Explore the vast range of titles available.

BackgroundMixed-methods research is gaining popularity, leading to an increase in mixed-methods novice researchers. Novice researchers need professional experience such as reading about mixed-methods research designs to become expert researchers.ObjectivesThis article presents a methodological reflection of how I, as a mixed-methods novice, dealt with research design challenges in the context of a mixed-methods research project on reading comprehension.MethodThis methodological reflection firstly provides background of the complexity of studying reading comprehension. This is followed by methodological design challenges I experienced and a discussion of how the RAND reading heuristic offered a way to address these challenges. Lastly, I include details of selected findings of the empirical research project to show how the research design led to reading comprehension inferences.ResultsUsing a heuristic to plan a mixed-methods research design can benefit a novice researcher by assisting with the identification the data that can be collected. Secondly, the heuristic can infer the integration of qualitative and quantitative findings.ConclusionThe complexity of designing mixed-methods research mirrors the complexity of reading comprehension. The use of an uncomplicated heuristic assisted me in navigating these complexities. The design enabled me to gain knowledge about the reading comprehension challenges of first-year students, to inform reading support.ContributionThis article contributes, firstly, to the field of mixed-methods research by presenting an example for novice researchers. Secondly, the reading comprehension heuristic and matching research design can be used in other contexts.

Background The efficiency of mass chlorination in controlling diarrheal diseases during acute emergencies has been extensively reported in literature. However, long-term crises received unparallel attention. Researchers have previously carried out a trial that investigated the impact of using chemical means to treat water reservoirs of Um-Baddah Nevachah, a refugee camp located in the western outskirts of Khartoum, Sudan. A double-blind community experimental trial was carried out by randomly adding either chlorine or a placebo to the major water tanks in the area. Data were collected using a mixed-methods study design. The primary input was the quantitative data derived from total coliforms lab tests and records of the local primary healthcare center, while the embedded (nested) portion generated most of the qualitative data from direct face-to-face interviews. As a case analysis, this study aims to critically appraise the original trial. In the Background the authors discussed the context of the trial, approach used, and outcomes. Discussion section included three issues related to the trial: scientific importance, challenges and strategies. Discussion Importance: There are two factors that contribute to the importance of this study: First, the integrated and systematic approach followed to resolve associated challenges. The study swiftly moved from investigating potential water contamination, to test whether it is related to an endogenous focus that auto-taints drinking water, and finally it explored the impact of tanks chlorination on public health. Second, the longstanding humanitarian context which remains largely underreported in literature. Challenges: funding limitations were among the first obstacles faced. During the fieldwork preparation phase, a lot of work was required to resolve logistical and security challenges. Keeping volunteers motivated was the biggest concern during the last phase of data collection. Strategies: The “Matrix Solutions Strategy” was developed and used to optimize scarce resources to simultaneously target multiple problems through a single intervention. Conclusion Key lessons learned from the whole experience were: persistence is paramount for the success of studies in precarious situations; lateral thinking generates alternative solutions that are novel, feasibility and practical in resources-limited settings; and finally respecting local culture and regulations is essential for building trust with both authorities and vulnerable societies.

Objectives/Goals: Recruiting and enrolling participants in health research can be challenging for both the public and study teams. The University of Minnesota (UMN) developed a mobile-friendly, public-facing tool to increase research awareness and connect individuals with active studies that match their interests. Methods/Study Population: UMN developed StudyFinder, which integrates with the clinical trial management, electronic IRB, and ClinicalTrials.gov systems to provide accurate, current study listings with plain-language summaries. The tool pages include advanced Elasticsearch with filters, direct email links to study teams, nightly data refreshes, and an admin dashboard for easy content management and homepage updates. Results/Anticipated Results: Since launch, StudyFinder has received over 1.4 million page views. From Sept 2024–Aug 2025, the site had 78,000 visits, with 10,782 contact emails sent from potential participants to study teams. Analytics show continued year-over-year growth in traffic and engagement, demonstrating StudyFinder’s effectiveness in connecting the public to active research opportunities. Discussion/Significance of Impact: StudyFinder offers a scalable, shareable model for improving public access to research participation. Its open-source code and no-cost license enable other institutions to adopt and adapt the platform, advancing a national ecosystem web-based recruitment. StudyFinder is now available at eight hubs.

