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Human subject research
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<p>Human subject research is systematic, scientific investigation that can be either interventional (a "trial") or observational (no "test article") and involves <a href="/facts/Human_being/rlcTENsr">human beings</a> as research subjects, commonly known as test subjects. Human subject research can be either medical (clinical) research or non-medical (e.g., social science) research. Systematic investigation incorporates both the collection and analysis of data in order to answer a specific question. Medical human subject research often involves analysis of <a href="/facts/Biological_specimens/u51y6uvM">biological specimens</a>, <a href="/facts/Epidemiological/wgTmxoMA">epidemiological</a> and behavioral studies and medical chart review studies. (A specific, and especially heavily regulated, type of medical human subject research is the "<a href="/facts/Clinical_trial/q8LMr832">clinical trial</a>", in which drugs, vaccines and medical devices are evaluated.) On the other hand, human subject research in the social sciences often involves <a href="/facts/Survey_(human_research)/6QHqlj8c">surveys</a> which consist of questions to a particular group of people. <a href="/facts/Survey_methodology/vgqyWzAY">Survey methodology</a> includes questionnaires, <a href="/facts/Interviews/an2tME3S">interviews</a>, and <a href="/facts/Focus_groups/JobGBQjv">focus groups</a>. </p><p>Human subject research is used in various fields, including research into advanced <a href="/facts/Biology/1M1ee3pB">biology</a>, <a href="/facts/Clinical_medicine/2fnp90Je">clinical medicine</a>, <a href="/facts/Nursing/xbmA4GNC">nursing</a>, <a href="/facts/Psychology/duoqW7Sz">psychology</a>, <a href="/facts/Sociology/d2Fd0N87">sociology</a>, <a href="/facts/Political_science/Gqy5EoRX">political science</a>, and <a href="/facts/Anthropology/W6WK1C3a">anthropology</a>. As research has become formalized, the academic community has developed formal definitions of "human subject research", largely in response to <a href="/facts/Unethical_human_experimentation/1lLUwQbD">abuses</a> of human subjects. </p>