Research Education (RED)
The Office of Research Education (RED) provides comprehensive and accessible research education, training, and resources for the University of Utah research community. RED offers free classes and resources for students and researchers covering topics such as research integrity, data management, grant writing, research mentoring, human subjects research, and responsible and ethical conduct of research.
Medical students are encouraged to utilize RED resources throughout their research experience to strengthen their research knowledge and skills.
Medical education research FAQs
From the Office of Education Quality Improvement, Evaluation, and Research
Medical education projects tend to fall in one of three categories: research, evaluation, or quality improvement. Medical education research is the systematic and methodologically rigorous study of a topic for the purposes of exploration, replication, generalizability, and/or theory building.1 Evaluation projects differ from research projects in that they tend to focus on local contexts and decision-making.1 Quality improvement projects aim to improve processes by collecting and acting on iterative cycles of data collection.2
1. Tavakol, M., Gruppen, L.D. and Torabi, S. (2010), Using evaluation research to improve medical education. The Clinical Teacher, 7: 192-196. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1743-498X.2010.00383.x
2. Casarett D, Karlawish JHT, Sugarman J. Determining When Quality Improvement Initiatives Should Be Considered Research: Proposed Criteria and Potential Implications. JAMA. 2000;283(17):2275–2280. doi:10.1001/jama.283.17.2275
All students who plan to conduct research for presentation and/or publication will need to begin by completing an IRB application. This application will require that you have a faculty sponsor.
Individuals in the Education Quality Improvement, Evaluation, and Research Office can help you brainstorm what your project might look like, decide whether it falls into the research, evaluation, or QI domain, and who might be a good faculty mentor. For general project ideas, you can contact Candace Chow, PhD, Director of Education Research & Associate Professor, who has expertise in qualitative methods, professional identity development, and Asian American physician experiences. For student-led clinic projects, contact Kristine Snyder, MPH, Student-Led Clinic Research and Evaluation Specialist, who has expertise in quantitative methods, student-led clinic medical education, and population health.
Dr. Candace Chow: candace.chow@hsc.utah.edu
Kristine Snyder: kristine.snyder@utah.edu
- Patient-centered language guide
- Harm reduction
- Active learning
- Cultural humility
- Women in leadership
- Experiential Learning in Street Medicine Practice
- Reducing Drug Stigmatization among Underserved Populations
- Identifying and Addressing Social Determinants of Health
- Health Systems Navigation Competency
Sample publications that students have co-authored
- Le HDH, Sreekantaswamy S, Lind H, Birdsall MB, Jensen J, Foster-Palmer SC, Brintz BJ, Chow C, Richards B, Cipriano SD (2023). Skin Color Representation in Teaching Photographs: One Institution's Approach to Addressing Visual Racism in Medical Education. Teach Learn Med.
- Bagley MB, Smith AG, Morton DM, Chow CJ (2022). "I really liked the chance to talk about it": Students' reflections on the process of completing paper puzzles, a novel active learning activity. Med Sci Educ.
- Luman A, Bagley M, Colbert-Getz JM, Christensen T, Lindsley JE, Chow CJ (2022). Am I even a med-student anymore?”: A Mixed-Methods Study of the Impact of the Initial Disruptions Caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic on Medical Student Professional Identity Formation. Med Sci Educ.
- Peterson J, Chow C, Bonnett R, Colbert-Getz J (2020). Improving students’ narrative feedback to educators. Med Educ, 54, 477-478
Local
Medical Student Research Forum
Student-led Clinic Symposium
Academy of Health Science Educators Symposium
Eccles Medical Education Research Symposium
Regional
AAMC Western Group on Education Affairs (WGEA) Conference (Spring 2026 is the last time this conference will be held; stay tuned for more information about future iterations of this conference)
National
AAMC Learn Serve Lead
Society of Student-Run Free Clinics
The Generalists in Medical Education
American Educational Research Association
International
AMEE (International Association for Health Professions Education)
Local pre-print repository
JAHSE: PRE
External (does not require open-access fees)
Academic Medicine
Teaching and Learning in Medicine
Perspectives on Medical Education
Advances in Health Sciences Education
Medical Education
Medical Teacher
Medical Science Educator
Journal of Student-Run Clinics
Canadian Medical Education Journal
MedEdPORTAL
External (requires open-access fees)
BMC Medical Education
The Clinical Teacher (fee is waived due to university’s partnership with Wiley)
Journal of Medical Education and Curricular Development
Research Education (RED)
Office of Research Education (RED)
The Office of Research Education (RED) provides comprehensive and accessible research education, training, and resources for the University of Utah research community. RED offers free classes and resources for students and researchers covering topics such as research integrity, data management, grant writing, research mentoring, human subjects research, and responsible and ethical conduct of research.
Medical students are encouraged to utilize RED resources throughout their research experience to strengthen their research knowledge and skills.
RECR STUDENT CERTIFICATE
Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research
The Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research (RECR) Student Certificate provides structured training to help students develop a strong foundation in responsible and ethical research practices. The program addresses federal agency requirements and includes training in research integrity, IRB considerations, responsible authorship and peer review, research mentoring, research security, and additional research topics.
The certificate is designed for students participating in research across disciplines and provides an opportunity to build skills that support ethical decision-making, scientific integrity, and responsible research throughout their training.