Research Tips
Find what is meaningful for you.
Staying informed about treatments and therapies that have been scientifically studied can empower you to share in decision making with your care providers and loved ones. Over the years, we have collected over 7,000 research abstracts on a variety of cancer topics and complementary therapies that support cancer care. The Search Database link will take you to the abstract of a specific study, and not the entire article of the publication of interest.
What’s the difference between an article and an abstract?
A research article is the full text of the publication of the results of a scientific study by the researcher(s). An abstract is a brief summary of the research findings. Most times the abstract is all you need to get the gist of the article.
A note about the interpretation of research study findings: a recent report indicated that one single research study making a big splash in news media should be taken with a grain of salt. The bottom line is that even though there may be research evidence, it is apparent that health science communication can provide conflicting information. It is a good idea to look for the overall message and themes in multiple research publications on your particular research topic.
Search tips: The Do’s & Don’ts
When researching your topic of interest, try to find peer-reviewed research. This means that the research has been vetted by scientific experts in that field of interest. Research findings have greater significance if the study involved large numbers of participants, but there is no golden number here. Duration of the study and some indication of statistical significance are important parameters to judge a study by.
Don’t rely on just one study! Make sure that the message comes through consistently in more than one study. Also bear in mind that many studies report associations, or lack thereof, between an intervention/diet/dietary component and the risk of a particular condition, but association does not necessarily indicate causation.