Personal Strengths Publishing, Inc. (PSP) provides research support to teams, organizations, or individuals for worthwhile, high quality research. The intent is to maintain and / or broaden the existing knowledge about theories relating to motivational values, the SDI suite of tools, and other concepts connected to PSP's business.

OBJECTIVES

PSP research aims to:

• Attract top quality research projects from a variety of organizational sectors and geographic areas
• Contribute to larger industries and bodies of knowledge, such as psychology, training, organizational development, etc.
• Further PSP business goals

DESCRIPTION OF SUPPORT

Support for research projects that are sponsored through PSP may come in one or any combination of the following:

• Use of PSP copyrighted products at a reduced cost
• Partial funding
• Data entry
• Assistance creating a process for data gathering and analysis

These options will be considered for each research proposal, and granted at PSP's discretion based on the relevance and contribution to the above stated objectives.

Funding may be granted for specific expenses related to the research project. The party conducting the research is responsible for providing a budget to justify expenses for funding support. (Salaries, tuition and scholastic fees are not considered eligible expenses.)

ELIGIBILITY

Students and parties from all types of organizations are invited to apply for PSP research support. PSP research support may be used in parallel with other grants or financial support from sources that do not present a conflict of interest with PSP's business.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Proposals may be submitted to PSP in any written format that explains the research goals, theoretical or practical significance of the research, process for implementing the project, and needs for PSP support. The length of the proposal should not exceed 5 typewritten pages (12 point font, double-spaced).

The sections in the application should include:

• Cover page listing the project title, names and affiliations of the research team members
• Abstract which summarizes the study (one paragraph)
• Brief statement of the problem or question being investigated
• Brief description of the process for gathering and analyzing the data
• Time line
• Nature of support being requested from PSP (e.g. copies of the SDI and/or PSP materials, funding for research expenses, etc.)
• Current resumes for each member of the research team, including the faculty advisor for academic projects

Once PSP receives an application, it will be reviewed within an adequate period of time to give it full consideration. This length of time will vary depending on the proposal as well as business demand. The applicant will be notified once a conclusion has been reached, or if PSP needs further information before making a decision. If PSP declines a proposal, the applicant will receive feedback from PSP stating the reasons.

SELECTION CRITERIA

• The research question must be stated clearly
• A hypothesis must be explicit
• The research process must be outlined in detail
• Data gathering and analysis must include application of the appropriate statistics
• Proposed timeframe must be reasonable
• Population must be large enough for the question at hand
• Measurement must include strategies to address reliability and validity, and to avoid measurement error
• Project must be within legal boundaries where the research occurs
• Project must be within ethical parameters as defined by the professional field of the research domain
• The candidate agrees to maintain regular, informal contact with PSP regarding the status of the project (at least quarterly)

Organizations or individuals that use PSP products for research must sign a statement acknowledging the selection criteria, reasons for project termination, and a research agreement with PSP. This includes an agreement to share the raw and statistical data, research design and analyses, reports, and any published articles referring to PSP and / or the findings.

PROJECT TERMINATION

If an individual or organization terminates a research project before it is complete, or delays completion beyond the timeframe that is agreed to by PSP, the same individual or organization may not be eligible to receive future research support from PSP. Personal Strengths Publishing reserves the right to retract approval research projects at any point and / or deem a candidate ineligible for future project support for any of the following reasons:

• The research is not within legal boundaries where the research occurs
• The project does not comply with the ethical parameters defined by the professional field of the research domain
• There is a conflict of interest that compromises PSP's business
• The candidate does not maintain regular, informal contact with PSP regarding the status of the project (at least quarterly)
• The project deadline expires without prior written request for an extension
• The project direction changes in a way that is not relevant or no longer contributes to the PSP research objectives