Submitted by dizzydes t3_yhp3os in LifeProTips
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Comments
TapirOfZelph t1_iuf7rbi wrote
A repository of sources is not one source
archbetrayer t1_iuf7w3j wrote
Always great to read the abstract if you can, as well, for a little context about the results! Sometimes it can help with understanding the conclusions, too!
TheGodOfTheGods t1_iuf8jmn wrote
Or just use google scholar and decipher through them yourself
skymoods t1_iufcbol wrote
i'm concerned about influence by sponsors
throwawayotology t1_iufcjie wrote
PubMed is just an indexing service! Individual papers will disclose any conflicts of interest/where they got funding from.
imrzzz t1_iufd5w2 wrote
Pubmed is just a dumping ground of research though. There's no guarantee that anything you find there is more credible than some guy's blog (and maybe less of a guarantee if the blogger knows what credible research looks like and has condensed it into an article for laypeople).
Ylaaly t1_iufhod1 wrote
It automatically shows you where you can get it for free, too!
And if it doesn't, try to find the lead researcher on researchgate. We're all super happy when someone is interested in our research and are happy to share. Might take a month or so though.
Cappylovesmittens t1_iufjtol wrote
Pubmed is all peer reviewed, sourced research isn’t it?
imrzzz t1_iufkqa5 wrote
Kinda, but Pubmed is just a Google for journals. And there's a depressing number of pay-to-publish journals that rubber-stamp their peer reviews. I've come across all kinds of quackery in some of those journals so there's no way I would say that being on Pubmed is any guarantee of reliability.
papinek t1_iufl3rc wrote
For that there is sci-hub. Basically academics giving their access for free behind the paywal, because they believe knowledge should be free.
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.
[deleted] t1_iuftd8l wrote
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Hygro t1_iufuckc wrote
Generally for someone like me who won't know enough to evaluate the quality of the papers, the abstracts are enough to give me a "better than the news" synopsis to work with.
Opening_Ad_6365 t1_iufvuqn wrote
site:edu is best. it works with site:org, site:net, etc. come on now, yall, community college stuff right here!
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.
_Pumpkin_Muffin t1_iug768s wrote
If you don't already know what Pubmed is, you don't have the knowledge necessary to understand and interpret medical papers.
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.
DunAbyssinian t1_iugjvwk wrote
or use google scholar
Aetheldrake t1_iugk98q wrote
Or just don't ask Google. Ask professionals
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!
[deleted] t1_iugtdir wrote
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8bitbebop4 t1_iuhfer5 wrote
Why not just go to the library? If youre in college you're paying for access to the academic databases anyway
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.”
NerdyDadLife t1_iuhnvg5 wrote
Why not google scholar? Then you get access to all the sources NOT published in pubmed
amasterblaster t1_iuhw67t wrote
People say I am a human encyclopedia of health. It is because I have been doing this, from everything to scrapes, to skin care, to supplements, for the last 20 years.
It really builds up.
edit: Even my GP told me he listens to my advice about health because he said "for some reason [I] just know more random details then [him]". That was wild for me.
bit_pusher t1_iuhyh2d wrote
Also, site:nih.gov
Dr_Cog_Science t1_iuihw20 wrote
Use Google Scholar.
alexwillreddit t1_iuil5cd wrote
This is what I was going to suggest. This keeps you open to all potential scholarly sources, and sifting through the results isn't that difficult at all.
TheGodOfTheGods t1_iuilbfm wrote
On top of it all, you can easily expedite the process by reading the abstract first and then skimming over the rest.
keepthetips t1_iueyei3 wrote
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