Slides from my June 24, 2014 presentation on appraising evidence in undergraduate medicine and biomedical sciences. This presentation also featured a quick and dirty summation of why clarity on primary/secondary sources are critical in the humanities.

1. APPRAISING
EVIDENCE
E R I N M E N Z I E S
2 4 J U N E 2 0 1 4

2. EVIDENCE. WHAT IS IT?
A - Using Google to find answers
B - Making decisions based on what has worked in
the past
C - Using current research to support decision making
D - I have no idea

3. In Healthcare:
Evidence-based health care is the “intentional use of current
best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual
patients or the delivery of health services.” (Cochrane)
In General Practice:
Evidence-based practice is the “intentional use of current
best” information, full stop. (me, riffing on Cochrane)

4. FINDING GREAT PROOF

5. APPRAISING EVIDENCE IN BIOMEDICAL/PHYSICAL SCIENCES

6. APPRAISING EVIDENCE IN THE HUMANITIES
Know what’s what: primary vs secondary sources
- Primary sources are original materials/physical objects from the era of study.
ex. Diaries, memoirs, letters, etc.
- Secondary sources are materials that ANALYZE primary sources
ex. Journal articles, books about the Vietnam War

7. DON’T USE WIKIPEDIA - DON’T USE WIKIPEDIA - DON’T USE WIKIPEDIA*
*If you have no idea what the student is asking (ex. “How common is peripheral neuropathy after stroke?”), sometimes
using Wikipedia to get a basic idea of what the ‘thing’ is can help you. But it’s NOT evidence.