Many people fear public speaking and rightly so. You’re on stage, out there in the spotlight, facing an audience filled with unknown faces and trying to connect through a story, while not misspeaking, boring the room to sleep, or freezing.

For researchers talking to a lay audience, the challenge is magnified. The dread of public speaking — an uneasy proposition feared by an estimated three-quarters of people — is coupled with trying to explain often complex science.

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Translational Research Institute’s TRIumph public speaking program makes this challenge easier for researchers by equipping them with the tools to communicate research clearly, confidently, and in ways that connect with the communities they serve.

Launched in 2024 and led by Julien Mirivel, Ph.D., professor of applied communication at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, the program bridges the gap between conducting research and communicating it effectively.

“It’s one thing to develop expertise and conduct research; it’s another set of skills to share your findings effectively and positively,” he said. “Our goals are to increase participants’ public speaking skills when sharing their research with the community, to improve participants’ communication competency, and to create a community-building experience.”

The program was started after Laura James, M.D., director of the Translational Research Institute, contacted Mirivel and tasked him with improving researchers’ and scientists’ ability to share their research with the larger community.

The program consists of three main sessions, beginning with the macro-structure of how to organize and present research in a clear, compelling way. The second emphasizes delivery, particularly the role of storytelling in making information memorable and engaging. The program includes online courses where researchers review information, submit draft videos, and receive feedback. Individual coaching is available as needed, creating a supportive environment for growth and refinement.

The third session is a live presentation with no notes and just one presentation slide to community members, which five UAMS researchers delivered April 2 through eight- to 10-minute talks.

For participant Meghan Breckling, Pharm.D., an assistant professor of pharmacy practice and psychiatry, the program reinforced the importance of storytelling as a communication tool.

“Effective storytelling is a powerful way to capture an audience’s attention and convey the importance of my research,” said Breckling, whose research is focused on assisting pharmacists in leading overdose education, especially in small towns and rural areas. “Practicing how to present research to diverse audiences helps broaden its reach and impact. Because the success of my research depends on community members’ understanding and engagement, it is essential to describe findings in clear, accessible ways that resonate with those most affected.”

That emphasis on connection was echoed by Maegan Calvert, Ph.D., an assistant professor of psychiatry and clinical psychologist. Her research uses neuroimaging to better understand human behavior, predict treatment outcomes, and develop interventions.

“If the community doesn’t understand what you are saying, they can’t connect with you, and we miss the opportunity to engage in a shared moment,” she said. “We do our science to benefit the community, but if we can’t communicate with the community in a way that they can understand, there is no way that the community can fully benefit or contribute to our work.”

Framing research so it connects

For Alexa Escapita, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in the College of Medicine studying infant brain development, primarily focused on children of diabetic mothers, a quote from Maya Angelou shared during the program encapsulated TRIumph.

Angelou is noted for saying, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Escapita said the quote — and TRIumph — made her realize her science is more accessible through simpler language and framing her research in ways that connect with audiences.

“I learned the importance of telling a story to connect with the audience and community members,” she said. “I believe that the research I do is valuable, and if I can share that with the community, then we can potentially improve the lives of children with a high risk of developmental delays. We can do this by educating mothers about what the milestones are that their children need to meet at certain ages and what they can do if their child is not meeting these milestones.”

Similarly, Carol Morris, Ph.D., a postdoctoral researcher in the College of Medicine focused on developing treatments for ischemic stroke, found value in the program’s emphasis on building relationships with audiences.

“I’ve always been a proponent for good science communication, but the TRIumph training emphasizes building a relationship with the audience to help facilitate understanding of the message,” she said. “This was helpful advice when speaking with community members. We also get the opportunity to have a conversation with them, where we learn new things from them as well. It’s a vital exchange for both parties.”

A common theme among all the participants was that communicating research effectively is as important as the research itself. Recognizing that advancing science is not only about discovery, but also about connection is the power of TRIumph, Mirivel said.

“So many researchers and scientists have exceptional research, findings, and do exciting work,” he said. “Yet many of them struggle to share their work effectively with the larger community.

