Clinical Research Made Easy-A Guide for Research in Radiation Therapy

Research in radiation therapy is important in promoting evidence-based practice and improving both patient care and quality of clinical practice. However, many barriers have been encountered that have prevented or at least deterred radiation therapists from conducting their own research. These include lack of funding, lack of resources, and lack of knowledge on how to start a research project. The aim of this review article is to outline the basic steps involved in conducting research in the hopes to overcome some of these barriers. The processes of establishing a research question, the literature search and review, writing a proposal, obtaining research ethics board approval, data collection, and disseminating the research results will all be reviewed. It will end with a brief synopsis of drug-related clinical trials and the additional requirements to conduct them. Although many articles have been written on each step specifically, the goal of this article is to give a brief overview to help the reader get started in conducting their own research. After reading this article, radiation technologists may realize that conducting research may not be as daunting a task as one may have previously thought, and perhaps consider embarking on their own journey into the research world. Although this article cites many examples from radiation therapy literature, the actual research steps themselves translate to any research conducted by all radiation disciplines.