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Graduate Research Fellowship


GUIDELINES FOR PREPARING SEMI-ANNUAL REPORTS
National Estuarine Research Reserve
Graduate Research Fellowships

Fellows are required to submit Semiannual Progress Reports (SPR) to the Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management (OCRM) via https://grantsonline.rdc.noaa.gov at the completion of every six months of the award. If the project is extended for a period less than 6 months, an additional SPR should be submitted at the end of the extension period. SPR's need not exceed 2 typewritten pages in length and we request that you use the following format:

  1. Principal Investigator(s), and date of SPR. Note: Fellows must copy their graduate advisor and the research coordinator at the host reserve.
  2. Address of P.I.(s). Include additional updated contact information if applicable.
  3. NOAA Award Number.
  4. Research Project Title.
  5. NERR site.
  6. Starting and ending dates of reporting period. (e.g. June 1, 2009 - November 30, 2009)
  7. Statement of whether or not the project is meeting its milestone schedule and brief description of research activities. Please include whether any alterations to the procedures or focus of research as described in the funded proposal have occurred. If the milestone schedule is not being met and/or if significant changes to the originally funded research procedures or focus have occurred, a brief explanation is required.
  8. A description of the ecological monitoring/research program developed with reserve staff and how it is being implemented.
  9. List of manuscripts published or in review during this six month period that resulted from or deal with this fellowship. Include author, title, date, journal/thesis/dissertation, etc. Include copies of any articles published.
  10. List presentations or seminars given this six month period that resulted from or dealt with this fellowship.
  11. Other notable events, significant research accomplishments, etc. concerning this fellowship.

Please Note: Any subject or communications other than those given above (i.e. requests for extensions of research period) should not be included as part of the SPR. The purpose of the SPR is to inform ERD and the reserve: a) about the progress of the proposed research and b) what presentations, publications and/or significant benchmarks were completed during that given six month period.

GUIDELINES FOR PREPARING FINAL REPORTS
National Estuarine Research Reserve
Graduate Research Fellowships

Final reports are required for all research funded through grants and cooperative agreements from NOAA 's Estuarine Reserves Division. The purpose of the final report is to describe the activities and summarize the results of the project funded during the award period. A copy of a Master thesis or Dissertation, as a partial or entire result of the NERRS fellowship, can be submitted as a final report within the timeline required. (The Estuarine Reserves Division would appreciate having a copy of final theses and dissertations completed after the required timeline as additional information to add to the NERRS research database resources.) Final reports must be submitted through https://grantsonline.rdc.noaa.gov as well as an electronic version via email (.pdf or word document), or CD to the address listed below. The final report is due 90 days after the expiration of the award. These reports should be submitted to Alison Krepp (Alison.Krepp@noaa.gov); NOAA's Estuarine Reserves Division; 1305 East-West Highway, N/ORM5; SSMC4, Rm. 10503; Silver Spring, MD 20910.

Title page: The title of the project should be followed by the name(s) and address(es) of the investigator(s)/author(s), the date (month and year) of submission, the name of the site(s) (National Estuarine Research Reserve) where the work was conducted, and the grant number. The title may be other than was given to the project upon application for funding, as long as it accurately describes the project.

Table of contents: The table of contents should list all the sections and sub-sections as they appear in the text, with the corresponding page numbers. Lists of figures and tables should also be provided.

Abstract and key words: A one paragraph abstract, of no more than 200 words, should be included on a separate page. The abstract should summarize the project, including the problem, the methods, the results, and any conclusions, particularly as they apply to reserve management. The author(s) should bear in mind that the abstract may be printed in the Estuarine Reserves Division research synthesis document for National Estuarine Research Reserves. At the bottom of the abstract page a list of three to ten key words should be given. These key words will be used in the index of the appropriate synthesis document.

Text: The text should be divided into Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Literature Cited, and Acknowledgment sections. Sub-sections may be used as needed. Technical terms, acronyms and abbreviations should be explained in full when first presented. Scientific species names should be given in full when first mentioned and underlined or italicized. All measurements should be expressed in SI units, as defined in Standard 1000, SI Units and Recommendations for the Use of their Multiples and Certain Other Units, available through the American National Standard Institute, 1430 Broadway, New York, NY 10018. The report should give a more complete and thorough presentation of the work than one would expect in a typical peer-reviewed scientific journal. Specifically, a full description of methods, in-depth literature review, and a greater elaboration of significance of results and the importance to management of marine and coastal resources should be included. All text should be double spaced.

Literature cited: Referenced literature should be cited in the text by author and year of publication. Multiple citations at the same point in the text should be listed chronologically (e.g. Burbank, 1967; Abbott, 1974; Crosby, 1985; Crosby et al., 1990; Crosby & Roberts, 1990; Golde et al., in review). Journal titles should be abbreviated as recommended in the American Standard for Periodical Title Abbreviations, available through the American National Standard Institute, 1430 Broadway, New York, NY 10018. Full citations in the Literature Cited section should be listed alphabetically using the following format:

Figures and tables: Figures and tables should be used to clarify text and summarize data. Figures and tables should appear on separate pages (numbered in sequence with the rest of the text) immediately following the page where they are first mentioned. Each figure or table should be clearly labeled with an appropriate descriptive legend.

Appendices: Appendices should be used to present actual data and measurements made during the study. Only summaries of the data should be presented in the text. In addition, any additional materials not appropriate for inclusion in the main text, such as computer programs or models generated, should be appended to the report. Again, as much data as possible should be given.

Publication: To insure that the results of NOAA’s Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management (OCRM)-sponsored research reach as many interested parties as possible, OCRM strongly encourages investigators to submit the results of their work to peer reviewed journals for publication. Manuscripts submitted for publication must acknowledge that the work was supported by a grant from NOAA's OCRM, and a copy of each publication must be provided to OCRM at the address given in the beginning of this document. When submitting final reports, investigators should indicate that they are submitting a manuscript to a journal.

Further information: Questions regarding submission of research reports should be directed to Alison Krepp at (301) 713-3155 extension 105 or Alison.Krepp@noaa.gov.