Research Guidelines

Thesis Requirement Guide for Students and Faculty Sponsors (PDF , Word)
Choosing a Research Mentor & Thesis Project
Developing a Research Hypothesis
Medical Research in the Humanities and the Arts
Literature Review & Protocol Formulation
Statistical Analysis of Research Data
Research Project Restrictions
Students in Combined Programs

Choosing a Research Mentor & Thesis Project

A list of faculty members and their areas of research is available online at the Community of Science (COS) website. You may browse the Faculty Research Directory or search by keywords or by individuals listed in each department. This website may be accessed only from a Yale computer or via a remote access proxy connection.

Dr. Forrest, Director of the Office of Student Research, is available to discuss options with individual students by appointment. After deciding upon the area of general interest, the student should check with members of the faculty in both the basic and clinical sciences who are working in that field. After appropriate discussions with several potential mentors, the student should choose the faculty member with whom he/she wishes to work. Although it is not necessary that the idea for the thesis originate with the student, it is necessary that the work be his/her own. The student can work as a member of a group project only if the student’s contribution is carried out on an independent basis. Dissertations written jointly by two or more students are not acceptable. Most Yale M.D. theses average 40-80 pages of text. A minimum of 30 pages of text excluding figures, legends and references is required. In planning a project it should be clear that the prime goal is to learn the scientific method and not necessarily publish a paper. The faculty member should make every effort to orient the student to a practical problem that can be fulfilled within the available time.

Faculty Mentor Responsibilities

In order to insure a better understanding of the expectation of the faculty mentor's role, the following suggestions have been made.

• We recommend that the actual time devoted to data collection (laboratory or other) be accomplished in a twelve-to-sixteen period, minimally. Additional time is needed for planning and literature review, for evaluation of data and final write-up. Currently 50% of Yale students elect to spend a fifth year of medical school devoted fully or partially to thesis research.
• The student should not be assigned as a research technician to accomplish someone's project in the lab, including fellows.
• The faculty mentor should invest sufficient time in the student, including weekly meetings to discuss results and where necessary, help to focus (or refocus) the direction of the project.
• The student should develop with the faculty mentor his or her own project (although others may participate) and should eventually be encouraged by the faculty mentor to be first author on abstracts and publications.
• The faculty mentor is responsible for all research expenses (i.e. space, resources, and facilities) and the supervision of the experimental work.
• The faculty mentor is the first reviewer and gives the initial approval of the thesis as submitted for graduation. (For more information see "Thesis Approval Process")
• The faculty mentor should plan to attend Student Research Day activities held in May of each year.

Developing a Research Hypothesis

Excellent research begins with a clear hypothesis which can be examined by the generation of new data by state-of-the-arts techniques. The hypothesis should be original and one which will generate substantial interest if answered by leading investigators in the field. It is not excellent research to investigate an hypothesis which is highly predictable or expected or in which there would be little interest. A review of the literature or review of patients' charts may be the source of data used for a thesis. However, the basic requirement still applies. There must be a hypothesis which can be supported or rejected on the basis of data gleaned from the patients' records or published literature. These data should be subjected to statistical analysis, and the results should either confirm or reject the original hypothesis. As with any other thesis, a review of the literature and a section dealing with the interpretation of the data and a discussion of its importance should be included. A literature review cannot be a simple narrative describing the information obtained from these sources.

Literature Review and Protocol Formulation

When the area of investigation has been approved by the faculty preceptor and Departmental Thesis Chairperson, the student is expected to explore the literature and formulate a protocol. This step provides an unusual opportunity for tutorial instruction in experimental design. Faculty members who assume responsibility as preceptors should provide the amount of guidance that is necessary in design of the investigation.

Medical Research in the Humanities and the Arts

Statistical Analysis of Research Data

When the results of an investigation lend themselves to statistical analysis, the student should be encouraged to seek the aid of a biometrist for assistance in statistical methodology. It is hoped that this will enable the student to learn the value and limitations of statistical analysis as an aid to interpreting the results of an investigation. See the list of Secondary Thesis Advisors for clinical epidemiology methods.

Project Restrictions

Joint Projects Are Not Acceptable

Dissertations written jointly by two or more students are not acceptable. This does not mean that they may not work on related problems, but each student should have the experience of carrying out an investigation from beginning to end on his/her own initiative.

Research Involving Human Subjects

All research involving human subjects must be approved by the Human Investigation Committee (HIC) of the School of Medicine. Applications and guidelines are available online (http://info.med.yale.edu/hic/forms/index.html) or in the Office of the Chairman of the Committee, 47 College Street, Suite 208.

Research Done Outside of the Yale Medical School

A student may wish to undertake his/her research project under the supervision of a qualified investigator who is not a member of the faculty of Yale University School of Medicine. The approval of an outside preceptor will be granted by the Office of Student Research upon receipt of a statement by a full time Yale faculty member acting as sponsor and mentor, in whose area the research work will be done. The statement should indicate the Yale mentor has approved the preceptor and the facilities available for the research project. The same regulations concerning the dates of submission and review by the appropriate departmental committee will apply to the thesis done outside of the medical school. Specifically, the faculty member will be responsible for reviewing the progress of the thesis with the student, reviewing the written thesis and giving faculty approval. The thesis will be reviewed by the Department Thesis Committee of this faculty member’s department.

Students in Combined Programs

Ph.D. Thesis in Lieu of M.D. Thesis

For students enrolled in the combined M.D./Ph.D. Program, the doctoral thesis submitted to and approved by the Graduate School will serve in lieu of the thesis requirement of the Medical School. The Graduate School awards degrees twice a year, in late fall (November or December, depending on the Corporation schedule) and May. In order to guarantee consideration by the appropriate Graduate School Committee on Degrees, the dissertation must be submitted by September 15 for a fall degree, or March 15 for a May degree. Students planning to submit the dissertation on March 15 for a May degree, however, should make every effort to file the petition by March 1, so that planning for commencement ceremonies can proceed in a timely fashion. If the Ph.D. has not been completed, a separate M.D. thesis must be submitted to qualify for the M.D. degree.

M.D./M.P.H. Program

For students in the M.D./Ph.D. Program, one thesis satisfies both degree requirements provided it is approved and carried out under a Yale faculty member of the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health and is in an appropriate subject area. The same regulations concerning the dates of the M.D. thesis submission and review by the appropriate departmental committee will apply.

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