Scientific programme

What is Research on Research?

Research on Research is an emerging new scientific discipline that aims to identify and minimise persistent threats to medical research quality.

Why should we develop Research on Research?

Tens of billions of Euros are spent each year on studies that are redundant, flawed in their design, never published or poorly reported. Further, given current research practices, research claims are more likely to be false than true. The public is the main victim of this waste. If clinical research is not adequately planned, conducted and reported, clinicians are prevented from using effective health interventions in practice and researchers from adequately prioritising future research questions. This situation ultimately has a detrimental impact on patient care. Therefore, reducing waste and increasing value of research represents a major societal challenge.

What is our aim?

Our aim is to create, in Europe, an innovative and ambitious multidisciplinary intersectoral joint doctoral training programme, dedicated to Methods in Research on Research (MiRoR) in the field of clinical research.

Our overarching aim is to train the future generations of top-level scientists in Research on Research and to develop creative solutions to transform clinical research practice and increase its value.

MiRoR is a joint doctoral programme on Methods in Research on Research in clinical research, involving 15 early-stage researchers (ESRs, i.e. PhD students). We will:

• Prepare students for envisioning the future challenges in clinical research and find innovative solutions to face them,
• Train students to go well beyond the state-of-the-art in their research,
• Help students think differently, taking advantage of the multidisciplinary expertise and intercultural diversity of the network,
• Teach students how to move from research to action and convert knowledge and idea into a product,
• Help students to develop skills to match the public and private sector needs and create new professional opportunities.

What will MiRoR consider?

To improve the training of students and confront them with diverse situations and research context and methods, we consider clinical research in its complexity. We will tackle:

• Several steps of a clinical research project (planning, conduct, reporting and peer-review);
• Various study designs (observational studies, randomised trials, systematic reviews);
• Various study questions (therapeutic, diagnostic, and prognostic evaluation).

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