Human factors engineering (HFE) is an increasingly crucial factor in the nuclear industry, as human errors could cause accidents or undesirable events. In order to reduce human errors in the nuclear power plants (NPPs), HFE programs should be conducted during the design and operation of the NPPs. The HFE is regarded as an important factor also in research reactors, as the state of the research reactor changes more frequently than the NPPs and the operator has an easy access to the reactor core and experimental facilities. However, there may be problems when conducting the HFE program for research reactors and NPPs in the same manner, since the characteristics of research reactors such as the power level, operation modes, operating organizations, etc. are different with NPPs. This study provides potential issues that should be taken into account when conducting HFE program for research reactor design based on the NUREG-0711, an HFE program review model for NPPs. A model of concept of operations is utilized to identify the characteristics of the research reactor that affects human performances.