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[deleted] t1_iuf2ntz wrote

[removed]

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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.

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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.

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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.

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dizzydes OP t1_iuf2oqh wrote

Once on the research paper, scoot down to the last section (usually called Conclusion) for a fast insight.

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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!

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TheGodOfTheGods t1_iuf8jmn wrote

Or just use google scholar and decipher through them yourself

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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

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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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_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.

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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).

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Cappylovesmittens t1_iufjtol wrote

Pubmed is all peer reviewed, sourced research isn’t it?

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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.

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keepthetips t1_iueyei3 wrote

Hello and welcome to r/LifeProTips!

Please help us decide if this post is a good fit for the subreddit by up or downvoting this comment.

If you think that this is great advice to improve your life, please upvote. If you think this doesn't help you in any way, please downvote. If you don't care, leave it for the others to decide.

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huh_phd t1_iugevxw wrote

Correct. Pubmed hosted by NCBI has the real deal of scientific information. Might not all be free though

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NerdyDadLife t1_iuhnvg5 wrote

Why not google scholar? Then you get access to all the sources NOT published in pubmed

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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.

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Aetheldrake t1_iugk98q wrote

Or just don't ask Google. Ask professionals

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skymoods t1_iuf7d8l wrote

adding 'scholarly article' will give more options, it's never good to base comclusions from 1 source

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TapirOfZelph t1_iuf7rbi wrote

A repository of sources is not one source

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skymoods t1_iufcbol wrote

i'm concerned about influence by sponsors

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throwawayotology t1_iufcjie wrote

PubMed is just an indexing service! Individual papers will disclose any conflicts of interest/where they got funding from.

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