Frequently Asked Questions about Research
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
A brief note:
Over time, some questions seem to be asked over and over. It's not that they're bad or foolish questions. Quite the opposite. They're reasonable, and important. That's why so many people ask them.
While this site CAN NOT and WILL NOT provide medical advice or diagnosis, education is important. There are many sites which may provide more detailed answers and more numerous questions. A simple internet search can turn up many sites, particularly for specific syndromes.
All answers, definitions, and explanations provided on these pages are by the site administrator, James Mooney MD (doctor of medicine).
How can I find about what research has been done on <insert syndrome/ illness/ medication etc. here>?
Perhaps the best place to find research is PubMed or MedLine. You can find original research on all medical topics there. Unfortunately, it can often be difficult for a lay person ( and many researchers / physicians) to understand a particular research paper. It can also be difficult to get the full text of an article, rather than just an abstract. Your local library (or even better medical school / hospital library) may be able to help with this.
Two studies looking at the same thing have different results. What's going on? Who's right?
Unfortunately, there's no simple answer to that questions. And it's one that comes up all the time.
One of the most common reasons studies may seem to come up with different results is that they're actually looking at slightly different things. As an example, one study may look at a medication used for a few days for surgical pain, while another looks at the same medication for months or years in arthritis care.
Another reason is chance. All (good) studies use statistics, most commonly referring to something called a P value. the P value is basically the chance that the results looked at came up purely by chance. A P value less than 0.05 is considered statistically significant. Unfortunately, that 0.05 means there's a 5% (1 in 20) chance of the results being pure chance, meaningless. That is why you may hear people mention reproducing studies. If you repeat the study in exactly the same way and come up with similar results, then it's even less likely to be due to chance.
So, who's right? Maybe neither. Or both.
I've tried everything. Is there a research medication/ treatment/ procedure I can try?
Often there are research trials underway that people just don't hear about. One place to look is a nearby academic hospital. Even if they're not carrying out research on something, they may know who is.
Unfortunately, they may not. Because of this, efforts have been started to create registries of research. The menu bar at the left may help you find what you're looking for.
