What are some rules or guidelines for writing academic essays and research papers?

Reporting guidelines help and guide authors in the preparation and accurate reporting of research studies, e.g., CONSORT for randomized trials, STROBE for observational studies, PRISMA for systematic reviews, STARD for diagnostic accuracy studies, and CARE for case reports. Editors of biomedical journals will often ask authors to provide evidence that they used and adhered to the […]

Medical data cleansing and checking: Save time by planning ahead

I’ve spent quite a bit of time recently analysing clinical datasets for a couple of projects. This has reminded me of the mistakes I have made in the past, and the lessons I have learned to make life SO much easier. I thought I’d share a few thoughts! Planning ahead and following some simple rules […]

Lifestyle changes and health. One size does not fit all

Continuing the theme of lifestyle influences on health and misinformation, I saw a patient in clinic last week who had taken the advice to join a gym and exercised regularly for 30 minutes 3-4 times a week. They were bitterly disappointed that they had not lost weight. In a similar vein, I was teaching medical […]

Lies, damned lies, and statistics revisited

I posted previously on reporting of scientific studies by the popular press. Diet related topics seem to be particularly prone to problems, I guess because they are particularly newsworthy. Diabetes also makes a good headline? A story from 2012 comes to mind, as a number of patients asked me about it. This study was published in the BMJ in […]

The Chocolate Question: Lies, damned lies, and statistics

I read with interest reports of a recent ‘study’ by a scientist and journalist who managed to get a flawed piece of research published in a (non-refereed) scientific journal from where it was taken up by the popular press (http://io9.com/i-fooled-millions-into-thinking-chocolate-helps-weight-1707251800). The ‘research’ claimed to demonstrate that chocolate was a beneficial addition to weight reducing diets. […]