Connect with Trusted Organizations

Explore these reliable sources for more information about clinical trials, specific health conditions, and patient advocacy:

  • ClinicalTrials.gov – U.S. National Institutes of Health’s trial database

  • National Institutes of Health (NIH) – Leading federal medical research agency

  • National Cancer Institute (NCI) – Focused on cancer research and trials

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – Public health guidance and disease prevention

Downloadable Resources

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Key Terms to Know

Understanding the terminology used in clinical research can be helpful. Here’s a glossary of common terms.

  • Clinical Trial: a research study in which people volunteer to test new medical interventions — like drugs, devices, procedures, or lifestyle changes — to see if they are safe and effective. 

  • Placebo: an inactive treatment or substance that looks the same as and is given in the same way as an active treatment being tested in a clinical trial. 

  • Randomization: a process by which participants in a clinical trial are assigned by chance to different treatment groups. 

  • Double-Blind Study: A type of clinical trial in which neither the participants nor the researchers know who is receiving the active treatment and who is receiving the placebo.

  • Informed Consent: The process of learning the key facts about a clinical trial before deciding whether or not to participate. It includes a written document that provides details about the study.

  • Eligibility Criteria: The characteristics that define who can participate in a clinical trial (e.g., age, gender, type and stage of disease, prior treatments).

  • Protocol: The detailed plan for a clinical trial, outlining what will be done, how it will be conducted, and why.

  • Endpoints: The primary and secondary outcomes that researchers will measure during a clinical trial to see if the treatment is effective.

  • Adverse Event: Any unfavorable or unintended medical occurrence in a clinical trial participant.