The development, validity, and reliability of the Researcher Investment Tool

Abstract Background: Over the last two decades, there have been significant investments designed to advance clinical and translational research (CTR) with an emphasis on supporting early career investigators and building a cadre of skilled researchers. Despite the investments, there are no compreh...

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Main Authors: Brenda M. Joly, Carolyn Gray, Kassandra Cousineau, Karen Pearson, Valerie S. Harder
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press 2025-01-01
Series:Journal of Clinical and Translational Science
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Online Access:https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2059866124006733/type/journal_article
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author Brenda M. Joly
Carolyn Gray
Kassandra Cousineau
Karen Pearson
Valerie S. Harder
author_facet Brenda M. Joly
Carolyn Gray
Kassandra Cousineau
Karen Pearson
Valerie S. Harder
author_sort Brenda M. Joly
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background: Over the last two decades, there have been significant investments designed to advance clinical and translational research (CTR) with an emphasis on supporting early career investigators and building a cadre of skilled researchers. Despite the investments, there are no comprehensive measurement tools to track individual-level progress along the research continuum as supports are put in place. Objective: The Researcher Investment Tool (RIT) is a novel tool that was created to provide a consistent approach for measuring individual-level changes in the research career trajectory of investigators receiving support from CTR programs. Methods: The RIT is a 90-item questionnaire, with eight domains and four sub-domains, designed to measure a researcher’s experiences and perceptions. Several rounds of testing were conducted to assess the tool’s face and content validity as well as the internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Results: Psychometric testing revealed strong content validity and good internal consistency with Cronbach’s alpha coefficients ranging from 0.85 to 0.97 across all domains. Test-retest reliability results also revealed stability in the domain measures over time with Pearson’s correlation coefficients ranging from 0.70 to 0.98 for all but one domain (.53). Conclusions: This novel RIT may be useful to evaluators when measuring the impact of investments designed to support early career clinical and translational researchers.
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spelling doaj-art-53a4b2f5c1bf4dedb3edc165eb005f902025-08-20T03:03:04ZengCambridge University PressJournal of Clinical and Translational Science2059-86612025-01-01910.1017/cts.2024.673The development, validity, and reliability of the Researcher Investment ToolBrenda M. Joly0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7102-8954Carolyn Gray1Kassandra Cousineau2Karen Pearson3Valerie S. Harder4Public Health Program, Muskie School of Public Service, University of Southern Maine, Portland, USACatherine Cutler Institute, Muskie School of Public Service, University of Southern Maine, Portland, USADepartment of Pediatrics and Vermont Child Health Improvement Program, The Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine, University of Vermont, Burlington, USACatherine Cutler Institute, Muskie School of Public Service, University of Southern Maine, Portland, USADepartment of Pediatrics and Vermont Child Health Improvement Program, The Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine, University of Vermont, Burlington, USA Abstract Background: Over the last two decades, there have been significant investments designed to advance clinical and translational research (CTR) with an emphasis on supporting early career investigators and building a cadre of skilled researchers. Despite the investments, there are no comprehensive measurement tools to track individual-level progress along the research continuum as supports are put in place. Objective: The Researcher Investment Tool (RIT) is a novel tool that was created to provide a consistent approach for measuring individual-level changes in the research career trajectory of investigators receiving support from CTR programs. Methods: The RIT is a 90-item questionnaire, with eight domains and four sub-domains, designed to measure a researcher’s experiences and perceptions. Several rounds of testing were conducted to assess the tool’s face and content validity as well as the internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Results: Psychometric testing revealed strong content validity and good internal consistency with Cronbach’s alpha coefficients ranging from 0.85 to 0.97 across all domains. Test-retest reliability results also revealed stability in the domain measures over time with Pearson’s correlation coefficients ranging from 0.70 to 0.98 for all but one domain (.53). Conclusions: This novel RIT may be useful to evaluators when measuring the impact of investments designed to support early career clinical and translational researchers. https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2059866124006733/type/journal_articleMeasurement toolmetricsresearcher investmentsurveyevaluation
spellingShingle Brenda M. Joly
Carolyn Gray
Kassandra Cousineau
Karen Pearson
Valerie S. Harder
The development, validity, and reliability of the Researcher Investment Tool
Journal of Clinical and Translational Science
Measurement tool
metrics
researcher investment
survey
evaluation
title The development, validity, and reliability of the Researcher Investment Tool
title_full The development, validity, and reliability of the Researcher Investment Tool
title_fullStr The development, validity, and reliability of the Researcher Investment Tool
title_full_unstemmed The development, validity, and reliability of the Researcher Investment Tool
title_short The development, validity, and reliability of the Researcher Investment Tool
title_sort development validity and reliability of the researcher investment tool
topic Measurement tool
metrics
researcher investment
survey
evaluation
url https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2059866124006733/type/journal_article
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