It's possible that latent trigger points can become active or could it be that they are a stage of trigger points ie normal muscle > muscle tension and increased stiffness > latent trigger point > active trigger point.

if you are doing research it might be more clinically relevant to do it on active trigger points if you can find the participants because these are the ones that are symptomatic and more like to present to your clinic for treatment. latent trigger points should not be noticed by people normally. the prevalence of latent trigger points in a normal trigger point is pretty high (easier to find participants). if you palpate the upper trapezius, you'll probably find latent points in many. how much latent trigger points contribute to overall pain presentation of a patient is not really that clear. they cause pain when palpated, otherwise they are painless. however if there are microchanges in the muscle fibres, it may predispose the muscle to further damage or cause compensation at surrounding muscles.

what are you planning to research exactly or are u just looking for ideas? as far as treatment research is concerned, there is more literature on latent trigger points than active.