Science and Development Network
News, views and information about science, technology and the developing world
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Definitions
In this section you will find a directory of terms used in the field of research ethics. Several have been reproduced from the Nuffield Council on Bioethics.
C
Capacity building
Developing the ability of individuals, organisations and countries to carry out certain activities, such as providing effective healthcare or designing and conducting resarch. Capacity building may involve a number of components, such as providing and maintaining equipment and developing human resources (for example, through appropriate training courses).
Clinical research
Such research is often conducted with patients in a medical setting, such as a hospital, and is designed to obtain better information on the natural history or pathogenesis of a condition that may lead to improved strategies for diagnosis, treatment or prevention of a disease. See also Phase I-IV trials. [Source: Nuffield Council on Bioethics]
Control group
A control group in clinical research and clinical trials (see clinical research and clinical trials) contains participants who are not given the intervention being tested, and is compared with a group who are given the intervention. In clinical trials, the intervention would normally be a novel treatment, such as a medicine or vaccine, but interventions may also be social and behavioural in nature (for example, safe sex campaigns). [Source: Nuffield Council on Bioethics]
