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Please find below explanations for the most common terms used in the organisation and delivery of research studies. If there is another word on the site that you'd like us to consider adding to the glossary, let us know by emailing bepartofresearch@nihr.ac.uk.
The term used to describe a person who is taking part in a research study. Sample of tissue. This means anything taken from you as part of a medical investigation or procedure. This could be blood from a blood test, a urine sample, biopsy or even a whole organ (eg spleen, bile duct or kidney) which has been removed during an operation. Side effects
- Clinical Trial
- Healthy Volunteer
- Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria
- Informed Consent
- Patient Volunteer
- Phases of Clinical Trials
- Placebo
- Protocol
- Principal Investigator
- Randomization
A research study in which one or more human subjects are prospectively assigned to one or more interventions (which may include placebo or other control) to evaluate the effects of those interventions on health-related biomedical or behavioral outcomes.
A Healthy volunteer is a person with no known significant health problems who participates in clinical research to test a new drug, device, or intervention.
Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria are factors that allow someone to participate in a clinical trial are inclusion criteria. Those that exclude or not allow participation are exclusion criteria.
Informed consent explains risks and potential benefits about a clinical trial before someone decides whether to participate.
A patient volunteer has a known health problem and participates in research to better understand, diagnose, treat, or cure that disease or condition.
Clinical trials are conducted in “phases.” The trials at each phase have a different purpose and help researchers answer different questions. 1. Phase I trials— An experimental drug or treatment in a small group of people (20–80) for the first time. The purpose is to evaluate its safety and identify side effects. 2. Phase II trials— The experimenta...
A placebo is a pill or liquid that looks like the new treatment but does not have any treatment value from active ingredients.
A Protocol is a carefully designed plan to safeguard the participants’ health and answer specific research questions.
A Principal Investigator is a doctor who leads the clinical research team and, along with the other members of the research team, regularly monitors study participants’ health to determine the study’s safety and effectiveness.
Randomization is the process by which two or more alternative treatments are assigned to volunteers by chance rather than by choice.
Feb 22, 2023 · Clinical Research – NIH defines clinical research as: Patient-oriented research. Research conducted with human subjects (or on material of human origin such as tissues, specimens and cognitive phenomena) for which an investigator directly interacts with human subjects.
How research results can apply to people who were not part of the study. genetic testing - A medical test that could identify a health risk to a person or their biological family members by looking at their genes (DNA).
1 day ago · This glossary is intended to assist you in understanding commonly used terms and concepts when reading, interpreting, and evaluating scholarly research. Also included are common words and phrases defined within the context of how they apply to research in the social and behavioral sciences.
Research, applied. The systemic, intensive study directed toward producing results that are applicable to a particular problem. Research, basic. A systemic, intensive study designed to increase the body of knowledge in a particular field, rather than to develop specific, practical applications. Responsible conduct of research. As described by ...
