The quest to fund research: playing research lotto

Objective: To provide some direction for those interested in obtaining funding with the purpose of highlighting opportunities for beginner researchers in the health-care field.

Method: Features of a good grant application are described and an audit of seven mental health professional journals was undertaken, the latter to determine, inter alia, whether the paper reported research findings and whether the authors received formal research funding.

Result: The audit revealed that many types of papers that are published do not receive formal research funding and describe, for example, services, training issues, clinical practice and education programmes.

Conclusion: Innovative and enterprising efforts are required to secure clinical research funding. Submissions must be detailed, comprehensive and relevant, but the onus is also on the researcher to ensure a feasible study, where funding obligations can be fulfilled and findings readily disseminated. Many research studies are conducted without achieving competitive funding, and getting published – and getting started in writing – does not hinge on conducting formal research or receiving research funding.