'V' Terms

Valid Analysis
This term means an unbiased assessment. Such an assessment will, on average, yield the correct estimate of the difference in outcomes between two groups of subjects. Valid analysis can and should be conducted for both small and large studies. A valid analysis does not need to have a high statistical power for detecting a stated effect. The principal requirements for ensuring a valid analysis of the question of interest are:

  • allocation of study participants of both sexes/genders (males and females) and from different racial and/or ethnic groups to the intervention and control groups by an unbiased process such as randomization;
  • unbiased evaluation of the outcome(s) of study participants;
  • and use of unbiased statistical analyses and proper methods of inference to estimate and compare the intervention effects by sex/gender, race, and/or ethnicity.

Quoted from the NIH OER Glossary & Acronym List.

For additional information, see the Guidance for Valid Analysis reporting in ClinicalTrials.gov, NIH Policy and Guidelines on The Inclusion of Women and Minorities as Subjects in Clinical Research and SF424 (R&R) - Version E General Instructions.

See Also: Statistical Analysis Plan
Value-added Sources
Value-added sources provide some additional information over and above bibliographic details.

Quoted from "Health Economics Information Resources: A Self Study Course" (Module 1, part 2).

Vertebrate Animal Concern
"Vertebrate animal concern" is defined as an issue involving animal welfare during the SRG evaluation of the Vertebrate Animal Section of the grant application, cooperative agreement or contract proposal requiring resolution prior to award.

An SRG vertebrate animal concern:

  • is coded "Code 44 ‒ Animals involved ‒ SRG concerns" on Grant Applications and Cooperative Agreement summary statements.
  • is rated "Unacceptable" on the Technical Evaluation Report of the contract proposal.

Sources: NIH Guide Notice NOT-OD-10-027 and NIH Guide Notice NOT-OD-10-049.

See Also: Animal Subject Coding
Vertebrate Animals Section VAS  
Section of a grant application or contract proposal addressing the following criteria:

  1. Description of Procedures

    Provide a concise description of the proposed procedures to be used that involve vertebrate animals. Identify the species, strains, ages, sex, and total number of animals by species to be used. If dogs or cats are proposed, provide the source of the animals.

  2. Justifications

    Provide justification that the species are appropriate for the proposed research. Explain why the research goals cannot be accomplished using an alternative model (e.g., computational, human, invertebrate, in vitro).

  3. Minimization of Pain and Distress

    Describe the interventions to minimize discomfort, distress, pain, and injury. These include analgesia, anesthesia, sedation, palliative care, and humane endpoints.

  4. Method of Euthanasia

    Provide a justification for methods of euthanasia that are not consistent with the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals.

    • If answer is "No" to the question "Is method consistent with AVMA guidelines?", describe the method and provide scientific justification in the text field provided.
    • Note, for applications with due dates of January 25, 2016 to May 24, 2016, the method of euthanasia is addressed as the fourth criterion in the Research Plan, Vertebrate Animals Section: State whether the method of euthanasia is consistent with the recommendations of the AVMA Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals. If not, describe the method and provide a scientific justification.

For additional information, visit the Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare – Vertebrate Animals Section webpage and the "General Instructions for NIH and Other PHS Agencies SF424(R&R) Application Packages" sections G.210 - PHS 398 Cover Page Supplement Form and G.220 - R&R Other Project Information Form.

Veterans Administration VA  
Provides patient care and federal benefits to veterans and their dependents.

For additional information, visit the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs website.

Virtual Meeting VM  
Virtual Meeting, accessed through the Internet Assisted Review (IAR) module via eRA Commons, allows reviewers and scientific review officers to participate in an online review meeting in lieu of a face-to-face meeting at a physical location.

For additional information, visit the eRA Virtual Meeting webpage.

Voter Matrix
Comprised of the application number, Principal Investigator name, and scores of all review members from a specified review panel. The priority scores are calculated from the reviewer vote sheets. The high, low, and average scores are calculated for each individual reviewer and for each application.