What is the “preliminary studies" category?

Preliminary studies of one-year duration may be proposed to obtain a sufficient amount of evidence to justify a future larger, more comprehensive project. The preliminary study category supports researchers' need to answer questions or establish methods prior to determining the need for a larger comprehensive research investigation. This is particularly true when there is little evidence already available in the literature or from other sources to support an idea. For example, when little or no research existed on women firefighters, a preliminary project established the need for specific areas of research, such as reproductive health. Data from preliminary work likely would strengthen a subsequent application for a larger (clinical or technology) study.

In another example, this category was used effectively to gain support for evaluation of advanced sensors that could be candidates for building a practical gas and particulate hazard warning system. The preliminary study allowed the researchers to identify and eliminate risks associated with sensor performance so that the follow-on major proposal was able to build and test a practical new product for deployment.

Note: If an application could be competitive without the results of a preliminary study (such as when adequate information and methods are already established with prior research in this area), then the clinical or technology category should be used.