When adding team members to a research team, sometimes it is appropriate to add a placeholder for a position where the individual who will fill the role has yet to be determined (TBD).  There is a right and wrong way to capture a TBD team member on the research team. The impacts to adding a TBD team member the wrong way can lead to incorrect data and security issues.

The right way
After choosing <Add team member> when viewing the research team, the letters “TBD” default into the full name field. Leaving this text alone (not performing  the Lookup function) and entering  the rest of the required data on the team member screen,  and selecting <OK> will save the team member as a TBD which can be changed later on when an individual is identified.

Right view on the team member screen:

Right view on the research team screen:

Wrong view on the research team screen:

If you notice a project where there is an incorrect TBD profile added to the research team, work with your central office representative to make corrections to avoid the wrong individual being added to the research team later.

For any questions or clarifications around this topic, please reference this job aid and/or email the GMAS help desk at contactgmas@harvard.edu.