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Many emergency medicine clinicians engaged in research may not be aware of some fundamental principles of conducting and disseminating medical research. Ignorance of these fundamentals can lead to investigator frustration, disorganized researcher efforts, and ultimately a reduction in the emergency care researcher pool. Conversely, an increasingly large pool of trained investigators has focused their efforts toward emergency care research. Giving these investigators an overview of the unique challenges and opportunities in emergency care research could be valuable, if not critical, to their success in investigations. The field of emergency medicine now has experienced and funded emergency care researchers who can highlight key points to finding mentors, obtaining extramural funding, designing research proposals, initiating research, and disseminating research results. Some of this information has been presented in lectures, discussed at national meetings, printed piecemeal in review articles, and published in lengthy books. However, a pithy, consolidated, and accessible guide focused on the junior, novice, or evolving emergency care investigator has not been available. The American College of Emergency Physicians’ (ACEP) Emergency Medicine Research Section and Research Committee recognized the need for a short manual to kindle and motivate trainees and novice investigators and to offer an introduction to emergency care research with a hands-on guide to initiating, completing, and disseminating research. The chapters in this manual address what constitutes emergency care research, how to identify a research topic and find a mentor, how to address key issues in emergency care research, training in research, the basics of grant writing, the presentation of research results, getting published, the top commandments of emergency care research, and how to start a research career. We hope that this primer serves as a resource for everyone engaged in emergency medicine to both motivate and encourage investigators to pursue emergency care research.