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Research Categories

• Bench or Basic Science Research
  This type of research is conducted in the laboratory with solutions, test tubes, cell cultures, pipettes, etc. Traditionally, basic science research focuses on the acquisition of knowledge regarding fundamental questions about the structure and function of the basic structures of human life (DNA, proteins, etc.). While basic science research often has clinical significance, the research has not yet been directly applied to patient care.

• Clinical Research
  Clinical research aims to advance medical knowledge by studying people, either through direct interaction or through the collection and analysis of blood, tissues, or other samples. Clinical research is typically conducted with humans or on material of human origin, such as tissues and specimens and can include mechanisms of human disease, therapeutic interventions, and clinical trials.

*Note: Other forms of research, including HSR Epidemiology and QI are often considered clinical research, so if your research fits into one of those categories, select one of those rather than this broader category.

• Health Services Research (HSR)
  The field of scientific investigation that studies how social factors, financing systems, organizational structures and processes, health technologies, and personal behaviors affect access to and use of health care, the quality and cost of health care, and ultimately health outcomes. (Academy for Health Services Research and Health Policy)

• Epidemiology Research
  Epidemiology is the study of the distribution and determinants of health-related states and events in specified populations, and the application of this study to the control of public health problems. (https://www.cdc.gov/OPHSS/CSELS/DSEPD/SS1978/Lesson1/Section1.html#_ref1)

• Medical Education Research
  Medical education research aims to advance the knowledge, skills, and professionalism of health professional learners by understanding and evaluating educational ecosystems. Research in medical education often seeks to design and evaluate curricular innovations and/or assess and transform the culture underlying medical education (AAMC).

• Quality Improvement (QI)
  Involves systematic, data-guided activities designed to bring about immediate and improvements in health delivery in particular settings. The QI process involves evaluating and learning from experience and is thus usually an iterative process. (Hastings Center workgroup)

• Translational Research
  Describes a continuum of research from the laboratory into real-world practice. T1 research typically tests findings from basic research for clinical applicability or effect. T2 research tests new interventions in controlled environments (efficacy studies, phase II and phase III clinical trials). T3 tests how interventions work in real-world settings (effectiveness trials, phase IV clinical trials, implementation studies). T4 studies factors and interventions that influence population health. (University of Minnesota CTSI website).

Note: Since T2-T4 research describes studies that might also fit other categories of research listed in this document, this category should be primarily for early (T1) research. T1 research has commonly been referred to as “bench-to-bedside” and harnesses knowledge from basic science to produce drugs, devices, treatments, etc. for patients.