Meta search engines explore the search engines, taking advantage of the multiple search strategies utilized by various services. Searches now can be conducted with Medline, the National Library of Medicine's computerized bibliography. Medline permits access to thousands of medical journals, article citations and abstracts published since 1966, making Medline an invaluable resource for anyone researching medical reports and findings. As with any good library search, narrowing a search by interactively adding relevant terms and then reviewing the articles and abstracts produced will garner more focused lists of potentially useful sources of information. Evaluating Information Gathered on the Internet Unfortunately, misinformation and poor research exist alongside expert interpretation and excellent research reports on the internet.
Poor research can lead clinicians and families to make inappropriate treatment decisions.
Understanding the principles of good research methods permits the internet researcher to distinguish more helpful from less helpful research. A clinician's success with a new procedure or drug on one individual or even several individuals may suggest new directions for research, but it is rarely enough to justify a change in medical practice. A practitioner trying a new treatment may inadvertently misread measurements, remember successes and overlook failures or unconsciously influence the individuals they are treating into feeling better. Some individuals will get well on their own, no matter what the treatment given. Research studies are intended to minimize potential biases of investigators, calculate the likelihood that chance has produced a particular finding and measure the difference in outcome between carefully selected groups of individuals receiving different treatments.