See http://nccam.nih.gov/news/newsletter/2010_may/
This is the newsletter of the National Institutes of Health's National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NIH's - NCCAM)
The NCAM was funded by the government to research what value, if any, is provided by complementary or alternative medicine. The nccam.nih.gov website publishes results of many studies, or studies of studies.
This issue covers a number of topics addressing nutritional supplements commonly marketed to the public in consumer products. Ginko, pro-biotics, anti-oxidants, cranberry, chamomile. The newsletter presents findings; everything from
I'm interested in comments about this newsletter, as well as the NCCAM itself.
"Issues in Dog Training/Critical Thinking" students may enjoy scrutinizing this newsletter.
As you read, keep these questions in mind:
- What's the Claim? (What does the study hope to test?)
- What's the Evidence? (How does the study go about testing the claim?)
- What else can you conclude? (Does the study support the claim? Are there possible biases/confounds/fallacies in the material presented?)
As you look:
- How big are the samples?
- Are there controls (placebo groups, etc).
- Are there long-term studies of a sample of individuals?
- Are there any weasel words?
- Who funds or provides the means to do the studies?
- Are the intentions of the NIH/NCCAM clearly defined?
- Who provides the materials/products for evaluation?
- Are conclusions based on original research, or literature review?
- How certain are the researcher's statements about the findings?
- Does the newsletter make it easy to locate references/abstracts?
- Do the researchers accept or contest the results of their research?
- How does the tone/approach to the articles in the newsletter compare to educational/marketing materials found on NCCAM websites?
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