 Does
Sephis sponsor applications for fellowships at universities
or research institutes in the North?
|
| |
No, Sephis does not sponsor researchers
who affiliate themselves with institutes in the
North during their research project. |
Does
Sephis sponsor archival research in the North?
|
| |
Yes, but only if the applicant can
convince the selection committee that this is absolutely
necessary to complement his/her research project
in the South. Archival research in the North may
only concern a fraction of the total research time.
|
Whom
should I ask to act as referee?
|
| |
The best referee is someone who is
widely acknowledged as an expert in the same specialisation
as the applicant. In principle a referee must be
at another university or research institute than
the one the applicant is affiliated with. |
Should
research proposals submitted to Sephis always be
comparative?
|
| |
Yes, there is no exception to the
rule that only research proposals with a strong
comparative dimension have a chance of being selected.
|
What
does Sephis consider as comparative?
|
| |
A comparative research proposal must
at least deal with two or more distanced cases chosen
for their similarities or contrasts. Distance may
be in time, space, language, religion, political
system.
|
Is
it necessary to do field or archival research on
each case that is part of the comparative research
project?
|
| |
There are many topics on which a lot
of research has already been done, and sometimes
one can rely on these studies to make a thorough
comparative analysis possible.
|
What
does Sephis mean by a `review of relevant literature'?
|
| |
Sephis would like to see a review
which gives a critical discussion, and not just
a list, of the most relevant and recent publications.
By doing so the applicant can define his/her theoretical
position and demonstrate why his/her proposal is
innovative vis-à-vis the work that has already
been done by others.
|
How
specific should I be when indicating the sources
to be examined?
|
| |
Only indicating that you will use
`primary and secondary sources' will not do. It
is important to be specific. The applicant is asked
to indicate the (archival) collections (e.g. documents,
newspapers, or non-written sources) he/she wants
to examine.
|
What is a realistic budget according to Sephis?
|
| |
There are two categories of expenses:
living expenses, based on local standards, and research
expenses.
Living expenses should be based on what is locally
accepted for PhD stipends or salaries for Postdoctoral
researchers. Research expenditures should logically
follow from the research plan. For field trips the
applicant can request a per diem to cover the costs
of lodging. When a trip abroad is part of the proposal,
it is absolutely necessary for a reliable budget
to make enquiries about the costs of living there.
Likewise, the applicant should make enquiries about
air fares and other transportation costs, costs
of photocopying and equipment. Finally, it is wise
to include inflation rates in the budget and to
add a 5% contingencies to the total budget. |
