a person’s psychosomatic response to the belief that they are receiving an effective treatment. Researchers may also be susceptible to the placebo effect if they treat subjects differently who they believe are receiving effective treatment. See also Double-Blinding.

a biologically or chemically inactive substance or intervention given to a research subject which is used to control for the Placebo effect.

 a peer review process, used by most scientific journals, in which the reviewers are told the identities of the authors but not vice versa.

a peer review process in which the authors and reviewers are told each other’s identities.

a peer review process in which neither the authors nor the reviewers are told each other’s identities.

The process of using experts within a scientific or academic discipline (or peers) to evaluate articles submitted for publication, grant proposals, or other materials.

a right, granted by a government, which allows the patent holder to exclude others from making, using, or commercializing an invention for a period of time, typically 20 years. To be patented, an invention must be novel, non-obvious, and useful. The patent holder must publicly disclose how to make and use the invention in the patent application.

restricting a person’s decision-making for their own good. In soft paternalism, one restricts the choices made by someone who has a compromised ability to make decisions (see Decision-making capacity); in hard paternalism, one restricts the choices made by someone who is fully autonomous (see autonomy).

a U.S. federal agency that oversees the integrity of research funded by the Public Health Service, including research funded by the National Institutes of Health. ORI sponsors research and education on research integrity, and reviews reports of research misconduct inquiries and investigations from institutions.

a federal agency that oversees human subjects research funded by the Department of Health and Human Services, including research funded by the National Institutes of Health. OHRP publishes guidance documents for interpreting the Common Rule, sponsors educational activities, and take steps to ensure compliance with federal regulations, including auditing research and issuing letters to institutions concerning non-compliance.