Medical research is always targeted towards the advancement or betterment of human civilization. Local, national, and even international organizations or governmental bodies have pushed through millions of dollars for research. Medical research is an advanced and a complex process, and for most people from the non-medical field, it has consistently been wondered how medical research trials are conducted.
This article will shed light on some of the important aspects while conducting medical research work and how it is done.
Types of Medical Research
Before a medical experiment is conducted, researchers need to consider what type of medical research it is that they are about to start. There are 3 main areas of medical research – Basic or experimental Research; Clinical Research; and Epidemiological Research. These researches are distinguished by their study type or broad subject area, which can also be further sub-divided depending on the nature of the study.
Below we will discuss in general about how each of these medical research are conducted.
Basic or Experimental Research
Basic medical research, also known as experimental medical research, is a type of medical research which includes animal experiments, biochemical experiments, study of cells, physiological and genetic investigation, and study on the properties of particular materials like that of drugs. It is a primary research work where experiments are conducted along with a team or with a contract research organization and studied to bring out a final answer to the research question. It is an applied study which is analytical in nature and it deals with the development of methods as well as improving analytical methods.
Clinical Research
Clinical research is a type of medical research which involves both experimental studies as well as observational studies on a particular subject in a controlled clinical environment. This type of research is usually conducted to experiment as well as observe the effects of particular clinical drugs on the human body. Moreover, it is not always the study of particular drugs, but also medical devices on the human body. Naturally, this is also a primary research work, which is experimented to study a particular outcome of the research question. For example – Ophthalmology research is usually clinical in nature.
Epidemiological Research
As the name suggests, epidemiological research is a type of medical research which studies epidemics. This research work is always focused on particular epidemic diseases which exists, its history, causes, spread, frequency, and management of those particular diseases. This medical research work can also be considered as a long-term research work, which can either be experimental or observational in nature. This medical research is also a primary research work which can be experimental on the field or observational where the researcher studies a historical perspective and evolution of the disease.
Conclusion
Conducting medical research is a complex process and how the research work is conducted depends on the study type or broad subject area, which can further be distinguished into three types. Given that there is increased importance and focus on medical research work, each research work brings out a lot of value to the evolution of human civilization.
Infographic Provided by The Emmes Company