“Medical researchers need to communicate with a larger audience to show the value of science, its impact on practice, and to shape public trust and support. We know that greater understanding of science is positively associated with higher trust in scientists.”

The Translational Research Institute is supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) Program UM1 TR004909, K12 TR004924, and T32 TR004918.

Dear REDCap user,

REDCap systems are being consolidated into four environments to improve performance and better support research needs. To help users navigate the new structure and find the right instance for their project, the REDCap Connect website is also being launched on April 27. The site will include training resources, a user forum, guidance for submitting requests for support, and updates about all four REDCap instances, which are:

UAMS Campuses REDCap Instances:

• Tier 1 REDCap: For researchers and staff independently managing research, quality improvement, and operational projects (formerly AR-CRIS REDCap)
• Tier 2 REDCap: For projects requiring development support, Epic integration, or 21 CFR Part 11 compliance. Use this instance for projects involving direct Epic data transfer, electronic consent, or FDA-regulated research (formerly CIRC REDCap)

Arkansas Children’s Campus REDCap Instances:

• Tier 1 REDCap: For researchers and staff independently managing research, quality improvement, and operational projects (formerly Arkansas Children’s REDCap)
• Tier 2 REDCap: For projects requiring development support, Epic integration, or 21 CFR Part 11 compliance. Use this instance for projects involving direct Epic data transfer, electronic consent, or FDA-regulated research (new instance)

In parallel, we are asking REDCap users to review their existing REDCap projects. Projects that have been inactive for more than 12 months will be archived on Oct. 15, 2026. To keep your project active:

• Log in and perform any activity (e.g., export data), OR
• Contact your REDCap administrator redcap@uams.edu / redcap@archildrens.org or Melody Greer mlgreer@uams.edu

Archived projects can be reinstated anytime if needed. No new projects will be added to the BASE/UAMS DOP instance as of April 27.

If you have any questions about REDCap Connect or archiving, please contact your REDCap administrator.

Thank you,

The REDCap Governance Committee

April 15, 2026

Dear colleagues,

I am making a personal appeal to every researcher in our community to pay close attention to NIH’s new Public Access Policy that went into effect July 1, 2025. This is especially critical for principal investigators and first authors.

The stakes for the Translational Research Institute (TRI) are incredibly high. If even one paper that cites the TRI NIH grants is out of compliance, the NIH views the entire institute as non-compliant. This isn’t just a minor administrative hurdle – it can slow or even stop our grant renewal for the next year. We need everyone’s full cooperation to protect our collective funding and research mission.

A Major Paradigm Shift

In the past, TRI encouraged citing the Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) Program grant as broadly as possible – even for small-scale consultations or routine use of services like REDCap – because those citations were our primary way of measuring institutional impact for the NIH.

That mindset must now change. Because the consequences of citing the grant without strictly following the above NIH Public Access Policy are so severe, we must be much more judicious. We are moving to a two-tiered approach: a simple “acknowledgment” for general support (e.g., REDCap, biostatistics, informatics,, and/or community engagement consultations, and others), and a formal “grant citation” including the grant number only for work directly funded by the award. (Examples of direct funding would be K12 awards, T32 awards, or pilot grant awards.)

The New Citation Standard

To ensure we remain in compliance and retain our funding, we are asking you to adopt a new mindset regarding how you credit the institute:

• Cite the grant number ONLY IF the award provided direct funding for the research being reported. By using the grant number (UM1 TR004909, K12 TR004924, and T32 TR004918), you are confirming that you will ensure the publication follows the NIH policy. This includes ensuring the paper is assigned a PubMed Central ID (PMCID) – which is different from a PMID – and is available immediately upon publication with no embargo.
• Acknowledge TRI if you used our resources, such as REDCap, biostatistics, informatics, or the Community Engagement Core, but did not receive direct funding. Acknowledgement without using the grant number allows us to track our impact without triggering the same NIH Public Access Policy requirements.

Your Responsibility as the Author and Contract Holder

Compliance is the responsibility of the author because you hold the contract with the journal. If your chosen journal does not automatically deposit the article for immediate availability, you must take the lead in manually depositing the manuscript via the NIHMS system.

