Headlines about medical research can be confusing. One week you’re reading that researchers say drinking at least one or two cups of coffee a day can prevent certain illnesses. The next week, you read that it’s dangerous. Who should you believe? The problem isn’t the research – it’s how studies are reported.
Studies are pages long and full of academic terminology, so many people only read the abstracts. These are the short descriptions at the top of the article. But the abstracts don’t tell the whole story because whoever wrote them chose only specific things to include.
For a deeper dive into the basics of research studies, we created a Medical Studies Guide to help you decide for yourself if the new reports are reliable or if they're click bait.
This guide covers:
- Study funding and research qualifications
- Study size
- Observational studies and clinical trials
- Findings and conclusions
- Key Takeaways
If you have any questions about this resource or would like additional information, please reach out to us at connect@sepsis.org. We are happy to help!