CCRC study guide
CCRC · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Certified Clinical Research Coordinator (CCRC®) credential is offered through the Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP), a non-profit founded in 1976 whose stated mission is to promote excellence in clinical research. ACRP describes its certification as the most widely recognized benchmark of excellence in clinical research competency, and reports a member community of more than 22,000 clinical research professionals across the globe. The CCRC® is aimed at coordinators and site-level research staff who manage day-to-day study conduct - participant recruitment and consent, protocol adherence, source documentation, investigational product accountability, regulatory binders, and IRB communication - and at those seeking recognition, advancement, or expanded responsibility. The exam is built from a Job Task Analysis (JTA). ACRP states that its Global CCRC® Exam Committee uses psychometrically sound practices to develop examinations that meet current test specifications as determined by the most recent JTA, and that committee members supply content expertise for ongoing exam development. Items are written to the Exam Content Outline (ECO), so the ECO is the best map of what is tested. Topics on this exam: Clinical research coordinator knowledge, skills, and tasks as defined by the most recent Job Task Analysis (JTA) and Exam Content Outline (ECO). The CCRC study guide has 1 section and about 2,246 words.
01Study Management
The Study Management domain tests whether you can operationalize a protocol from site selection through close-out. The CRC is the operational hub: translating feasibility commitments into workflows, maintaining essential documents, coordinating monitoring visits, and ensuring every study task is delegated, trained, and documented. The protocol is the operating manual. Eligibility, visit windows, assessments, investigational product (IP) handling, and safety reporting follow it.
2,246 words, about 11 minMore study resources for CCRC
- Practice questionsA sponsor asks the site coordinator to enroll a participant before the institutional review board has approved the current protocol version.
- FlashcardsForm FDA 1572. Statement of investigator for IND studies listing investigator, subinvestigators, facility, and IRB; must be updated before newly added staff perform study tasks.
- Cheat sheetFeasibility assessment evaluates protocol complexity against site resources: competing trials, eligible patient volume, staff certifications, equipment, and pharmacy capability.
- Key termsInformed consent. The ongoing process by which a prospective participant voluntarily agrees to take part in research after receiving information about purpose, procedures, risks, benefits, and alternatives, documented by a signed and dated consent form before any study-specific procedures begin.
- Study planMap the full CCRC exam content outline into a one-page checklist, listing every task statement under the single JTA domain and marking each as known, shaky, or unknown.
- Common mistakesCandidates memorize the signature page and the 21 CFR 50 elements but study consent as documentation rather than an ongoing process; the JTA's ethical and participant-safety tasks emphasize continuing consent, yet prep materials often reduce it to a checklist.
- Exam-day guideBring the original, unexpired ID with a signature and photo (typically a passport or driver's license).