenge of ensuring the transferability and compatibility of the results across the various stages of the translation chain. At the same time, the validity of the results in this area is highly important and sensitive.
Particularly relevant aspects here are the choice of research model or theoretical approach, the quality of central data sets or biosamples, statistical or biometric planning and critical reflection on bias. In order to ensure the compatibility of research, it is particularly important to ensure methodical handling of data and samples and make use of the relevant data repositories and biobanks.
In order to support applicants with regard to aspects of quality assurance, the guide defines minimum requirements for proposals while at the same time serving as orientation for reviewers and for the purposes of comparative assessment by the review board.
Further Information
DFG Senate Commission on Key Questions in Clinical Research
“Guide for Quality-Promoting Aspects in Medicine and Biomedicine” (2021)
Statement by the Senate Commission on Key Questions in Clinical Research
“Reproducibility of Results in Medical and Biomedical Research” (2018)
DFG statement “Replicability of research results” (2017)
Contact person:
- Dr. Katja Hartig
Tel. +49 228 885-2359
katja.hartig@dfg.d