Fate of research studies

Area of Science:

• Medical research ethics
• Research study design and conduct
• Scientific study lifecycle

Background:

• Assessing the long-term outcomes of research protocols is crucial for understanding study success rates.
• Ethical review boards approve numerous research projects annually, but their ultimate fate is often unknown.
• A significant proportion of approved research may never reach completion or publication.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the ultimate fate of research studies approved by a central ethics committee.
• To identify common reasons why research studies are not initiated or are abandoned.
• To analyze the publication and presentation rates of completed research studies.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective survey of 720 research protocols approved between 1984-1987 by the Central Oxford Research Ethics Committee.
• Data collection on study initiation, completion, abandonment, and ongoing status as of May 1990.
• Analysis of reasons for non-initiation and abandonment, and subsequent publication or presentation rates.

Main Results:

• Of 487 studies with available data, 59% were completed, 21% never started, 12% abandoned, and 9% ongoing.
• 43% of the surveyed studies were eventually published or presented.
• Failure to secure funding (40%) was the primary reason for not starting studies; recruitment difficulties (28%) were the main cause for abandonment.

Conclusions:

• A substantial number of research studies do not reach completion or dissemination.
• Pragmatic factors like funding and participant recruitment significantly influence research study success.
• Thorough planning, considering both scientific and practical aspects, is essential to improve research study viability.