You are not navigating this alone. Our team is ready to help you verify compliance pathways before you submit and monitor the deposit process until it is complete. If you have questions about whether to cite or how to ensure immediate availability, contact Mtonya Hunter (HunterLewisMtonya@uams.edu)for direct assistance.

Please review our updated Cite TRI page. By being diligent now, you are ensuring that TRI can continue to support your work and the work of your colleagues for years to come.

Thank you for your partnership.

Laura P. James, M.D.
Director, Translational Research Institute
Associate Vice Chancellor for Clinical and Translational Research
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences

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Special thanks to our colleagues at the C. Kenneth and Dianne Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research CTSA for their collaboration in developing this guidance for our hub.

Good clinical trial research should be easy to start, run efficiently, and deliver health care impacts for patients.

At the Clinical Trials Innovation Unit (CTIU), part of the Translational Research Institute at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), these ideas shape the team’s work.

The unit is a comprehensive support system designed to help investigators navigate the complicated world of human-based research, said Al Keyes, director of clinical trials within the CTIU. The unit supports both investigator-initiated and industry-sponsored studies and focuses on improving study quality while streamlining start-up timelines.

“CTIU consists of our study coordinator team, regulatory team, start-up, and finance team (front and back end),” Keyes said. “In a nutshell, our study coordinators provide a resource to clinical investigators looking to delve into a research study who require assistance with data collection, entry, recruitment, consenting, and more.”

The start-up team collaborates with sponsors and investigators to determine feasibility and coordinate site qualification and initiation visits. The regulatory team ensures documentation is complete and works with institutional review boards and legal teams, so protocols meet all requirements. Meanwhile, finance staff ensure budgets properly support study needs and that research charges are billed correctly so participants are not mistakenly charged.

Together, these teams create a structure that allows investigators to focus on the science while CTIU manages the infrastructure.

The people behind the work

That structure supports research across a wide range of specialties, including neurology, cardiology, diabetes, pediatrics, behavioral health, pulmonary care, and trauma medicine. But for the people doing the work on the ground, the impact is most visible in the relationships they build with both researchers and patients.

For clinical research nurse Rory McCoy, the CTIU represents both a professional turning point and a chance to help make research real.

McCoy came to UAMS in 2016 as a cast technician, later becoming a nurse after graduating from nursing school in 2020. He worked on the orthopaedic, plastics, and ENT post-operative floor, often serving as charge nurse while managing his own patients. Eventually, the demands of bedside care led to a desire to shift his work focus.

Encouraged by his wife, who worked in research, he applied for a coordinator role.

“My position is research coordinator,” McCoy said. “I have the privilege to be the primary coordinator on several important studies. Coordinators are the bridge that makes the dream of research a reality.

“Through logistics, we gather the raw data from participants that is needed to advance medical knowledge. We connect principal investigators, sponsors, regulatory teams, and administration with human beings.”

For McCoy, the appeal of CTIU is twofold: the intellectual challenge and the ability to balance work with family life (he and his wife Hannah have two boys).

“I’ve always been a big science nerd,” he said. “This position offered me a more traditional work schedule with flexibility for my family while still being on the cutting edge of medical science.”

He compares coordinating studies to solving puzzles.

“In research, we put together the many pieces so that the dream of research can be realized,” he said. “At the CTIU, we’re puzzle masters.”

That same mix of coordination, patient interaction, and continuous learning is what keeps clinical research nurse manager Gail Runnells engaged in the work.

Runnells joined CTIU in 2017 after completing nursing school, bringing with her earlier experience working on cancer epidemiology studies at UAMS. Once licensed, she was able to move more directly into clinical research, where she now supports investigators by preparing study visits, communicating requirements, and conducting assessments.

Her work can include everything from collecting vital signs and ECGs to processing samples and coordinating imaging or specialty exams across departments.

“I like the wide variety of different studies that we work on,” Runnells said. “There is always something new coming in and always something new to learn. I also like working with the different doctors from different specialties.”

