How the study listing works

Healthcare professional with patient

For your trial or study to be included in the study search function of this website, it must be listed on ISRCTN, ClinicalTrials.gov, or on the NIHR Clinical Research Network (CRN) Central Portfolio Management System (CPMS)*. For studies that are listed on CPMS and one other register (ISRCTN or ClinicalTrial.gov), duplications are removed where possible.

Once your study is listed on either ISRCTN or ClinicalTrial.gov, it will take up to a week for your study to be automatically loaded onto Be Part of Research.

*Only non-commercial NIHR CRN Portfolio studies will feed through from CPMS. This means that some of the information entered will be visible to the public via Be Part of Research.

Lay summaries - writing for a public audience

The people who visit this site are primarily patients and members of the public who aren’t familiar with scientific and medical terminology. It’s important that the summary you enter with the details of your study is written in plain English. It should be accessible to a broad audience and easy for someone to understand what you are trying to achieve with the study.

Here are some tips to help:

  • Keep it short - but don't oversimplify it. The reader must understand what the study is trying to achieve.
  • Imagine you are talking to the reader.
  • Take out any jargon.
  • Make sure you cover the what, why, when, where and how so they have the basics of your study.

Adding the right information

It’s important to add your contact details and details of a study website or pre-screener if you have one, so that people can easily get in touch with you.

  • Please make sure that the contact details you enter on ISRTCN, ClinicalTrials.gov or CPMS are kept up-to-date and are accurate.
  • If anything changes, remember to update your study details as soon as you can, so it is reflected on Be Part of Research in a timely manner.

By registering with the ISRCTN Registry, you will comply with national and international guidelines, benefit from editorial help, ensure information is up to date and bring your research to a wider audience.

ISRCTN is used by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to help UK researchers meet three registration objectives:

  • To keep the World Health Organisation’s International Clinical Trials Registry Platform updated, which is a complete view of medical research taking place worldwide.
  • Meet journal expectations for reporting results in peer-reviewed journals – ICMJE guidelines.
  • Be accessible to the widest audience possible – writing a plain English summary of each study.


Adding your study to ISRCTN Register

You will need to set up an account or login to add your study to the registry. There is a fee to register your trial or study, however DHSC may be able to fund this registration if your study is eligible for the NIHR CRN Portfolio. You will be offered this option when completing your IRAS submission.

If your study is eligible to go onto the NIHR CRN Portfolio

ISRCTN has an agreement with the DHSC that once your study has been included on the NIHR CRN Portfolio, you can apply directly for ISRCTN registration through the NIHR Central Portfolio Management System (CPMS). After studies are listed on the ISRCTN register, researchers receive regular reminders at certain milestones to ensure that records are kept up to date.

ClinicalTrials.gov is an online database of privately and publicly funded clinical studies worldwide. The site is operated by the US National Library of Medicine.

You will need to set up an account and then register your trial or study.

Brief summary

The information you enter into this summary is pulled into the 'summary' section of your study listing on Be Part of Research. Remember to write in plain English.

Making changes to your study

If your study or trial is listed on Be Part of Research, but the information held is too technical or needs updating, you can change it by following ClinicalTrial.gov’s instructions on how to edit your study record.

If your study is listed on the NIHR Central Portfolio Management System (CPMS) and meets the requirements below, it will be automatically added to Be Part of Research study search:

  • A non-commercial study
  • Live 
  • Study status is one of the following:
    • In setup, approval received
    • Open to recruitment
    • Open with recruitment
    • Suspended
    • Closed, in follow up 
    • Closed, no follow up
    • Closed, follow up complete
  • Study is not listed on ISRCTN / does not have the ISRCTN number listed in CPMS
  • Statuses in the CPMS design tab: Open, Open with Recruitment
  • Site must be listed as one of the following site types in the Participating organisations tab: All site activities, Recruiting site or PIC site

How to amend your details on Be Part of Research if your study source is CPMS?

We cannot change anything directly on Be Part of Research, all changes must take place on the CPMS system. For CPMS amendments please email bepartofresearch@nihr.ac.uk, we will then provide you with the correct contact details to update your study.