Our ambition has been to write a practical handbook which will be useful at all stages of the research process, rather than a comprehensive introduction to biomedical and health care research. The authors currently work at Ullevål University Hospital and Haukeland University Hospital. However, the aim of the book is to provide broader information on national, regional and local guidelines, regulations and procedures. There proved to be a considerable demand for the first two print editions in Norwegian (2003 and 2005) and an online version (www.ulleval.no/forskningshandboken) has been regularly updated since 2006. The third print edition issued in 2007 included two new chapters ("Commercialization and patentation" and "Research ethics, misconduct and fraud").

Since 2007 "The Research Handbook" has been published as a national research resource at the National Health Library ("Helsebiblioteket", www.helsebiblioteket.no). Local suggestions and advice from regional health authorities and research institutions may be added using a dedicated template (contact the National Health Library for further information). Each institution writes, edits and is responsible for local information, which is collated in a supplement accessible to all researchers. This system will hopefully lead to a productive synergy between research institutions and regional health authorities.