There are two stories here. One is, how do you—I'm guessing you're not a scientist—tell which studies are worth a damn. In this case, yes, reading the study is

There are two stories here. One is, how do you—I'm guessing you're not a scientist—tell which studies are worth a damn. In this case, yes, reading the study is the best thing to do. The second is, how do scientists know which studies are good? This is a harder job than for you¸ because you're only ever made aware of papers that made it through the publication gauntlet. (No, they won't publish "anything" these days, not in a journal that gets any coverage.) For scientists, the task is harder, so prediction markets might be the tool they need.