ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the steps involved in developing and implementing a complex research project in an international setting. It explains the nature of the problems encountered in this project and how they were reckoned with. The chapter explores the cultural issues that impacted on project operations. It offers suggestions and insights for other researchers contemplating work in the international sector. When the budget was developed in 1991 for the five-year research project, it was done in Rio de Janeiro, with the help of Brazilian researchers and administrators. Most institutions in the United States participating in research with human subjects have been granted a "Multiple Project Assurance" from Office for Protection from Research Risks. In this human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome research endeavour, the coprincipal investigator based in the United States had significant fluency in Brazilian Portuguese. Researchers must also anticipate that in addition to language differences, cultural differences will increase training time and effort.
