After OISS had decided to sponsor you, you would receive detailed instructions along with the Cover pages on how to collect the information. It is difficult to predict how long an application process will take. It is totally dependent on the scholar”s efficiency. If materials are not well prepared or do not adhere to the OISS guidelines, the process will take longer. We will guide you along and do our best to build a strong application for you.
Below are suggestions on how to prepare these supporting documentation materials.
Authorship/Publications
You must demonstrate that your publications have wide-spread international circulation or readership. In some cases it is necessary to explain (you or your PI would write a short cover letter) why a low impact factor number (e.g. 2.7) is actually considered high for a particular specialization or sub-specialization.
Authorship can be in three different Forms.
- Review Articles
- Peer Reviewed Research Publications
- Book Chapters
Include the following about each publication
- Only the first Page of each authorship article (author name, journal name and date -all highlighted)
- Cover page of the journal in color (any issue)
- Impact Factor (highlighted)
- Editorial Board (highlight the key players. Just one page will suffice)
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For a book chapter, include (1) Cover page of the book (2) Table of contents with your chapter/name highlighted (3) Front page of that particular chapter
Published materials written by others about your work
Collect documentation demonstrating that your work has been critiqued by an independent objective source (e.g. an actual written review of your work in a professional journal). Presenting evidence of journal “editorial,” “highlight,” “spotlight”, and mini-articles mentioning your work will also satisfy this category. If there are no reviews of this type an alternative is to prepare evidence of an outstanding citation record using Google scholar/Scopus. Presenting a citation instead of a review will only succeed if it can be proven that the citation volume is high above average in your field, or if the citing articles are from leading competitive journals like Science, Nature, and Cell. Finally you can prepare charts to demonstrate the high volume of citations of your published work.
The acceptable sections are:
- Review articles written by others (make a special mention if it is solely on your work)
- Citation summary of published materials from Google Scholar/Scopus
- List your top four citations by others in high impact journals.
- Citations in book chapters
Include the following about each publication
- Complete article (journal name, date and paragraphs where your work is described should be highlighted).
- Cover page of the journal (any issue in color)
- Impact Factor (highlight)
- Editorial Board (highlight the key players. Just one page will suffice)
- For a book chapter, include (1) Cover page of the book (2) Table of contents with your chapter/name highlighted (3) Front page of that particular chapter
Evidence you have judged the work of others
To meet this criteria you must be able to demonstrate that you have served as the judge of the work of others. It is very important to note that you should have been invited and not your PI. You need to prove that your role as the judge of the works of others is exceptional as demonstrated by the significance of the publication, frequency of being invited to review works, or a comparison to professionals/academics (e.g. normally only tenured faculty do peer reviews.). In some cases it may be necessary to have your faculty member or one of your letter writers explain the importance of this work in greater detail.
The acceptable sections are:
- Invited to review articles in journals
- Invited to be a peer reviewer for funding proposals
- Invited to be on the conference selection committee
- Invited to be a reviewer for article selection in the conference proceedings book
- Invited to be on the dissertation review committee
Include the following for each of the above sub-category
- Include letters of invitation sent directly to you. Attach emails confirming that you had indeed reviewed them.
- Front page of the journal (any issue in color)
- Impact Factor (highlight)
- Editorial Board (highlight the key players. Just one page will suffice)
Evidence of original scientific or scholarly research contributions in the field
There are many types of achievements that might fit into this category. Travel prizes, Ph.D. scholarships and fellowships, best graduate student/postdoc awards, best thesis prize, awards such as “most promising”, “young scientist” will fit into the first category. Specialized procedures that you are called upon to demonstrate or approved Patents are good examples of achievements in this category. Exposure to public media such as Scientific American or CNN could be used. Conference poster sessions and invitations to speak at prestigious events will only be considered if you can prove they are above the normal academic standard. Each documentation must demonstrate outstanding international impact. Letters of reference is quite complex and is explained in a page of its own.
The acceptable sections are:
- Some Awards and Grants (see above)
- Patents (approved and not pending)
- Deposits in Worldwide Protein Data Bank/Gen Bank/Database etc
- Letters of reference from leaders
- Media publications
- Invited/Conference Talks
- Conference Abstracts/Posters
Evidence of memberships in professional associations
Membership based solely on level of education, years of experience or that require annual dues does not meet this required standard. Few people qualify for this category at the early stages of their academic career. You must present evidence that membership is exclusive and limited solely to those who have been judged by their peers as having attained outstanding achievements in the field (e.g. National Academy of Sciences.)
Evidence of outstanding awards and prizes
This category has very high standards and tough to fulfill the requirement. Awards such as “most promising”, “young scientist”, do not qualify. Few people qualify for this category at the early stages of their academic career. This category is for awards for outstanding research (not study), mainly awarded for work that has had a significant impact on the scientific world. To prepare evidence of an award which requires outstanding achievements, you will need statistical documentation about the percentage of people who receive it annually, criteria for winning the award etc. Establish the distinguished international reputation of the organization granting the award and explain the award”s significance in the field of research. Prepare copies (color) of actual award certificates and/or letters explaining the award, including evidence that the association”s membership is exclusive. Significant funding awards as a principal investigator or co-investigator on a federal grant can be used.
Employment Status
Employment in a critical or essential capacity for organizations and establishments that have a distinguished reputation.
Salary
A high salary or other remuneration for services as evidenced by contracts or other reliable evidence.
