Rosenberg is the director of Outreach and Recruitment at the HRCA Research and Training Institute. Research studies involving clinicians usually test the statistical significance of a hypothesis. They measure whether an intervention, such as a new treatment protocol, can improve patient care. There are two types of research studies - basic and applied. Basic research, sometimes referred to as bench science, involves experimentation in the laboratory.
Applied research takes place in the field, and uses human subjects.
Applied research includes observational studies, such as record reviews, and intervention studies, such as drug testing and clinical trials. In order to protect people who participate as subjects, all applied research studies must meet research requirements established by the Federal government. These requirements mandate that benefits of the study must outweigh the risks to the subjects, that all subjects voluntarily consent to participate, and that subjects can stop participating in the study at any time without consequence. The National Research Act requires that an IRB review every active human research study that receives federal funding at least once a year. Mahoney and Rosenberg both point out that there are a number of things you should consider.