Medical research plays a vital role in advancing healthcare, improving treatment, and informing public health policies. However, it can be difficult to understand a study or whether it is trustworthy.

Editor's note: All opinions, columns and letters reflect the views of the individual writer and not necessarily those of the IDS or its staffers. If you’ve ever approached a scientific research paper ...

The “one big breakthrough” pattern suggests that total citation counts can mislead. A researcher with one highly-cited paper ...

When it comes to reading academic research reports in the behavioral sciences, I'm no different than anyone else. I often find myself thinking "what is the point?" Reading academic papers is not ...

Have you ever come across a research paper that is so dense it becomes overwhelming to get information from it? At times, you might find yourself buried under a pile of textbooks and journal articles ...

Using an interview can be an effective primary source for some papers and research projects. Finding an expert in the field or some other person who has knowledge of your topic can allow for you to ...

Journals and preprint servers, overwhelmed by the influx of COVID-19-related submissions, are sidelining other types of medical research, to the detriment of scientists working on other topics. In ...

Forward Look 2026 – Playing by new rules? The ‘rules of the game’ are changing: from global power dynamics and economic fragilities to destabilising societal pressures, from conflict and hybrid ...