Understanding Medical Research Summary It seems to happen almost every day – you hear about the results of a new medical research study. Sometimes the results of one study seem to disagree with the results of another study. It’s important to be critical when reading or listening to reports of new medical findings. Some questions that can help you evaluate health information include: Was the study in animals or people? Does the study include people like you? How big was the study? Was it a randomized controlled clinical trial? Where was the research done? If a new treatment was being tested, were there side effects? Who paid for the research? Who is reporting the results? NIH: National Institutes of Health Start Here Clinical Research and Clinical Trials National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Frequently Asked Questions about Clinical Research National Human Genome Research Institute Increasing Knowledge — How to Read a Research Paper Lewy Body Dementia Association Understanding Risk: What Do Those Headlines Really Mean? National Institutes of Health Teenagers Figuring Out Health News Nemours Foundation Reference Desk Findings National Institute of General Medical Sciences Glossary of Clinical Trials Terms National Institutes of Health Some Common Abbreviations National Library of Medicine Word Parts and What They Mean National Library of Medicine Statistics and Research Model Organisms Fact Sheet: Using Model Organisms to Study Health and Disease National Institute of General Medical Sciences Related Issues Nanomedicine National Human Genome Research Institute Placebo Effect American Academy of Neurology Find an Expert National Human Genome Research Institute National Human Genome Research Institute National Library of Medicine National Library of Medicine NIH MedlinePlus Magazine Research Results in the News: A Users Guide Videos and Tutorials Understanding Medical Words: A Tutorial from the National Library of Medicine National Library of Medicine
