The Light Right research program has three study tracks: laboratory, field and demographic.

Each of these tracks contributes unique and valuable information to the larger puzzle of understanding lighting and productivity.

• The laboratory study is very tightly controlled and can provide causal proof of the effects of lighting on workers and the mechanisms involved.
  
  
• The field study is designed to test if lighting has an impact on workers in a real world setting in the context of permanent employment.
  
  
• The demographic study would be a statistical analysis to gather epidemiological data on the impact of different kinds of lighting on a large number of employees.

The research project in Albany, NY, was a study in the laboratory track. The Albany research project utilized a field simulation approach. This means that research was conducted in an actual office setting, rather than a laboratory, but utilized simulated tasks and a degree of experimental control which typify laboratory-type studies. This methodology was selected to enhance the realism of the study and, ultimately, to increase the external validity of the work.

Light Right Consortium is planning a field study for 2005– 2007 to investigate the impacts of lighting in the context of permanent employee situations.

Each project in the overall research plan will relate to the others, allowing the results to be used in the benefits analysis tool. The research uses a linked mechanism approach, which was approved by the Light Right Board of Directors during Phase One, to increase the overall efficiency of the research process and to enhance confidence in the results (Wyon, 1996.)