A Guide to Conducting Research in Pharmaceutical Sciences — For Students in the Department of Pharmaceutical Informatics
— Guided by the “Ethics of Pharmacy (Yaku no Rinri)”: Research Through Dialogue, Collaboration, and the Responsible Use of AI —
Research is not simply about conducting experiments, collecting data, and publishing papers. It is a process of asking questions, thinking scientifically, deepening our understanding through dialogue with others, and creating new knowledge. The purpose of conducting research in pharmaceutical sciences is not merely to achieve academic success. It is to continually ask ourselves, “What should we do for people and society?” and to take action for patients whose medical needs cannot be adequately met today, as well as for patients of the future. This is what I consider the practice of the “Ethics of Pharmacy (Yaku no Rinri).” Research requires not only scientific knowledge and technical skills, but also initiative, integrity, respect for others, and the ability to learn from failure. As AI advances rapidly, the importance of thinking independently, making informed judgments, and taking responsibility for our research continues to grow.
However, you do not need to possess extensive knowledge or advanced research skills when you first join our laboratory. When I began my own research career, there were many things I did not understand. With the guidance and support of my teachers and senior colleagues, I gradually came to appreciate the excitement and depth of scientific research. Through this experience, I learned that it is important not only to learn what others teach us, but also to think for ourselves. Research is a process of growth through confronting uncertainty, learning from failures, and repeatedly trying new approaches.
What matters most is to think independently, take on challenges, and seek dialogue with colleagues and faculty members rather than struggling alone when difficulties arise. At the same time, meaningful dialogue requires preparation. You should read relevant scientific papers carefully, understand previous research, and develop your own ideas and questions before engaging in discussion. By learning from one another, sharing perspectives, and engaging in scientific discussion, we can make new discoveries and advance our research.
The principles presented here reflect what I have learned and developed through my own experiences in research and education. They are not final or complete answers. As science and society evolve, and through continued dialogue with students, I intend to keep learning, reflecting, and revising these ideas.
1. Choosing a Research Topic — Why Are We Conducting This Research?
1. Find a research question that interests you and motivates you to take initiative. Research often requires a long-term commitment. It is important to find meaning and intellectual excitement in your research so that you can remain motivated even when facing difficulties.
2. Identify what is known and what remains unknown. Read relevant original research articles to understand the achievements and limitations of previous studies. Scientific novelty is not simply about using new materials or technologies. It can also come from addressing important questions that have not yet been answered.
3. Consider who will benefit from your research and what it may contribute. In pharmaceutical sciences, it is important to consider how research can contribute to human health through drug discovery, development, appropriate medication use, post-marketing research, and public health. Even in basic research, I encourage you to consider its potential connections to future medicine and society.
4. Evaluate the originality and feasibility of your research. Consider which experimental systems, materials, and technologies are needed to answer your research question. If the necessary techniques are not available in our laboratory, you may need to learn new methods, develop new technologies, or establish collaborations with other researchers.
5. Deepen your research questions through dialogue with others. Exchange ideas not only with your supervisor and laboratory colleagues, but also with researchers from different disciplines. Dialogue is more than ordinary conversation or debate. It involves respecting different perspectives and values, listening carefully to others, and working together to develop new ideas.
6. Do not be afraid to take on challenges, but always value scientific evidence. Research with uncertain outcomes can be highly valuable. At the same time, you must carefully consider scientific risks, available resources, and ethical issues. Successful research requires both the courage to challenge existing ideas and the ability to make careful, evidence-based decisions.
2. Conducting Research — Think Independently, Test Hypotheses, and Develop New Questions
1. Understand the purpose and principles of each experiment. Learning experimental procedures alone is not enough. You should understand why a particular method is used, what it measures, and what its limitations are. Even when using commercial kits or analytical software, it is important to understand their underlying principles and how their performance has been validated.
2. Develop hypotheses and predictions before conducting experiments. Consider what results would support your hypothesis and what alternative explanations might account for unexpected findings. Appropriate controls, the number of experimental replicates, and evaluation methods should also be considered in advance.
3. Develop a research plan and visualize the experimental workflow. Clearly define the objectives, procedures, evaluation criteria, and decision points of your experiments. A research plan should not be treated as fixed. It should be revised when new findings provide reasons to reconsider the original approach.
4. Maintain accurate research records and ensure reproducibility. Record experimental conditions, raw data, analytical methods, and unsuccessful experiments so that others can examine and verify your work. Scientific reliability depends not on obtaining favorable results, but on accurate documentation and honest verification.
5. Value unexpected results. Unexpected findings may lead to important discoveries. Rather than immediately considering an unexpected result a failure, carefully distinguish between possible experimental problems and potentially new scientific phenomena.
6. Seek advice and engage in dialogue when difficulties arise. There is no need to hide what you do not understand. After considering the problem yourself, discuss it with faculty members, senior students, and collaborators. Different perspectives can help you identify new approaches and solutions.
7. Regularly reconsider the purpose and direction of your research. Conducting experiments should never become an end in itself. Continuously ask what your results demonstrate, what remains uncertain, and what should be investigated next.
3. Reading Scientific Papers — Developing Scientific Thinking, Not Just Acquiring Knowledge
1. Develop the habit of reading original research articles. Regularly explore major scientific journals in your field and literature databases such as PubMed. It is important to stay informed about new scientific findings and developments.
