A practical guide for health researchers
A broad introduction that begins with the research question and moves through study design, research conduct, methods and communicating results, with ethics placed at the forefront.
Explore the WHO guide ↗
YOUNG VOICES · RESEARCH
A Gateway to Research
A Gateway to Research
in Health Sciences
Every meaningful investigation begins with a question.
Learn how questions become evidence, how evidence can inform action, and how one health question can open many pathways into research.
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START HERE
What is research?
Research is a systematic way of asking questions, gathering and examining evidence, and developing knowledge that can help us understand problems and make better decisions.
In health sciences, research can help us measure health problems, understand their causes and determinants, develop or improve solutions, translate evidence into policy and practice, and evaluate whether an intervention or programme works.
THE FIRST STEP
Start with a good question
A strong research question gives your investigation direction. It helps you decide what evidence you need, who or what you need to study, and which methods may be appropriate.
01
Notice
What interests you?
→
02
Ask
What do you want to know?
→
03
Refine
Can the question be investigated?
→
04
Investigate
What evidence could answer it?
Clear
Can another person understand exactly what you mean?
Focused
Is the question specific enough to investigate?
Meaningful
Could the answer add useful knowledge or understanding?
Feasible
Can it realistically be explored with the time
and resources available?
FROM QUESTION TO KNOWLEDGE
Evidence does not speak for itself.
Finding evidence is only part of research. We also need to understand how evidence was produced, how strong it is, what its limitations are, and whether it can help answer our particular question.
That means learning to distinguish an interesting claim from a well-supported finding — and learning to communicate uncertainty responsibly.
QUESTION
What do we want to know?
EVIDENCE
What information can help us answer it?
INTERPRETATION
What does the evidence actually tell us?
REFLECTION
What are the limits, gaps and uncertainties?
ACTION
What could responsible use of this knowledge change?
THE RESEARCH LANDSCAPE
One health question can lead to many kinds of research.
There is no single way to investigate a health problem. Different questions call for different research traditions — and sometimes several approaches can work together.
ONE HEALTH
QUESTION
QUESTION
Implementation Research
How can evidence, programmes or policies work
in real-world settings?
Public Health
How can we improve health at population level?
Epidemiology
Who is affected, where, when and why?
Clinical Research
How can prevention, diagnosis or care be improved?
Biomedical & Laboratory Research
What happens at biological and molecular levels?
Social & Behavioural Research
How do people, relationships and contexts shape health?
Environmental & Planetary Health
How do environments and planetary change affect health?
Health Economics, Policy & Systems
How do resources, policies and systems shape
health outcomes?
Data Science & AI for Health
How can data and computational methods generate
useful insight?
These fields are not isolated boxes. A single project may draw on several of them, depending on the question, context and evidence needed.
A POWERFUL GATEWAY
Implementation Research
Evidence can be convincing — yet a programme, policy or intervention may still work differently in the real world.
Implementation research asks how health interventions, programmes and policies are put into practice, what helps or hinders implementation, and how context influences what happens.
For young researchers, it offers a powerful way to connect evidence with action: not only asking “Does this work?” but also “How can this work here, for these people, in this setting?”
“Research can help us understand not only what should
happen, but how change can happen responsibly in
real-world settings.”
EVIDENCE
CONTEXT
IMPLEMENTATION
LEARNING
REAL-
WORLD
CHANGE
WORLD
CHANGE
LEARN FROM THE RESEARCH COMMUNITY
Start learning from trusted sources
You do not have to become an expert before you begin. These resources can help you build research literacy step by step.
Implementation Research in Health
Peters, Tran and Adam's WHO practical guide introduces implementation research concepts, language and opportunities, including material intended for newcomers.
Explore the WHO resource ↗Research training pathways
NIH provides research training and educational opportunities across stages of education, with resources spanning biomedical, behavioural, social and clinical research.
Explore NIH training ↗Health research training
CIHR supports health research training through awards, training platforms and other initiatives that help develop the next generation of researchers.
Explore CIHR training ↗Research Methods for Health Sciences
A beginner-level course covering research questions, quantitative and qualitative studies, literature reviews, critical appraisal and scientific skills. You can browse the course for free.
Explore NextGenU ↗
RESEARCH
WITH
RESPONSIBILITY
WITH
RESPONSIBILITY
A NON-NEGOTIABLE PRINCIPLE
Good research is responsible research.
Health research can involve people, personal information, biological materials or sensitive questions. Young researchers should never independently collect or use human-participant data simply because a project is educational.
Ask first
Discuss your idea with your teacher, school
or appropriate supervisor.
Protect people
Respect privacy, dignity, consent, safety
and confidentiality.
Know the rules
Human-participant research may require formal
ethics review and other permissions.
Be honest
Do not invent, manipulate or overstate findings.