Have you ever found an interesting article online and wondered if the source is reliable?
One of your challenges may be to tell a reliable source apart from a biased one.
We want to share with you a few tips from our Executive VP of Science & Regulatory Affairs, Jocelyn Berube:
“My first tip is to avoid any information you find randomly on the web, on social media or in magazines that may be sponsored,” says Jocelyn.
“My favourite way of finding reliable information is to search specific keyword combinations on peer-reviewed medical journal databases, such as PubMed.
Once familiar with the tool, feel free to use any combination of words to best describe your area of interest.
For example, rather than searching for ‘collagen’ (yielding 240,000 articles), try searching for a combination like ‘collagen AND supplement AND skin AND (wrinkle OR hydration OR elasticity OR aging).’
This new research yields 144 articles (48 as free full text) and brings you much closer to your desired area of interest!”
Here are a few more tips to refine your search:
LOOK FOR PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLES
By ensuring the scientific merit and accuracy of published articles, the peer-review process is the critical boundary that delimits credible evidence from “advertising in disguise.”
READ THE FULL ARTICLE
While titles and abstracts may give you a broad outline of the scope and results of research, make sure to read the full article to have the authors’ complete view on the matter.
SEARCH FOR “FREE FULL TEXT”
A growing number of journals give full access to their content. You can easily refine your search by ticking the box “Free full text” on the left, which will select these articles for you.
Reading (and making sense of) scientific articles should not be considered rocket science!
Feel free to connect with Jocelyn if you have any questions about this subject.