Health services research is the scientific investigation of the use, costs, delivery and effects of health care treatments or services for individuals and populations (Lohr and Steinwachs 2002).   It is not about collecting information for information’s sake or transforming facts from one place to another.  Health services research involves systematically seeking knowledge which will lead to improvements in the delivery of health care  type of research requires team members from a wide range of backgrounds, for example, healthcare professionals, University researchers, charities or commercial organisations, social researchers, epidemiologists, economists and statisticians as well as non-professionals such as those who may potentially use the service or treatment.

Good health services research is not accidental. It requires careful planning as well as careful implementation.   Before starting a research project, it is therefore important to prepare a research proposal in which the aims and research questions, background, plans and reasoning for the research are clearly laid out.  Good planning will help you to anticipate and avoid numerous obstacles and pitfalls, save time in the long run, and produce a superior finished product. Remember effective planning for health services research involves seeking views and expertise from a wide range of professionals and non-professional groups.

A key stage in conducting any piece of research is to spend time at the outset formulating a clear and answerable research question. It is important to be clear in your own mind what question you are intending your research findings to answer. In addition, having a clear question will help you search for previous research efficiently and effectively to discover what work has already been done in your chosen area.  Poor research questions are those that are:

• Too general (for example: What are the issues affecting child health?)
• Too vague (for example: Is community care a good