Three (Grant) Peeves in a Pod: Check Yourself

Reviewers review. We will notice. These fresh mistakes straight from study section:

1.) Please agree with yourself.

If the abstract says n = 110, the aims say 100, the statistical section says 110, and the budget justification says 100, it makes me cranky.

2.) Please explain yourself.

When presenting power/sample size calculations let me know from which hat you picked your assumptions. A range of plausible effect estimates with citations or reprising your preliminary data will do nicely.

3.) Please don’t get ahead of yourself.

If your search for receptor variants may identify a drugable target, don’t tell me we need to fund your study because it will cure cancer. Convince me this is not your first rodeo and you are likely to find one or more targets suitable for testing.

Don’t skimp on accuracy and details in your proposal. Even if I am only subconsciously skeptical, it can hurt your grant score…and only nearly perfect scores clear the payline.