Research Design Service

The RDS offers high quality, responsive, specialist advice and support on research design and methodology, to researchers making funding applications for submission to our research programmes and national, peer-reviewed funding competitions for applied health or social care research.

The RDS could help your team with:

• designing a study
• research methods (qualitative and quantitative)
• identifying suitable sources of funding
• involving patients and public in research design
• identifying potential academic, clinical, SME and public collaborators
• identifying and refining the research question
• medical statistics
• health economics
• advice on common pitfalls
• interpreting feedback from funding panels.

The RDS can help you if you are:

• developing grant applications for applied health or social care research
• applying for personal fellowships
• writing applications to national, open, peer-reviewed funding streams.

The RDS supports a broad range of people, including:

• doctors, nurses and allied health professionals
• patients and service users
• academics and NHS and social care managers.

RDS priority is to support applications to our research programmes. They also support applications to Research Councils and other open, national, peer-reviewed funding programmes.

Expertise
RDS research advisers offer a unique breadth of expertise and a proven track record in improving research applications.

Collaboration
The RDS can help you to identify possible gaps in your research team and collaborators who can add value to your research, including health and social care clinicians, policy makers, academic researchers, SMEs and patients and the public.

Tailored support
The RDS can offer support tailored to the needs of your research team. Advice is available at face-to-face meetings, by telephone or email, at research clinics or as feedback from panel review meetings.

The national RDS network operates from 10 regional centres across England.

Find your nearest regional centre below: