Be mindful of the information source

“Peer reviewed!”

Publication of research in peer-reviewed scientific journals is not necessarily a guarantee of study design quality.

The source in which a study is published is not a guarantee of its trustworthiness.

Reliable, robust studies containing fair comparisons and reasonable objectivity have been published in both highly respected journals and in those that are less well known. On the other hand, studies with less robust methodologies may still get published in well-respected journals. It is up to you to assess the content of these studies before deciding if they are of high enough quality to use in decision-making.

BEWARE of relying on source reputation as a factor in assessing a study’s trustworthiness.

REMEMBER: Just because a study is peer-reviewed and published, you cannot be sure of fair comparisons.