Faculty at colleges and universities are expected to conduct and publish research in addition to teaching courses. This helps them contribute to knowledge and stay abreast of developments in their area of scholarship. Research also brings money into the college or university. Massage research is conducted by academicians and scientists from many different disciplines seeking to understand if, how, and when massage works. Part of what drives massage research topics is grant funding.

Research Grants

Funding for massage research can come from several different sources. One path of funding for massage research is new faculty start-up resources. Colleges and universities may help new faculty to meet research expectations by providing laboratory space, funding for equipment and supplies, and/or release time from teaching responsibilities to conduct research. Another source of funding is small grants from the college or university. These types of grants are referred to as "seed" funding because the award is small and intended to be used to grow a research agenda, and apply for larger grants.

Other sources of grants include foundations, advocacy organizations, government programs, and private donors. There are different types of grants that fund programs, career development, training, and research projects. Massage research is funded by research project grants that can potentially be used for any type of research, from discovery (basic science) to applied (clinical massage) work. The size of a grant dictates the size of the research study—and the size of a research team. The purpose of a research grant is to fund all, or a portion of a research project. The most expensive part of a massage research project is the personnel.

The Structure of Research

Research teams have a basic structure. The principal investigator (PI) is responsible for the overall design, execution, and management of the research project. This includes drafting the research protocol, preparing the grant application, monitoring the budget and expenses, and overseeing data management, analysis, and presentation of results. The research coordinator handles operations of the project. For an intervention, this could include preparing the protocol for the Human Subjects Institutional Review Board review, enrollment and consent of subjects, assignment to treatment group, scheduling massage sessions, and gathering data.

One or more research assistants perform administrative duties including literature review, gathering data, data entry, and manuscript preparation. The statistician may be a member of the research team, or a consultant. If the PI is a new researcher, the research team may include a small role for an experienced researcher (generally a senior faculty member.) If the PI is an experienced researcher, a research associate role might be included (to provide training and support for a junior researcher).

Personnel Salary

Funding for all of these personnel positions is calculated on a percent effort. For the PI this might be 20 percent (the equivalent of one full day each week devoted to the project) while the research assistant(s) might be part-time employees working 20 hours per week. The budget for personnel is based off annual salary, plus "fringe" (a percent over salary that covers benefits).

A massage research project has additional needs: massage therapists, supplies, assessment tools, and space to run the study. In a typical research team, the massage therapist(s) performing massage play a very important role, but are not key personnel on the research project.

Research grants are highly competitive and go through a scientific and merit review process. The focus of these reviews is on the project design as well as the qualifications of the research team. While a massage research grant might have a capable research team, a massage therapist may not necessarily be among the key personnel. Research grant funding is a big driver of the overall research agenda for massage. Understanding research grant funding can help to explain why it is sometimes difficult to apply information from a massage research study to clinical practice of massage.