Seeking funding / applying for funding
Prioritising topic areas
Planning the research
Managing the research
Designing the research instruments (eg questionnaires, patient information sheets)
Assisting in finding and designing appropriate ways of approaching participants
Training other people to carry out the research
Undertaking the research
Analysing the research
Final Research Report
Contributing / commenting on final report
Writing or co-writing final report
Disseminating research
Writing about the research eg publications, newsletters
Speaking about the research eg workshops, presentations
Implementing action
Other
Action Research
Action research is used to bring about improvement or practical change. A group of people who know about a problem work together to develop an idea about how it might be resolved. They then go and test this idea. The people who take part in the testing provide feedback on their experiences. They may also identify further actions that need to be researched and tested. This cycle of developing solutions and testing them is repeated until the problem has been solved.
Close this explanationThis involves assessing whether an
intervention (for example a treatment, service, project, or programme) is achieving its aims. A project can be evaluated as it goes along or right at the end. It can measure how well the project is being carried out as well as its impact. The results of evaluations can help with decision-making and planning
Close this explanationA controlled trial compares two groups of people: an experimental group who receive the new treatment and a control group, who receive the usual treatment or a
placebo. The control group allows the researchers to see whether the treatment they are testing is any more or less effective than the usual or standard treatment.
In a randomised controlled trial, the decision about which group a person joins is random (ie based on chance). A computer will decide rather than the researcher or the participant. Randomisation ensures that the two groups are as similar as possible, except for the treatment they receive. This is important because it means that the researcher can be sure that any differences between the groups are only due to the treatment.
Close this explanationSystematic reviews aim to bring together the results of all studies addressing a particular research question that have been carried out around the world. They provide a comprehensive and unbiased summary of the research.
For example, one
clinical trial may not give a clear answer about the effectiveness of a treatment. This might be because the difference between the treatments being tested was very small, or because only a small number of people took part in the trial. So systematic reviews are used to bring the results of a number of similar trials together, to piece together and assess the quality of all of the evidence. Combining the results from a number of trials may give a clearer picture.
Close this explanation
