5 ms·
They should list placebo ingredients after the trial is done so it's possible to duplicate the trial and get the same results, right? If you don't provide enou
by xenophanes 14y ago
They should list placebo ingredients after the trial is done so it's possible to duplicate the trial and get the same results, right?
If you don't provide enough information in your paper to repeat the experiment (and get the same results!!), then it's not good science. Good scientific studies need to be repeatable and need to provide enough information to do it.
And even if people don't want to repeat the full experiment, being able to review the details of how it was done will help them spot mistakes. You can't have things like "peer review" without saying what you did.
So this is a serious problem, even if the rest is breathless hype.
- refurb 14y agoIf your argument is that journal article should include more details so that they are reproducible, that's fine but there is no need to pick on the ones published on clinical trials. I would say it's a rare paper that is so exhaustive in detail that you can easily reproduce the results. Many times I've had to contact original authors to get more details. You'd be amazed at what gets left out.
- xenophanes 14y agoThen it's a rare paper that is good science. This would not really shock me but it doesn't make it any better.
- ahoyhere 14y agoEven above duplication, it's important to document what's in the placebos because these clinical trials are used by the FDA to approve the drug for consumer use… or not.