DOAR/John Jay Research Proposal Submission Guidelines

Through the generosity of the litigation consulting firm, DOAR Inc., John Jay is able to support a limited number of its graduate student researchers who are conducting research that could inform the practice of litigation consulting. The amount of funding per project will range between $2,500 and $10,000). 

  • Awards are limited to current students of the Graduate Center’s Psychology and Law PhD program, housed at John Jay, and graduate students enrolled in one of John Jay’s master’s programs in psychology (Forensic Psychology or Forensic Mental Health Counseling).
  • Applicants may submit only one application per funding cycle.
  • Research projects identified in proposals should request funding needed to complete future or early active research projects. Proposed funding requests for reimbursement of past research expenses of completed projects are not eligible.
  • Research projects identified in proposals are required to have ACTIVE Institutional Review Board approval from the host research institution(s) BEFORE the submission deadline. Proof of ethical (IRB) approval must be submitted along with the proposal document for an application to be deemed complete and eligible for review by DOAR/John Jay committee. This IRB approval MUST contain a clear approval and expiration date, and the title and project description must match the proposal project. If the project is exempt, an expiration date is not required. Any proposed research project without notification of ethical approval before the submission deadline will be considered ineligible for the award.
  • The maximum for any individual award is set at $10,000. Any requests for funding beyond $10,000 will not be considered. Proposed research projects with an anticipated budget of over $10,000 should identify within the proposal the plan for covering the remaining costs to demonstrate that the research is feasible.
  • Applicants who previously submitted a proposal that was not selected for funding are permitted to revise and resubmit their proposal for consideration during the next funding cycle.
  • Applicants who previously received funding from the DOAR/John Jay committee are eligible to apply for the award again to fund a new research project provided that the research from the previous award has been completed. Past award winners must include an abstract (200 words or fewer) in their proposal application that succinctly summarizes the previous research funded by the award.
  • Funding may be prioritized for applicants who have demonstrated interests in pursuing trial consulting as a career and/or have not received funding in prior cycles.
  • Proposal Review Criteria

Interested individuals should submit a complete award application via email to DOARpsychlaw@jjay.cuny.edu by 11:59 p.m. PST on the date of the identified submission deadline.

The first deadline for proposals will be November 15th, 2025. Going forward, annual application deadlines are February 15 and October 15.

A complete Grant in Aid application includes:

  • A grant proposal (see proposal instructions and guidelines below)
  • Documentation of ACTIVE IRB approval status for the proposed research project from the host research institution(s). That is, the IRB submission has to be approved by the IRB; in submission IRB applications are not sufficient. The IRB approval documentation MUST contain a clear approval and expiration date, and the title and project description must match the proposal project.

Applicants are to provide a grant proposal (a maximum of 3,000 words excluding title page, abstract and references, but inclusive of all other items) that includes:

  1. A title page indicating the title of the project, name, address, phone number, and email address of the investigator. Please also include the research mentor’s name and title.
  2. An abstract of 200 words or less summarizing the project
  3. Project background that reviews the purpose, theoretical rationale, and significance of the project
  4. Project method that provides a detailed description of the project’s participants, design, materials, and/or procedures to be employed. The proposal is required to address open science practices.
  5. Analytic plan that describes the proposed analyses that will be used to analyze the research questions/hypotheses.
  6. Significance section that identifies the importance of the research and how the project contributes to the practice of litigation consulting.
  7. Budget and justification that identifies the specific amount requested, including a detailed project budget and justification for expenses as needed
  8. Timeline that includes a detailed timeline of when the project will be completed. Please also note any plans for dissemination of the findings.
  9. References

Proposal documents should be formatted according to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition, and submitted in an electronic format (preferably MS Word or PDF). Please note, the IRB approval should be attached separately to the application and not included in the main document.

Applicants who previously received DOAR research proposal funding from the committee must include an additional abstract (200 words or less) in their application that succinctly summarizes the previous research funded by DOAR.

Budget items typically funded include (but are not limited to) payment of subjects, photocopying, purchase of testing materials, software not typically provided via universities and electronic media. The committee does not typically provide funds for computers (though peripherals may be funded), office supplies and furniture (e.g., file cabinets), mileage, paying research assistants and software, or equipment typically available at John Jay/CUNY. Conference and other travel costs are not funded.

Proposed research projects with an anticipated budget of over $5,000 should explain in the budget how these additional project costs intend to be covered. Projects requesting funding for payment of subjects should provide appropriate justification for both the number of participants being requested (e.g., a power analysis) and the amount of compensation being awarded for each participant. Projects requesting funding for payment of subjects from online sources (e.g., MTurk, Qualtrics panels, Prolific, Connect) should provide justification for the compensation being provided to subjects and include in the budget any overhead costs charged by the site for using their services.

Finally, applicants may apply to both this program and the APLS Grants-in-Aid program. If the APLS Grant-in-Aid is received, it cannot duplicate any funding received from this program. If the applicant is awarded both an APLS grant and the DOAR grant, students will be required to decline any portion of the DOAR grant that would duplicate the funding of expenses covered by the APLS Grant-in-Aid. 

Note

The use of AI tools to generate the written grant proposal will be considered plagiarism. This grant is expected to reflect your own work and thinking. If you are uncertain whether the programs you are using comply with the AI policy of the grant, please contact DOARpsychlaw@jjay.cuny.edu

Awardees will be expected to attend an award reception to meet the DOAR sponsors and honor their achievement.