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[deleted] t1_iuf9tp3 wrote

[removed]

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dizzydes OP t1_iufnv8n wrote

Wow. I'll ignore the insult in the last line and deal with the meat of your argument.

The research on PubMed is interpreted and summarised and that interpretation is in the abstract and conclusion sections. There are also review reports in PubMed similar to the publication ones you mentioned.

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bradland t1_iugckl1 wrote

>The research on PubMed is interpreted and summarised and that interpretation is in the abstract and conclusion sections. There are also review reports in PubMed similar to the publication ones you mentioned.

Importantly, it’s summarized and interpreted by the authors of the study. Review reports are helpful, but only to those with the time, base knowledge required to understand the material, and professional experience to evaluate claims.

u/mynameonhere's point is well made that simply reading a few studies on pubmed is a great way to develop an incorrect understanding of a very complex topic. Some studies are garbage, and the author won’t say so in the abstract or conclusion.

You have to accept that you can’t learn everything by “doing your own research”. There’s a lot more to it than that.

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Digital_loop t1_iugqc5y wrote

Further to your point... Not all studies are very good and many are published despite being junk.

Take this one for example.

Randomized Controlled Trial

Greenselect Phytosome as an adjunct to a low-calorie diet for treatment of obesity: a clinical trial

I won't post the link because I don't want to risk breaking any rules, but google that title to have it pop at the top.

It's terrible. They had minimal participants with no verifiable data retrieved from it. Further, it has not been duplicated!

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SNRatio t1_iug4515 wrote

The term MNNOH was alluding to but didn't actually use is "review article", which typically are better sources unless you are looking for the most recent results.

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dslpharmer t1_iuhm5dd wrote

But conclusions aren’t always fair and balanced. The quality of the conclusion is partly based on the quality of the peer reviewers. Higher impact journals will have better reviewers that force researchers to write a more balanced conclusion. Also, the conclusion doesn’t give numbers. If the study is 50,000 people, there could be a “statistical significance” at a difference of 0.25%. So for every 400 people who get a new intervention, one more will benefit. But the conclusion might say “more people benefited from the intervention.”

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