Taubes

[Guest guest]

I've been thinking about this guy coming to talk to you, Jean. He's a JOURNALIST, right? Is he a scientist? He might have done 5 years of research, but he's still coming from a journalist's perspective. I am preparing for a lecture I am giving, and I am reviewing a 1997 series from the BMJ on how to read medical journal articles, (though old, this information doesn't change. The entire series of 10 articles is summarized here: http://www.valpo.edu/library/user/read-medpaper.html) Regarding papers that summarize other papers, which is essentially what Taubes is doing, here is what the article says: A systematic review is an overview of primary studies which contains an explicit statement of objectives, materials, and methods, and has been conducted according to explicit and reproducible methodology. This contrasts with the methodology of a journalistic review, which is an overview of primary studies that have not been identified or analyzed in a systematic (standardized and objective) way. Meta-analyses offer synthesized, numerical data and present relevant information on the inclusion criteria, sample size, baseline patient characteristics, withdrawal rate, and results of

primary and secondary end points of all the studies included. Article URL: http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/315/7109/672 I'm sure that what Taubes has to say is interesting ... which is why he sells books and why he makes lots more money than me.

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