Research governance: a guide for the foundation year doctor

The primary aim of research is to understand the aetiology and pathogenesis of disease and to improve prophylactic, diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Continuous research is necessary for improvement of efficiency, effectiveness and accessibility of pre-existing procedures. Biomedical research has transformed medicine from a simple caretaking role to that of curing serious lifethreatening diseases. Medical progress is based on research involving experimentation with human subjects (Schucklenk and Ashcroft, 2000; Beauchamp and Childress, 2001).