She encourages investigators new to research to rely on CTIU’s expertise.

“Research has different requirements than clinical care,” she said. “Don’t be afraid to learn from and lean on the coordinators. They are here to help and guide.”

The patients living better lives

For clinical research nurse Gwendolyn Cobbs, the meaning of the work crystallized in a single patient encounter.

Cobbs joined the Translational Research Institute four years ago after working in a different UAMS department and becoming familiar with the research staff. Early in her time with CTIU, she saw a patient who had received an implant for severe, chronic back pain.

“She had back pain since her teens,” Cobbs recalled. “There were so many things she couldn’t do. She couldn’t sleep under covers, couldn’t eat with a fork, couldn’t get her nails done.”

After treatment through a study, the change was dramatic.

“She told me she had been cooking, reading — everything,” Cobbs said. “I saw that her nails were painted. I was just amazed. I knew then that this was where I was supposed to be.”

Cobbs says the job offers the best balance of nursing care and coordination work.

“I get to see patients and their well-being at vulnerable moments, but I’m not running all the time,” she said. “It’s a good mixture of patient care and administrative work.”

Using a strong infrastructure of skilled coordinators to enable meaningful patient outcomes is exactly what CTIU was built to provide, Keyes said.

By serving as a liaison among researchers, institutions, sponsors, and campus partners, the unit reduces barriers, improves communication, and helps studies move forward faster.

And for the people working inside it, the mission is clear: when research runs smoothly, discoveries reach patients sooner. That’s the real measure of success.

Investigators interested in working with CTIU can request services through the TRI ServiceNow portal.

Tiffany Miles, Ph.D., a researcher with the UAMS Translational Research Institute, wants to understand barriers to addressing obesity and food insecurities in two east Arkansas communities — Marvell and Elaine.

Miles, who’s also an instructor in the UAMS College of Medicine Department of Pediatrics Division of Nutrition, led a nine-month project in Marvell and Elaine designed to determine health barriers and facilitate discussions around a community-led obesity intervention. The study was funded by a $25,000 pilot award from the Translational Research Institute.

Miles’ study “Community Developed and Implemented Obesity Interventions in Marvell, Arkansas,” launched in March and concluded in November. It explored the communities’ perception of nutrition, obesity, food insecurity, maternal nutrition as well as whether residents of Marvell and Elaine were aware of the area’s obesity rates, and how they wanted to solve the issues. Additionally, the researchers wanted the public’s outlook on past interventions brought into, or developed by, the community.  

“The project focused on what worked, what didn’t work, if something did work, why wasn’t it sustained, what the community members would like to see moving forward and how they’d like to maintain the project, once the research is complete,” Miles said. “I wanted the residents to discuss evidence-based interventions and programs and how to adapt it to their community.

“By fostering trust, partnership and shared leadership between researchers and residents, the project examined the health disparities in a region that’s disproportionately affected by food insecurity and metabolic disease.”

To execute this community-based participatory research project, Miles partnered with Marvell’s Boys, Girls, Adults Community Development Center and held five focus group sessions. Each group had 20 to 25 participants, primarily consisting of Marvell or Elaine residents who were between 18 and 39 years old.

Information gathered from the focus groups helped the researchers better understand community perceptions of obesity, maternal health and nutrition. The candid, in-person interactions with the study’s participants were vital to the team.

“When people came to the first focus group, I could tell they wondered who we were and why we’re there,” Miles said. “Some of them even asked me straight-up, what I wanted with them. Community members told us that they’re tired of people coming to their town and telling them that they’re obese. That’s not a positive conversation they want to have, especially if the researcher is not from their community. They wanted people to hear them and understand their reasons for why they can’t maintain a healthy lifestyle.”

Participants also referenced that people not understanding what malnutrition was, along with the Delta region being food insecure, factored into the high rates of obesity.

“We often discussed how food insecurity can lead to obesity,” Miles said. “We also discussed how it’s not about eating less, it’s about not eating the proper amounts of certain foods, that can lead to malnutrition.”    

Empowering people to tackle obesity                 

The project also included a grand finale community gathering, “Seeds for the Harvest.” During the event, findings from the focus group discussions were disseminated, and a breakout session was facilitated on how to best modify and sustain evidence-based strategies took place. 

Attendees also gave their feedback on the study, the potential implementation of a nutrition education class, and the creation of a partnership with the Marvell-Elaine School District EAST program in which students develop a technology to help address a community need.

“It’s a blessing to be able to work with Dr. Tiffany Miles,” said Beatrice Shelby, executive director of the community center. “Her project gave our center, and the residents of both Marvell and Elaine, one more opportunity to build community competency by empowering people to help themselves.”   

Miles said that Marvell is similar to communities surrounding Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where she grew up. That’s one of the reasons why she enjoyed leading the program.    

“Any research that I do, I must have a connection to my personal why,” she said. “This project connected with my personal why.

“During our final event, the people cared about everything we did. They were attentive. That reminded me of how vital this study and event is for the people of Marvell and Elaine. Coming together as a community was important to them. Research aside, I was so glad that we could meet a need for these communities.”

Monica Smith, manager of regulatory affairs at the UAMS Translational Research Institute, recently received the 2025 Bonny Hope Wallace Award for her knowledge, leadership and compassion in conducting clinical trials.

The Bonny Hope Wallace Award is given to a UAMS certified research specialist who works directly in human subject research and is selected by their peers. Wallace worked in research at UAMS for more than 30 years before her death in 2004. The award was presented earlier this month at the annual Certified Research Specialist Awards Ceremony, which is sponsored by the UAMS Office of Research Compliance.

“Bonny Hope Wallace exemplified integrity, dedication, professionalism and a commitment to mentoring,” Smith said. “Knowing my dedication to research will benefit our patients is rewarding in itself.”

Smith, who was nominated by her colleagues, joined UAMS in 2005 and has worked with the Translational Research Institute since 2018.

As a regulatory affairs manager, Smith works with her team to ensure that clinical research studies move along smoothly, including securing approvals through the UAMS Institutional Review Board. Her work helps ensure that people are able to enroll in research studies that test new methods of screening, prevention, diagnosis or treatment for various diseases.

David Avery, the institute’s senior director for clinical research operations, has worked alongside Smith for over a decade. He directs the clinical trials office that includes several functional areas, including the regulatory team that Smith manages.

“Monica embodies all of the values and characteristics promoted by the Bonny Hope Wallace Award and is an incredibly deserving recipient,” he said. “She is an exceptional team member and has a rare depth and breadth of clinical trial regulatory experience that makes her invaluable to UAMS’ clinical research enterprise.”

Avery said he remembers Smith standing out from the time that they worked together at the Myeloma Center in the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute.

“I would argue that her technical expertise is overshadowed by the dedication, integrity, patience and the genuine kindness she conveys to everyone she meets and every challenge she faces.”

Despite a decidedly chilly breeze permeating the night air, more than 100 supporters from across Arkansas gathered Dec. 5 in Little Rock for the 10^th Annual Translational Research Institute Community Partner Celebration.

The annual ceremony and dinner organized by the institute’s Community Engagement Core recognizes the pivotal role of community partnerships in helping the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) advance research and improve health.

The partners include organizations, institutions and individuals who share their experiences and knowledge to ensure that the institute’s research and programs meet the real needs of the people they serve.

Under a ceiling draped with sheer fabric interspersed with tiny golden lights, the guests gathered around tables in the Chenal Event Venue while UAMS Interim Chancellor C. Lowry Barnes thanked them for their contributions. After dinner, Tiffany Haynes, Ph.D., director of the institute’s Community Engagement Core, led a presentation announcing the winners of awards in six categories.

The 2025 awardees are:

• The Chancellor’s Community-Based Organization of the Year: NAMI Arkansas, the Arkansas chapter of the National Alliance for Mental Illness.

• Research Partner of the Year: Arkansas Minority Health Commission.

The commission’s goal is to ensure that all Arkansans receive equitable access to preventive health care and to seek ways to promote health and prevent diseases and conditions that are prevalent among minority populations.

Hayes noted the award “recognizes an outstanding clinical partner, state agency or business that has participated in research that improves health care in Arkansas.”

• The M. Kate Stewart Community Engaged Researcher of the Year:  Pebbles Fagan, Ph.D., a professor in the UAMS Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health Department of Health Behavior and Health Education and director of the UAMS Center for the Study of Tobacco.

“Dr. Fagan leads her research projects with integrity, writes grants, develops materials, writes manuscripts, attends community events and always thinks about what she can do to help others,” according to a nomination letter. “She thinks big and is very inclusive of others to ensure that they have the resources and opportunities to thrive.”

Kate Stewart, M.D., MPH, now retired, was the founding director of the institute’s Community Engagement Program. She is known for her labor and commitment to building strong partnerships between academic institutions and the communities they serve.

• Community Engaged Research Staff Member of the Year:  Sandra Cooper.

Cooper, a community health worker in the UAMS Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health’s Center for Research, Health and Society, “has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to uplifting her community through collaboration, compassion and consistent action,” according to a letter nominating her for the award. “She plays a vital role in strengthening partnerships between local organizations, residents and institutions. She goes above and beyond to ensure that projects addressing community needs are effectively supported and sustained.”

Cooper’s nomination letter went on to note that “what sets Sandra Cooper apart is her dedication to empowering others. She listens deeply, advocates for underrepresented voices and mobilizes resources that make a tangible difference in people’s lives.”

• Community Engaged Student/Trainee of the Year: Ashley Williams, research project director, UAMS College of Medicine Department of Pediatrics.

The award recognizes an undergraduate student, graduate student or medical student, resident, fellow or postdoctoral fellow who demonstrates the initiative, commitment and passion in an academic university partnership project involving the academic health of children or adults or communities.

Williams “deserves to be recognized for the work she has done on the Brother Project,” which examines how income can impact health among Black men impacted by chronic illness, according to a nomination letter. “She understands every aspect of the program and adapts to various roles as needed. Her encouragement and support bring out the best in others on the project, from the researcher to the participants.”

• The Naomi L. Cottoms Community Advisory Board of the Year Award: Project Heal Coalition.

The award honors the memory of Naomi Cottoms, who died last year. She was executive director of the Tri-County Rural Health Network, based in Helena-West Helena, and a longtime UAMS community partner. She was well-known for her passionate work on behalf of underserved communities in the Delta.

“Recipients of this award are groups that provide feedback to research partners that ultimately affect the health of underrepresented populations,” Haynes said.

Project Heal Coalition was founded in 2024 by Joyce M. Raynor, founder and executive director of the Center for Healing Hearts and Spirts at UAMS, a hospital-based violence intervention program designed to prevent assaults. The coalition brought together 15 stakeholders from 15 unique service provision sectors who meet quarterly to ensure that all voices are heard, especially those of people who have experienced violence, as well as those who have provided services to help them.

Haynes told the group of nominees and awardees, “I hope you all realize how important you are to our mission. We cannot do what we do without you. Thank you so much. From every community partner here to every community-engaged researcher, to all our staff, for everything that you do to make community engagement work at UAMS, have a great evening and happy holidays!”

The UAMS Translational Research Institute has named five UAMS researchers who will receive pilot grants of up to $40,000 each for studies that impact rural health.

The one-year awards went to projects led by researchers in the College of Medicine. They are: 

Melody Greer, Ph.D., associate professor, College of Medicine, Biomedical Informatics.
Project: Developing an AI Pipeline for a Microplastics Knowledgebase

Fred Prior, Ph.D., professor, College of Medicine, Biomedical Informatics.
Project: Training Data for LCS-DINO, an AI Model for Lung Cancer Screening

Joseph Thompson, M.D., professor, College of Medicine, Arkansas Center for Health Improvement.
Project: Preservation of Deidentified Longitudinal Cohorts for LifeSpan Research

Brian Varisco, Ph.D., professor, College of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics Critical Care.
Project: Lung Ultrasound Strain Mapping for BPD

Elissa Wilburn, Ph.D., assistant professor, College of Medicine, Department of Psychology.
Project: Machine Learning Models for Adolescent Suicide Risk Assessment

For more information about funding opportunities available through TRI, please visit TRI.uams.edu.

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Translational Research Institute recently hosted an interactive workshop, “Complementary by Design: A Mixed Methods Workshop to Optimize Your Research,” designed to improve a researcher’s ability to use mixed methods.

Two external facilitators from the University of New Mexico, Cathleen Willging, Ph.D., and Janet Page-Reeves, Ph.D., partnered with two UAMS faculty, Kathy Allison, Ph.D., MPH, and Paula Roberson, Ph.D., to design and deliver the workshop.            

Mixed methods research combines qualitative and quantitative methods and intentionally integrating these methods to answer complex research questions. Quantitative data involves measurable, numerical information to test hypotheses, while qualitative data involves descriptive words and images from interviews and observations to help us understand contextual nuance of the human experience.  

The two-part training on Nov. 6 was attended by 27 UAMS trainees, staff and faculty.

Phase one featured workshop facilitators Willging and Page-Reeves presenting on the value of mixed methods research, types of mixed methods research designs, and examples of mixed methods studies.

Willging, center director and senior research scientist for the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, said during her presentation that mixed methods can be a game-changer. Thus, health professionals should know how to properly employ the approach.

“Mixed Methods research helps produce impactful work that can improve public health,” Willging said. “It’s essential to doing innovative projects and fostering productive collaborations.”

Phase two of the training featured roundtable discussions between designated moderators and the attendees. The moderators described their mixed methods research projects, what has worked for them, what has proved unsuccessful, how they’ve built their interprofessional teams, and how they have enhanced their research through community-engagement.

Allison, assistant professor in the UAMS Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health, helped moderate the roundtable discussions and lead the conversations. Prior to the discussions, Allison emphasized to the participants how they could best benefit from that portion of the training. 

“We want you to workshop your own ideas,” Allison said. “We want this to be very conversational. Ask questions. Share your ideas. Get feedback from the roundtable moderators and your peers.”

Larissa da Cruz, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in the UAMS Department of Pediatrics in the College of Medicine, wanted to learn more about the use of statistics in research. She appreciated the opportunity to receive pertinent mixed methods guidance.    

“I work full time in research, so it’s very important for me to learn about mixed methods,” Cruz said. “There are times in which research requires the use of different tools. If we’re going to use quantitative data, we’ll also need to learn about using qualitative data. So, I was really pleased with the workshop, for me, learning more statistics is never too much.”

Shannon Vitone, D.O., is a fellow in the Department of Pediatrics’ Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship program. She’s working on a neonatal therapy-related project that requires the use of mixed methods. Vitone said that the training was timely and informative.

“I’m taking implementation science courses to learn how to better execute mixed methods research,” she said. “It’s helpful to see how mixed methods can out combine quantitative and qualitative components to achieve a better understanding of a clinical environment and best determine how to implement a medical therapy.  This workshop broadened by understanding of how to successfully conduct a mixed methods research study.”

Roberson, chair of the UAMS Department of Biostatistics, commended the training for how it addressed a major issue within the realm of research.

“There’s often a lot of disconnect between quantitative and qualitative research,” she said. “But there’s a growing interest in how to integrate those forms of research. It’s important to integrate the two approaches in order to come to meaningful conclusions about your research.”

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The latest issue of The TRIbune features stories that illustrate TRI’s work across the translational science spectrum – from discovery to community engagement. Read about the Advancing Arkansas Lifespan Research Conference, where national experts Heather Leidy, Ph.D., and Sameera Talegawkar, Ph.D., discussed how nutrition influences health and resilience across the lifespan.

Also featured: Nakita Lovelady, Ph.D., MPH, whose TRI K12 experience helped lead to a $3.8 million NIH grant to prevent gun violence in Arkansas, and new graduates of TRI’s Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Scholars Program expanding UAMS’ community-academic partnerships.

Read the October TRIbune (PDF).