What we do

Clinical trials must be undertaken to explore better ways to prevent or treat, various diseases or conditions. Our team at Monash University Clinical Trials Centre connects researchers with community members to help design clinical trials and other research projects through this online platform that we call Research Say.

Why do we need to connect researchers with the community?

Research and clinical trials should address real community health and wellbeing problems and work towards developing effective treatments. This online platform allows researchers to gather the experiences, expertise and opinions of the community to improve their research.

How do we connect researchers and consumers?

Clinical trial researchers use this online platform to advertise their research projects. Consumers sign up to the platform and choose to contribute as much or as little as they like to research projects.

Some of the consultation tools used on the platform include:

• quick polls
• surveys
• discussion forums
• interactive web maps.

When do researchers and the community connect?

Community members can choose when and how often they contribute to research projects.

Where do researchers and community members connect?

Members of this online platform can connect with researchers directly through their project page. A researcher will use their project page to explain exactly how they would like community members to contribute. More often than not, researchers will ask the community to contribute using tools like surveys, quick polls and discussion forums.

Why?

When consumers are involved at all stages of clinical research, it helps to ensure the right things are researched, in the right way. Your contributions can shape the quality and direction of a research project and result in better healthcare options for the wider community.

Simple

Registering only requires your name and email address. Once registered, you can browse research projects and contribute as little or as much as you like. You can also follow projects that interest you to stay updated on their progress or read the member newsletter to hear about new research projects to get involved in.

Secure

We do not share your information with third parties and we will not bombard you with emails.

You can choose a username so you do not need to share your given names with the other users. Your email address will not be visible to other users.

Convenient

You choose what projects you want to contribute to and when. You are not obliged to attend meetings at a set time and place.