FAQs
What is a Practice-Based Research Network?
Practice-Based Research Networks (PBRNs) are groups of clinicians and researchers that come together to answer research questions that are most important to helping patients and clinicians. By involving clinicians in the research process, research questions can address the topics that can best improve client/patient care and outcomes.
What is MassageNet?
MassageNet is a Practice-Based Research Network (PBRN) that focuses on massage therapy research. Our mission focuses on building a collaborative space where clinicians and researchers can come together to learn about research and develop the research foundation to support massage therapy.
What does MassageNet do?
MassageNet provides resources to clinicians, researchers, and other massage therapy stakeholders to combine efforts to grow research efforts in massage therapy.
How do I sign up for MassageNet?
It’s easy! Follow the link to our Enrollment Survey, answer the questions, and submit your answers. It should take you about 20 minutes to complete. Please make sure you enter at least one way for us to contact you when you fill it out so we can keep in touch with exciting research opportunities!
How much does MassageNet membership cost?
This is the best part – it’s FREE for clinician members! You can access all of our resources, be involved in research projects and research development, and more at no cost to you.
Who are MassageNet members?
Most members are massage clinicians, but we welcome all who are involved in the field of massage therapy, including educators, business owners, and practitioners in other healthcare fields. We only ask that you are enthusiastic about massage therapy research!
What training do I need to be involved in MassageNet?
No specific training is required. Depending on your role, we will provide any specialized training to perform research-related tasks. This can vary widely based on the type of study you are involved in, including human subjects protection training, data collection and data management protocols, and recruitment methods.
In what ways can I be involved in MassageNet?
You can be as involved in our activities as you want. If you want to be involved in developing and running a research study, great! We will help you find the resources you need. If you want to be an intervention provider as part of a study, we’ll help you get involved. If you want to be a participant in a study yourself, we’ll have opportunities for that too. If you only have time to read our newsletter right now, that’s great too! Our goal is to help you learn about research in whatever capacity you can.
What kind of research projects does MassageNet do?
All types of research projects are welcomed by MassageNet. Our only stipulation is that they are approved by an Institutional Review Board (IRB) or other appropriate ethical oversight committee, and that they align with the goals and member interest outlined by the PBRN.
How do I submit study ideas?
If you are a researcher at a university or other research institution, go to our Collaborator page to learn more about how to submit a proposal. Our Research Committee meets once a month to review research proposals that have been submitted by external researchers.
If you are a clinician member, we periodically send out a short survey to learn more about the research questions and topics that are important to our members. This is your chance to tell us what you want to know about. We want clinicians to help develop and run research studies, so if there is something near and dear to you, please let us know. We will help you find resources to build your study.
What does MassageNet offer its members?
MassageNet members will have access to a variety of resources.
Newsletter – Our quarterly newsletter helps members to stay informed about MassageNet activities, current and upcoming research projects, and massage-related research all over the world.
Educational Modules – Web-based modules are under development to help members grow their knowledge and skills in various research topics. Modules will include ethics, research methods, data collection and analysis, scientific writing, and research project development.
Research Opportunities – MassageNet offers opportunities for members to be directly involved in research. As our network grows, there will be invitations to participate in research projects, recruit clients as research participants, provide study-related treatments, and even be part of the research development team.