Use of Human Subjects in Research  

Federalwide Assurance  
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Let's examine each of the critical questions in more detail, building the decision tree from them.

The definition of research is:

A systematic investigation designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge.



Compare your proposed activity with the definition of research, and ask yourself the following questions:

  • Is the activity designed to produce generalizable knowledge? In other words, will the information derived from the activity be applicable to other cases?

  • Will the information be gathered systematically? In other words, will it be arranged so that conclusions can be drawn, and so that others can review those conclusions?

If your answers are NO, then your proposed activity does not meet the definition of RESEARCH.

However, if your answers are YES then the activity IS research and you should proceed with Question #2 of the decision tree.

IMPORTANT CLUE: The intent to publish the results of the activity almost always indicates "RESEARCH."

 

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