This comprehensive review critically examines the current state of research on the biological effects of millimeter-wave (MMW) therapy and its potential implications for disease treatment. By investigating both the thermal and non-thermal impacts of MMWs, we elucidate cellular-level alterations, including changes in ion channels and signaling pathways. Our analysis encompasses MMW’s therapeutic prospects in oncology, such as inducing apoptosis, managing pain, and modulating immunity through cytokine regulation and immune cell activation. By employing a rigorous methodology involving an extensive database search and stringent inclusion criteria, we emphasize the need for standardized protocols to enhance the reliability of future research. Although MMWs exhibit promising therapeutic potential, our findings highlight the urgent need for further elucidation of non-thermal mechanisms and rigorous safety assessments, considering the intricate nature of MMW interactions and inconsistent study outcomes. This review underscores the importance of focused research on the biological mechanisms of MMWs and the identification of optimal frequencies to fully harness their therapeutic capabilities. However, we acknowledge the challenges of variable study quality and the necessity for advanced quality control measures to ensure the reproducibility and comparability of future investigations. In conclusion, while MMW therapy holds promise as a novel therapeutic modality, further research is imperative to unravel its complex biological effects, establish safety profiles, and optimize treatment protocols before widespread clinical application.

This piece holds onto the foundation of the material conditions of the experience of Indigenous people out of which decolonial theory springs, first by exploring decolonial theory as it re-shapes practice globally, and second by recognising how radical power risks becoming harnessed and domesticated in Western academic spaces. Finally, it suggests that the Global Challenges Research Fund is not fertile ground for truly decolonising geographical knowledge in the UK.

This manuscript identifies and documents unsolved problems and research challenges in the extended reality (XR) domain (i.e., virtual (VR), augmented (AR), and mixed reality (MR)). The manuscript is structured to include technology, design, and human factor perspectives. The text is visualization/display-focused, that is, other modalities such as audio, haptic, smell, and touch, while important for XR, are beyond the scope of this paper. We further narrow our focus to mainly geospatial research, with necessary deviations to other domains where these technologies are widely researched. The main objective of the study is to provide an overview of broader research challenges and directions in XR, especially in spatial sciences. Aside from the research challenges identified based on a comprehensive literature review, we provide case studies with original results from our own studies in each section as examples to demonstrate the relevance of the challenges in the current research. We believe that this paper will be of relevance to anyone who has scientific interest in extended reality, and/or uses these systems in their research.

1. Increasing demand for benefits provided by riverine ecosystems threatens their sustainable provision. The ecosystem service concept is a promising avenue to inform riverine ecosystem management, but several challenges have prevented the application of this concept. 2. We quantitatively assess the field of riverine ecosystem services' progress in meeting these challenges. We highlight conceptual and methodological gaps, which have impeded integration of the ecosystem service concept into management. 3. Across 89 relevant studies, 33 unique riverine ecosystem services were evaluated, for a total of 404 ecosystem service quantifications. Studies quantified between 1 and 23 ecosystem services, although the majority (55%) evaluated three or less. Among studies that quantified more than one service, 58% assessed interactions between services. Most studies (71%) did not include stakeholders in their quantification protocols, and 34% developed future scenarios of ecosystem service provision. Almost half (45%) conducted monetary valuation, using 16 methods. Only 9% did not quantify or discuss uncertainties associated with service quantification. The indicators and methods used to quantify the same type of ecosystem service varied. Only 3% of services used indicators of capacity, flow and demand in concert. 4. Our results suggest indicators, data sources and methods for quantifying riverine ecosystem services should be more clearly defined and accurately represent the service they intend to quantify. Furthermore, more assessments of multiple services across diverse spatial extents and of riverine service interactions are needed, with better inclusion of stakeholders. Addressing these challenges will help riverine ecosystem service science inform river management. 5. Synthesis and applications. The ecosystem service concept has great potential to inform riverine ecosystem management and decision-making processes. However, this review of riverine ecosystem service quantification uncovers several remaining research gaps, impeding effective use of this tool to manage riverine ecosystems. We highlight these gaps and point to studies showcasing methods that can be used to address them.

