The Impact of Postdoctoral Fellowships on a Future Independent Career in Federally Funded Biomedical Research

Last registered on August 02, 2018

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
The Impact of Postdoctoral Fellowships on a Future Independent Career in Federally Funded Biomedical Research
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0003197
Initial registration date
July 31, 2018

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
August 02, 2018, 1:51 AM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
University of Kansas

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
National Science Foundation
PI Affiliation
CLAPES UC
PI Affiliation
US Bureau of Census

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2014-06-01
End date
2018-06-01
Secondary IDs
Abstract
The Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) program is a major research training program administered by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) with funds appropriated each year by Congress. This study examines the impact of NRSA postdoctoral fellowships on subsequent research-related career outcomes using NIH administrative records on applicants who applied for a fellowship between 1996 and 2008. It finds that postdoctoral fellowships increased the probability of receiving subsequent NIH research awards from 6.3 to 8.2 percentage points and of achieving an NIH-funded R01 award, an indication of an independent research career, from 4.6 to 6.1 percentage points. The findings demonstrate that the NRSA postdoctoral fellowship awards have the potential to promote retention of scientists in NIH-funded research and in the biomedical workforce pipeline.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Carter-Johnson, Frances et al. 2018. "The Impact of Postdoctoral Fellowships on a Future Independent Career in Federally Funded Biomedical Research." AEA RCT Registry. August 02. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.3197-1.0
Former Citation
Carter-Johnson, Frances et al. 2018. "The Impact of Postdoctoral Fellowships on a Future Independent Career in Federally Funded Biomedical Research." AEA RCT Registry. August 02. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/3197/history/32516
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
This is an analysis of secondary data.
Intervention Start Date
2014-06-01
Intervention End Date
2018-06-01

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
We will examine whether NRSA applicants apply for subsequent NIH funding using NIH administrative data.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
We will create dummy variables and count variables related to number of applications and NIH awards as well as indicators of applications and awards.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We are using a matching algorithm to compare funded and unfunded NIH NRSA applicants.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
This is a quasi-randomized design based on NIH review score.
Randomization Unit
individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
0
Sample size: planned number of observations
27,580 applications
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
11,938 awarded and 15,642 not awarded
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Probability of NIH award = .183, standard deviation .386, 100% power.
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB Approval Date
IRB Approval Number

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials