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Manuscript Proposal Review Process
CHS proposals from non-CHS investigators require review and active participation by a CHS sponsor.
The Publications & Presentations (P&P) Committee reviews proposals during semimonthly conference calls. P&P conference call dates occur on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month and are posted on the CHS Calendar on the internal website. The average duration of proposal review by CHS (P&P + Steering Committee) is 3-4 weeks. The deadlines for submitting a proposal for P&P review are the first and third Tuesdays of the month.
Manuscript Proposal Process:
- Create an account in this system. Once your account request has been accepted, you will be able to:
- search the complete Database of Proposals and Publications
- submit a paper proposal or using our online form
- download additional forms
- keep a record of your submitted materials via MyCHS
- Determine your topic: Determine that your topic can be addressed using CHS data, and that it does not overlap with other CHS papers, ongoing or published. All approved proposals are included on our internal web site. If you are not a CHS investigator, you will need assistance from your sponsor. If an overlapping paper proposal is listed but more than 2 years have elapsed since its initial approval, it is possible that the writing group may wish to collaborate, or release the topic. Check with the P&P Coordinator.
Tip: To you help you determine what data collected from CHS are relevant to your paper you may wish to refer to the longitudinal data document posted on our internal web site. If you still have questions about data availability and need answers before shaping your analysis plan, please contact your CHS Sponsor or send an email to the CHS Data group at CHSDATA@uw.edu.
- Write your proposal: Write a brief proposal outlining your intended paper by using the onlline CHS Manuscript Proposal Form. Your proposal will enable the Committees to quickly pinpoint the central components of your paper. The narrative portion should consist of no more than 2-3 pages. A proposal that exceeds this length will not be reviewed.
Tip: The two CHS cohorts include 5888 people; this should be the starting number for analyses. It sometimes requires extra effort to incorporate the minority cohort, since it was added later in the study. Every attempt should be made to do this; if it is impossible to include this cohort, please state the reasons why.
- Be sure to read the CHS literature on your topic first and reference it appropriately in your proposal.
- Submit your proposal: After review and approval by all co-authors, including your CHS Sponsor, submit the completed manuscript proposal online.
- P&P Committee Review: The immediate purpose of this review is to ensure that a clear and accurate analysis plan is presented. In addition, the P&P Committee will determine if the proposed manuscript overlaps with any other papers that have been proposed or are in progress. If an overlap occurs, the investigator may be invited to collaborate on the existing proposal/manuscript. Any review comments will be sent to the Writing Group. A proposal that is not approved may be revised and resubmitted; this must be accompanied by a response memo pinpointing how the Committee's major comments have been addressed.
- Steering Committee Review: Upon P&P approval, the P&P Coordinator will forward the approved manuscript proposal to the CHS Steering Committee for final review and writing group nominations (if any). Following Steering Committee (SC) review, any comments will be forwarded to the Writing Group; if modifications are required by SC, they must be incorporated but the proposal does not need to undergo another round of P&P/SC review. If the Writing Group disagrees with the required revisions, the Chair may either work out any changes informally via the P&P Coordinator until a compromise is approved, or submit a written rebuttal and request a Steering Committee re-review. Proposals that have been significantly revised in response to SC comments should be updated online for the record.
- Begin analysis: Locally-analyzed manuscripts may begin once the proposal has been approved by the P&P and Steering Committees and a signed data and materials distribution agreement (DMDA), if necessary, has been received at the Coordinating Center. Centrally-analyzed papers will be initiated in tandem with the Coordinating Center for statistician coauthor.
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