Getting started with research 'Beginning: Defining a research question and preparing a research plan'

Research is the lifeblood of medicine, with innovations being made in the different technologies used to diagnose and/or screen for the presence of disease or to deliver treatments with higher efficacy. Scientific publication is the network of vessels which delivers the lifeblood. The outputs of research provide us with tomorrow's medicine. In this series of articles we will be discussing the different aspects of carrying out research, from the conception of the research idea to publication in a peer reviewed journal, with the cycle repeating again with new research ideas emerging from the research conducted.