Biostatistics For Dummies

Chapter 5

Conducting Clinical Research

In This Chapter

Planning and carrying out a clinical research study

Protecting the subjects

Collecting, validating, and analyzing research data

This chapter and the next one provide a closer look at a special kind of biological research — the clinical trial. This chapter describes some aspects of conducting clinical research; Chapter 6 gives you the “big picture” of pharmaceutical drug trials — an example of a high-profile, high-stakes, highly regulated research endeavor. Although you may never be involved in something as massive as a drug trial, the principles are just as relevant, even if you’re only trying to show whether drinking a fruit smoothie every day gives you more energy.

Designing a Clinical Study

Clinical studies should conform to the highest standards of scientific rigor, and that starts with the design of the study. The following sections note some aspects of good experimental design you should keep in mind at the start of any research project.

Identifying aims, objectives, hypotheses, and variables

The aims or goals of a study are short general statements (often just one statement) of the overall purpose of the trial. For example, ...