Research literacy
How we read evidence
We label every statement on this site by what kind of evidence stands behind it. Here is what the labels mean, and the warning signs of overclaiming.
Five kinds of statement
Traditional belief
What a tradition or lineage teaches, for example the seven chakras. It tells you what people believe and practise, not what has been tested.
Practitioner method
How practitioners work — their methods and how they interpret what they observe. It describes the practice, not whether it works.
Customer-reported experience
What a person says they felt or experienced. It matters to that person, but feelings can change for many reasons, including rest, attention and expectation.
Experimental evidence
Results of studies. Their weight depends on design: blinding, comparison groups, size, and whether others have repeated them.
Established science
Findings supported by many independent studies and broadly accepted, such as the effects of regular exercise or sleep.
Questions we ask of every study
- Was there a comparison group? Without one, natural change and expectation cannot be separated from any effect.
- Was it blinded? If participants or assessors knew who received what, results can drift towards expectations.
- How many people took part? Small studies are more easily swayed by chance.
- Has it been repeated? One study, however striking, is a starting point.
- Who funded or ran it? Interests should be declared and considered.
- What exactly was measured? Feeling more relaxed is not the same as a change in a disease.
Warning signs of overclaiming
These are phrases you will meet in the wellness world. We do not use them about our own services, and we suggest caution wherever you see them:
- “Cures” or “treats” a disease. No aura reading or energy-healing practice has been shown to cure any disease.
- “Diagnoses” from a photograph. A photograph cannot diagnose a medical condition.
- “Guaranteed results”. Responses to any wellbeing practice vary from person to person.
- “Zero side effects”. Even gentle practices can be unsuitable for some people at some times — for example, delaying medical care is itself a serious risk.
- “Quantum” explanations. Quantum physics describes the behaviour of very small particles; borrowing its vocabulary does not make a healing claim scientific.
- Claims about fertility, immunity or serious illness. These need medical evidence and medical care.