The most important part of research is doing your work carefully. Experts spend a lot of time deciding the best way to get information from research.

The protocol is the set of guidelines for doing your work. All of the steps in the research are part of the protocol. For example, the protocol might include reading a paragraph about the study to someone you want to recruit. The protocol might say that you have to collect data on a specific day or in a specific place or neighborhood.

As a research worker, you are responsible for following the protocol. The protocol must be followed the same way with each research participant.

Research results are often used to plan educational programs and medical or social services. Parts of the protocol that may seem silly to you can be very important. So not following the protocol can cause problems in the future.

Help your project make the world better and satisfy the Belmont Report's Principles of Beneficence and Justice—the duties to do good and be fair.

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