Author Topic: Separating good research from bad  (Read 57 times)

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Offline agate

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Separating good research from bad
« on: October 08, 2016, 04:28:20 pm »
From an article in Neurology Now entitled "Self-diagnose successfully" by Richard Laliberte (October-November 2016):

Quote
SEPARATE GOOD RESEARCH FROM BAD

Confirming a diagnosis requires insight about the problem beyond a hunch or hearsay [from] the Internet, especially when the cause isn't clear. ...Some medical sources are more credible than others. Journals should have a peer-review process in which independent experts validate that a study's findings are legitimate," says Dr. Grohol [John Grohol, PsyD, treasurer at the Society for Participatory Medicine, a nonprofit entity that promotes collaboration between patients and health care providers]. Name recognition helps. “Doctors will probably accept evidence from a known journal more than one they've never heard of,” he says.

Not sure how influential a journal is? Check the publication's website for what's called its impact factor. “That's a measure of how many other researchers are citing it as part of their own research because it's important,” Dr. Grohol says. “You're looking for an impact factor greater than 1 or 2.” For example, The New England Journal of Medicine, a renowned publication covering a variety of subjects, rates 55.9. Neurology, the leading scientific journal in the field of neurology, rates 8.166. “But probably half of the tens of thousands of journals out there rate lower than 1,” says Dr. Grohol. Find leads on more credible sources or experts by looking at medical or scientific advisory boards of organizations that focus on certain conditions. Search for experts giving keynote addresses at professional, medical, and scientific conferences. Or look at general interest publications to see which experts are often quoted. ...
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SPMS, diagnosed 1980. Avonex 2001-2004. Copaxone 2007-2010. Glatopa (glatiramer acetate 40mg 3 times/week) since 12/16/20.

 

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