2. Examine experimental methods and data, not only review articles or authors’ conclusions. Do not accept conclusions without examining the evidence supporting them. Consider how the experiments were designed and whether the results adequately support the interpretations presented by the authors.
3. Read papers critically but constructively. Evaluate the novelty, originality, experimental design, data interpretation, and limitations of each study. An important question to ask is: “If I were conducting this research, what experiment would I perform next?”
4. Expand your interests beyond your own field. Innovative research ideas often emerge at the intersections of different disciplines. In addition to pharmaceutical sciences, explore relevant knowledge in medicine, engineering, life sciences, information science, and other fields.
5. Organize what you read and connect it to your own research. Use reference management software and other tools to organize research backgrounds, major findings, and unresolved questions. The goal is not simply to collect papers, but to develop and record your own scientific ideas.
4. Research Progress Meetings, Seminars, and Conferences — Advancing Research Through Dialogue
1. Begin your presentation by explaining the purpose and significance of your research. Clearly explain what you aim to discover and why the research is important. Your audience should understand the scientific question before examining the experimental results.
2. Adapt your presentation to your audience. Undergraduate students, graduate students, basic researchers, and medical doctors may require different levels of explanation. Communicating the essential meaning of your research is more important than using complicated scientific terminology.
3. Ask questions when you do not understand something. Questions are not intended only to criticize another person’s research. They are an important part of dialogue that helps everyone deepen their understanding and advance scientific knowledge.
4. Respond to questions honestly and clearly. Distinguish among established scientific facts, your own interpretations, and hypotheses. If you do not know the answer, acknowledge it honestly and consider how the question might lead to future research.
5. Use unexpected opinions and criticism to improve your research. Respect different perspectives and remain willing to reconsider your own hypotheses. Constructive criticism can provide valuable opportunities for scientific progress.
6. Remember that scientific conferences are not only places to present research. Actively engage in dialogue with researchers from Japan and other countries. Scientific conferences provide opportunities to discover new research questions, exchange ideas, and develop collaborations. It is also important to publish research findings in scientific journals, contribute to the advancement of knowledge, and use those findings as a foundation for future research.
5. Using AI — Becoming a Researcher Who Uses AI Effectively and Thinks Independently
1. AI is a tool that supports research; it does not replace the researcher’s responsibility. AI can assist with generating research ideas, supporting literature searches, programming, data analysis, and scientific writing in English. However, researchers themselves must choose the questions to investigate, evaluate the results, and take responsibility for their scientific work.
2. Always verify information generated by AI. AI systems may provide inaccurate information or cite scientific papers that do not exist. Always verify the existence of cited publications, examine the original articles, and independently check analytical results.
3. Do not allow AI to replace your own thinking. Before asking AI for an answer, develop your own hypotheses and organize your thoughts. Using AI to broaden your perspective is valuable. Accepting its answers without critical evaluation is not.
4. Protect research data and confidential information. Do not enter unpublished research findings, personal information, patient data, or confidential information from collaborators into external AI services without appropriate authorization. Follow institutional policies, confidentiality requirements, and research ethics.
5. Ensure transparency in the use of AI. When preparing manuscripts or presenting research findings, follow the policies of the relevant journals and institutions, and disclose AI use when required. AI should not be listed as an author, and unverified AI-generated content must never be presented as established research findings.
6. Value human dialogue even more in the age of AI. AI can provide access to extensive information, but human researchers remain responsible for considering the purpose and social significance of their work. Dialogue and collaboration among people with different experiences, expertise, and values are essential for meaningful scientific progress.
6. Research Ethics and Collaboration — Becoming a Trustworthy Researcher
1. Place scientific integrity above all else. Fabrication, falsification, and plagiarism are unacceptable. Do not exaggerate research findings. Always value reproducibility, transparency, and honest scientific reporting.
2. Respect everyone involved in research. Recognize and appropriately acknowledge the contributions of collaborators, senior and junior students, research support staff, medical professionals, and others involved in your work.
3. Prioritize ethics and safety in research involving humans or animals. Follow all required procedures for ethical review, informed consent, personal data protection, animal welfare, and research safety.
4. Consider how research findings can benefit society. Publishing scientific papers is important, but it should not be the ultimate goal. Consider how the knowledge and technologies developed through research may contribute to drug discovery, appropriate medication use, post-marketing research, and improvements in healthcare.
5. Create new value through dialogue and collaboration. Working with people who have different expertise and experiences can lead to research questions and solutions that would be difficult to discover alone. Respect one another and maintain a willingness to learn from others.
7. Final Thoughts — What Is the Purpose of Our Research?
Research does not always proceed as planned. You will encounter many difficulties, unexpected results, and periods of uncertainty. When facing such challenges, I encourage you to return to the fundamental questions: “Why am I conducting this research?” and “Who am I conducting this research for?”
Guided by the Ethics of Pharmacy (Yaku no Rinri), I hope you will develop the ability to identify research questions independently, value dialogue and collaboration, and take initiative based on scientific evidence. Through your daily research activities, I want you to develop both research competence and personal qualities—the scientific abilities and human qualities needed to contribute meaningfully to society. I also hope that you will use these abilities to shape the future of pharmaceutical sciences, as well as your own future and that of society.
To contribute to the advancement of medicine through pharmaceuticals, for patients whose needs cannot be met today and for patients of the future. That is why we conduct research in pharmaceutical sciences.
Updated November 4, 2026 Shigeru Kawakami