the circle of life

Worksheet 2 - The Circle of Life.docx
Worksheet 3 - Mindmap.docx

Step 1: Choose a Medicine to Investigate

Step 2: Conduct some background research

First, use our database to find out about who owns the medicine, what names it is traded under, and when it was first approved.

Second, use the links below to read some background information on your medicine.

A. Click here to conduct background research using our database

  • Which company currently holds the rights to the medicine? (See: Applicant Holder)

  • What are the trade name(s) of the medicine?

  • When was the medicine first approved?

B. Use the links below to learn a bit more about your medicine

Step 3: Determine Your Questions for Investigation

In this investigation, we are looking for any information that could help us understand how the accessibility of the medicine has changed over time.


We like to organise the changes in the accessibility of medicines into ‘life events’. Take some time to look through the information below about some of the types of life events that can change the accessibility of medicines over time.


Some medicine life events to look out for include:

Discovery - when was the medicine discovered, where, who by? How was it discovered? Who funded the research?

Development - has the medicine been altered over time? Why? How has it changed?

Registration - A medicine needs to be registered with the country’s therapeutic goods administrative body in order to be sold in a country. Is the medicine registered in all countries? When was it registered? Why?

Funding schemes - Governments provide funding schemes to make medicines cheaper for a population. Is the medicine funded in certain countries? When was it funded? Why?

Prescription - have there been any changes in what the medicine has been used for over its lifetime? This is sometimes called ‘indication’ or ‘contraindication’.

New scientific information - new studies, new diagnostic techniques and metastudies (a compilation of a huge range of previous studies) can all give us new insights into how well medicines work to treat conditions. Has any new information been published since the medicine was registered for sale? How has that changed its accessibility?

Medicine controversies - social issues, presence on social media, side effects, unexplained price changes


Sometimes, changes within the company that owns or produces the medicine can explain changes to its accessibility. Look out for information regarding:

Merger - when two companies join together to become one larger company. Which companies merged? Why did they merge? What was the company’s name after the merger?

Divestment - when a company sells a section of their business to another company. Which company was the business sold to and why?

Acquisition - when one company buys another company. Which company was acquired? Who were they acquired by? Why? What was the cost? Did any company name changes occur?

Name change - sometimes a company will just change its name. What did they change their name to? Why?

Company controversies - social issues, involvement in scandals

Other - Keep an eye out for any other interesting life events


Example questions:

  • Has the company that currently owns the medicine had associations with other companies over time? Has that led to any price or approval changes for the medicine in a certain country/different countries?

  • Has the medicine ever been own by a different company? Has that changed the price or approval of the medicine?

  • Have the contraindications for the medicine changed over time? Has that led to it being more or less accessible to patients?


Write down 5-10 questions your group could investigate.

Then, circle your top five questions. Allocate one question to each group member.

Step 4: Define Search Terms

Write a list of words or phrases you could use to find the information you’re looking. Include at least two synonyms for key words.

Click here to find out how you can use Boolean operators to improve your search

STEP 5: Conduct your search using a search engine

Which search engine are you going to use? Why?

Step 6: Choose a resource

Assess each result to determine if it is a reliable and reputable source of information. Consider the following:

  • Read the preview

  • Look at the URL

  • When was it published?

  • Does the author or organisation have affilitations that are trustworthy?

  • Is there are purpose, intention, or bias evident?


Don't be afraid to look through a few sites! Try using Ctrl + F to find what you're looking for.

Step 7: Evaluate the Resource

Once you've chosen a source, consider the following:


  • Relevance - How well does the source address your topic of interest?

  • Bias - Is there evidence of a prejudiced or partial viewpoint which may influence the presentation of information? Why or why not?

  • Credibility - What evidence can you see that the source is credible? E.g. relevant author qualifications, peer-reviewed, bibliography

  • Presentation - Is the language understandable? Are key terms defined? Are visual depictions of information used?

Step 8: Identify relevant information

Identify the types of information you can gather from the source you've found. This will help you determine which aspects of your question you need to find more information on. It can also help with summarising the information and writing it into your own words later.

Step 9: Paraphrase the information in your own words

If you'd like to practice, click here to skim an article about COVID Vaccines. Then jump over to our menti here and have a go at putting the key info into one small paragraph.

Once you've had a go, you can see how other groups have summarised the information here.

Step 10: Add a bubble to your mindmap

Click here to download Worksheet 3

The purpose of this step is to help you place the new information into the context of what you already know, and what your group is finding out too.

step 11: submit your findings