Conducting Research

Norton Research Institute provides full-service research support, including Medicare coverage analysis, budgeting, contracting, regulatory support, compliance, data request review and education. The level of support provided will depend on the type of study and whether the researcher is a research partner (University of Louisville or a community practice researcher) or employed by Norton Healthcare. Norton Research Institute helps with all aspects of a study proposal. Our team supports research from idea conception and startup to implementation and publication.

Request for Research Support

To conduct research in a Norton Healthcare facility, researchers must submit the project to Norton Research Institute for review. Depending on whether the researcher is employed by Norton Healthcare, Norton Research Institute staff submit the study to an institutional review board or the researcher would submit to an IRB themselves. Norton Research Institute will review research submissions to ensure regulatory and institutional requirements are met and will connect on next steps. Additional approvals may be required, such as facility leadership, unit approval or ancillary service approval. Your research project may commence once all required approvals are obtained and you receive a Norton Research Institute approval letter for your project.

To get started, complete a Request for Research Support Research Office Intake Form.

Complete Request for Research Support Form

Areas of Available Support

Grant Proposal Preparation and Submission

The pre-award team has extensive experience assisting investigators in writing competitive grant proposals across a variety of areas. Norton Research Institute can assist with:

• Coordinating with your research team in drafting proposal text, as well as collaborating on literature reviews, background and significance statements, research plans, facilities descriptions, data management plans, and other components of a competitive grant proposal
• Compiling required materials and submitting grant applications to meet the specifications of potential funders/sponsors
• Identifying potential grant opportunities that might be available to support clinical research goals

Budget Creation and Compliance

Properly negotiating budgets for research studies requires assessing protocol feasibility and identifying the costs to conduct the study. Norton Research Institute has a team of budget specialists and accountants that works with researchers and our clinical research teams to create a comprehensive internal budget, identify all elements of the study that have financial impact and assist maintaining compliance with various regulations governing the conduct of research in a hospital system.

Clinical Operations Staff Support

The Norton Research Institute clinical research operations team is made up of research nurses, coordinators and assistants who may be able to provide clinical support for your study if you are a Norton Healthcare-employed investigator.

Research Data Science

The Norton Research Institute Data Science Core is a team of experienced biostatisticians and data analysts providing support for research initiatives. This team was formed to support (1) research study design, (2) data collection/pulls, (3) research database development and (4) data analysis needs of principal investigators and research teams across the Norton Healthcare system. Core services include study design, database design, Research Electronic Data Capture support, Epic data extraction and reporting, planning and implementation of statistical analysis, presentation assistance, and dissemination support. Ideally, a biostatistician should be involved early in the protocol development process, along with a data analyst if obtaining Epic data.

Submit a Request for Data Extraction

Regulatory and Compliance

To properly navigate the approval process for research studies, Norton Research Institute has a team of analysts, specialists and project coordinators that works with researchers on all regulatory process. Norton Research Institute’s regulatory team is a liaison between the investigators and study teams with sponsors, other sites, IRB and Norton Healthcare. This team creates and reviews all required study documents to ensure that they are complete and meet all requirements, keeps studies current and up to date with IRBs and sponsors (if applicable), and obtains required administrative approvals during the research study.

Publication

Norton Healthcare Medical Journal is an open-source publication platform for the dissemination of valuable health care research and information to the international health care community.