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Study: Academic researchers exaggerate study results

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Is that recent study announced by an academic medical center a groundbreaking piece of research, or just a routine effort that isn't going to change the world very much? Often, such studies aren't nearly as important as the press releases announcing them make them sound, according to a new study appearing in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

The study in Annals looks at press releases that academic medical centers send out about their research, looking at factors such as whether the releases offered data on the studies' size, whether they provided hard results and whether they offered cautions about the results.

The researchers behind the study looked at releases from EurekAlert issued by 20 academic medical centers and their affiliates in 2005. They concluded that of 200 releases, 29 percent exaggerated their findings.

To learn more about the study:
- read this Wall Street Journal blog

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A recent study determined that studies tend to exagerate results. Hmmmm. Are they serious? Do liars lie about lying?

Perhaps there is the likeliness of lack for understanding the antithesis stages.
1. the prediction is not a fact until the hypotheses proves it.
2. always measure your response for quantity and quality.
3. understand what he or she is seeking;while working to stay away from discriminationatory results.
4. decide what type of sample is going to be employed. The correct usage for measurement.nominal or ordinal;continous, discrete.standard deviations
5. understanding to install control levers in the study. (set the environment for saftey, but understand the applications and tools for the specified setting.)
Most importantly, the decision of how you intend to gain the populations response.

I hope some of these ideas continue the works of research in learning hospitals. Now that it appears that unprepared measures are undesirable.

Lastly, confidentiality is a must. Always protect your populations identity and rights, before, after and during all studies.

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