# E-DRUG: How to read a paper

**URL:** <https://talk.edrugplus.org/t/e-drug-how-to-read-a-paper/1108>\
**Category:** e-drug\
**Created:** [July 27, 1997, 1:37pm UTC](https://talk.edrugplus.org/t/e-drug-how-to-read-a-paper/1108 "1997-07-27T13:37:52Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![syed.rizwanuddin.ahm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@syed.rizwanuddin.ahm](https://talk.edrugplus.org/u/syed.rizwanuddin.ahm)\
**Post date:** [July 27, 1997, 1:37pm UTC](https://talk.edrugplus.org/t/e-drug-how-to-read-a-paper/1108/1 "1997-07-27T13:37:52Z")

</div>

E-DRUG: How to read a paper  
---------------------------

Dear e-druggers,

Recently, the British Medical Journal (BMJ) started a series of  
articles introducing non-experts to finding medical articles and  
assessing their value. The first in the series was published in  
BMJ's issue dated July 19, 1997. I am reproducing below the  
summary. The full article can be accessed by those with online  
internet access (URL: [http://www.bmj.com](http://www.bmj.com)). I think this series  
of articles will be useful for E-drug subscribers and I intend  
to post the summary of each article, if the group shows  
sufficient interest.  
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;  
Please let us know what you think. Thanks.

Syed Rizwanuddin Ahmad  
Email: srahmad@essential.org

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;----------------------------------------------------------------  
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;  
BMJ No 7101 Volume 315  
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;  
Education and debate Saturday 19 June 1997  
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;  
How to read a paper  
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;  
The Medline database  
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;  
Trisha Greenhalgh  
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;  
In 1928,in his introduction to Sceptical Essays, Bertrand Russell wrote: "The extent to which beliefs are  
based on evidence is very  
much less than believers suppose." Medical beliefs, and the clinical  
practices that are based on them, are a case in point. Debate  
continues as to whether scientific evidence alone is sufficient to  
guide medical decision making, but few doctors would dispute that finding and understanding relevant  
research based evidence is  
increasingly necessary in clinical practice. This article is the  
first in a series that introduces the non-expert to searching the medical literature and assessing the  
value of medical articles.  
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;  
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Summary points  
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;  
Not all medical articles are indexed on Medline, and many that  
are have been misclassified  
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;  
Searching by textword can supplement a search by MeSH headings  
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;  
To increase the sensitivity of a search, use the "explode"  
command and avoid using subheadings  
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;  
Scan titles on screen rather than relying on the software to  
find the most valid or relevant ones  
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;  
--  
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