Frequently Asked Questions About Harvard Science

• Finding content in HarvardScience
• Contacting people mentioned in articles
• Obtaining permission to use HarvardScience text and photos
• Medical advice
• Participating in Harvard studies
• Learning more about Harvard research

Finding content in HarvardScience

1. How do articles get into HarvardScience?
   The articles in HarvardScience are drawn from Web sites across Harvard maintained by the communications offices of the University's faculties and research centers. If you would like to suggest a topic for inclusion in HarvardScience, contact the communications office for the appropriate faculty, department or center.
2. How can I find information about a particular topic, researcher, or research program?
   You can browse the topic, program, and people listings. Links to these are located on nearly every page of the site. Our articles are manually indexed, which means that someone has read them and decided on keywords and main themes for the article. You can easily locate these keywords and themes in the "related links" box on every story page. You can also use the search function by typing a word or phrase into the search box, also located on nearly every page of the site. Some keywords and themes are added to the items as metadata, which gives the search engine additional and more precise text about the article.
3. Who decides on the topics in the index?
   The HarvardScience staff compiles the index based on the articles in HarvardScience. Since the collection of articles will change, so will the index. If you do not find the topic you seek, try using a synonym, a broader word, a more specific word, or a related term.

Finding and Contacting People

1. How do I contact someone mentioned in an article?
   If you would like to contact someone mentioned in an article, please use the contact information provided for his/her research program. In many cases, the contact information is for a public affairs or news office. The HarvardScience staff will not forward e-mails or telephone messages to people outside of our staff.
2. How can I contact someone for an interview for a news story?
   You should contact the communications office of the school where the researcher works. The press officers will be able to locate the researcher and help you schedule the interview. The list of communications offices is located on the Harvard News Office site. If you have problems, you can contact the Harvard News Office at (617)495-1585 or through their Web site.

Reprints and images

1. How can I get permission to reprint an article I saw in HarvardScience?
   Please contact the HarvardScience staff to secure permissions before reprinting any of the articles you read on the HarvardScience web site. If you are referring to an article you linked to through HarvardScience, you should contact the news or publications office associated with that publication. You can usually find links to the appropriate office's web page from that research article or by going through the News Office's contact page.
2. How can I get permission to use an image I saw in HarvardScience?
   The HarvardScience staff cannot grant you permission to use any of the images on the Web site because we do not own any of the images: we sought permission from their sources and creators for use on our Web site. Please contact the news and public affairs offices or the publication office for the particular article for questions about the image(s).
   Harvard Photographic Services granted us permission to use some of their images. You can contact them through their Web site.

Advice

1. Can your staff provide medical advice?
   The HarvardScience staff does not have any medical training. We will not and cannot provide medical advice. We recommend that you seek treatment and advice from medical professionals.
2. Can your staff provide research advice?
   The HarvardScience staff does not conduct the research discussed in this site. We cannot address questions about research projects or experiments. Please direct your questions to someone in a related field or contact someone associated with a particular article.

Participating in the research

1. How can I study with a researcher I read about here?
   Each school at Harvard University has its own admissions policies and procedures. Since HarvardScience is not affiliated with any admissions office on campus, we cannot provide information about becoming a student to you. You should contact the appropriate admissions office on campus. Admissions information can be found on the admissions portal.
2. How can I work on a research project discussed in HarvardScience?
   The HarvardScience staff does not have any information about how to work on particular research projects. We recommend that you visit the job listings on the Human Resources site for information about employment at Harvard University or contact a particular research project directly for information from them. You can find contact information for various research groups in our site's research program listings.
3. How can I become a participant in a study or trial going on at Harvard?
   HarvardScience does not have any information about becoming a participant in a study or trial happening at Harvard. The Harvard Gazette, the faculty and staff newspaper, lists some studies in their Calendar. Some hospitals affiliated with Harvard Medical School list their studies on their Web sites. A list of links to these institutions' Web sites is available through the HMS web site. You should contact the particular research program or project for more information about becoming a participant in a study. You can find contact information for various research groups in our site's research program listings.

Learning more about the research

1. Where can I get a copy of a publication or study discussed in one of the articles?
   Research results are usually published in scholarly journals. Your local librarian could help you find a study and get a copy of it. The HarvardScience staff does not have access to the particular studies and thus cannot provide them.
2. Where can I learn more about research mentioned here?
   The HarvardScience staff has tried to include links to the Web sites of research programs and projects and contact information for them. Through these additional resources, you can find more information. Research results are usually published in scholarly journals. Your local librarian could help you find a study and get a copy of it. The HarvardScience staff does not have access to the particular studies and thus cannot provide them.