One drop at a time: research to advance the science of simulation.

David A. Cook, MD, MHPE The article by Weinger1 in this issue describes a useful framework for thinking about research in simulation. It emphasizes the need for purposeful and programmatic accumulation of information to guide our use of simulation. The analogy with a drug is apt, albeit inexact, given the variations in dose (instructional design and intensity), dosing (repetition), disease (learning objectives), and drug-host, drugdrug, and drug-environment interactions (learner, other learning, and larger context), we encounter in the development of simulation activities. However, although this framework outlines information required to advance our understanding of how to use simulation, it does not spell out the research designs that will be required to accomplish this lofty but laudable objective. In this editorial, I will discuss the types of research needed to accrue the information Weinger requests.