Background The BRANCH Consortium recently conducted 10 mixed-methods case studies to investigate the provision of health and nutrition interventions for women and children in conflict-affected countries, aiming to better understand the dominant influences on humanitarian health actors’ programmatic decision-making and how such actors surmount intervention delivery barriers. In this paper, the research challenges encountered and the mitigating strategies employed by the case study investigators in four of the BRANCH case study contexts are discussed: Somalia, Mali, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Discussion Many of the encountered research challenges were anticipated, with investigators adopting mitigation strategies in advance or early on, but others were unexpected, with implications for how studies were ultimately conducted and how well the original study aims were met. Insecurity was a fundamental challenge in all study contexts, with restricted geographical access and concerns for personal safety affecting sampling and data collection plans, and requiring reliance on digital communications, remote study management, and off-site team meetings wherever possible. The need to navigate complex local sociopolitical contexts required maximum reliance on local partners’ knowledge, expertise and networks, and this was facilitated by early engagement with a wide range of local study stakeholders. Severe lack of reliable quantitative data on intervention coverage affected the extent to which information from different sources could be triangulated or integrated to inform an understanding of the influences on humanitarian actors’ decision-making. Conclusion Strong local partners are essential to the success of any project, contributing not only technical and methodological capacity but also the insight needed to truly understand and interpret local dynamics for the wider study team and to navigate those dynamics to ensure study rigour and relevance. Maintaining realistic expectations of data that are typically available in conflict settings is also essential, while pushing for more resources and further methodological innovation to improve data collection in such settings. Finally, successful health research in the complex, dynamic and unpredictable contexts of conflict settings requires flexibility and adaptability of researchers, as well as sponsors and donors.

Objectives/Goals: This study aims to quantitatively examine successful US researchers who may engage in pragmatic ’negotiation’ over time with external funders, their university administration, and other scientific and scholarly parties about their research lines and content. Methods/Study Population: The purpose of this quantitative correlational research is to pilot a new quantitative survey tool to measure researcher autonomy in selecting and pursuing their research agendas. The current study is modeled after a landmark peer-reviewed publication on negotiated space in evaluating researchers’ agendas in Finland and the United Kingdom by Luukkonen and Thomas in 2016. Using a mixed methods design, the study surveys NIH Director’s Pioneer and Keck Foundation Awardees (2018–2021) to assess perceptions of autonomy, competition, and institutional support. This study examines how NIH-funded researchers adapt grant strategies to shifting NIH priorities while preserving autonomy. Results/Anticipated Results: Of 24 respondents, most were White and male, with varied project portfolios and funding levels. Many described their fields as resource-intensive, with typical projects lasting 3–5 years. Primary funding sources were generally flexible, though stability and administrative burdens were concerns. Most researchers reported shifts in research aims driven by field developments rather than institutional pressures, with limited involvement in commercialization. Collaborations with global and industry leaders were common and largely stable. Overall, findings suggest US researchers adapt strategically to funding realities while balancing autonomy, collaboration, and institutional support. Discussion/Significance of Impact: This study demonstrates how US researchers balance autonomy with demands from funders and institutions within a “negotiated space.” Funding is flexible but administratively burdensome. Findings highlight the tension between innovation and external directives shaping research agendas.

Objectives/Goals: This evaluation seeks to demonstrate the feasibility and impact of a new funding program for clinical and translational research launched by U-M Michigan Medicine. ’Research Scouts’ with established research agendas at U-M were identified and trained to invite and fund research proposals from U-M colleagues they had not collaborated with. Methods/Study Population: In 2023, Research Scouts identified and orientated to the program and goals. Each Scouts was given a year to invest $150,000 in innovative research projects. A web-based submission portal was used to anonymize the proposals to remove the potential for bias. All projects were granted a two-year funding period. The sequential mixed methods used for this evaluation includes surveys of ’Research Scouts’ and awardees, followed by the collection on administrative data regarding the awardees scientific production, including both research publications and grants. The survey results and administrative data were analyzed and informed the iterative refinement of an interview protocol designed to investigate the impact of the funding on awardees’ development of novel and collaborative research agendas. Results/Anticipated Results: Surveys of the 2023 Scouts (N=24) and Awardees (N=51) had a 59% response rate. Awardees agreed they were able to pursue new lines of investigation (Mean 4.62, on a 5-point Likert scale); test a new idea that otherwise would go unexplored (Mean 4.62); had more latitude for intellectual creativity and exploration than traditional funding mechanisms permit (Mean 4.46); had new scientific conversations and new connections (Mean 4.54). The results also indicate that Research Scouts agreed with these benefits. Analysis of Awardee’s administrative data yielded evidence that they were actively producing new research; for example, of 146 papers, at least 30 were relevant to their award. Ongoing interviews will yield evidence indicating how the award accelerated their clinical and translational research agendas. Discussion/Significance of Impact: Given the long gestation time for new research ideas to yield new publications or extramural funding, the full impact of the program won’t be known for years. However, preliminary evidence indicates that the Research Scouts program successfully provides a mechanism for pursuing novel ideas with minimal administrative costs and burden.