A consumer’s guide to research on substance use disorders (wrap up)

~ Jason Schwartz

We’ve spent the last week exploring questions intended to help readers evaluate research for themselves.

  1. What is the treatment or intervention being studied?
  2. Who were the subjects?
  3. How long was the study?
  4. What outcomes did the study measure? (How did they define success?)
  5. What were the study methods?
  6. What were the actual findings and does the authors’ discussion accurately represent the findings?
  7. Were there any conflicts of interest (real or potential)?
  8. What questions does the study not answer?

Here it is all together.

What did I miss? How might you improved it? (Keep in mind that this is intended for non-academics.)

Questions to ask about research on alcohol and other drug problemsDownload

Published by Jason Schwartz

I have been an addiction professional and social worker since 1994. I started blogging in 2005 as the Clinical Director at Dawn Farm. I no longer work at Dawn Farm and am now the Director of Behavioral Medicine at a community hospital, and a lecturer at Eastern Michigan University’s School of Social Work. Views expressed here are my own. Keep in mind that the field, the contexts in which the field operates, and my views have changed over time.

One thought on “A consumer’s guide to research on substance use disorders (wrap up)”

  1. It’s been a great guide and covers pretty much all the bases for me. i think the other things to bear in mind in terms of potential impact of the research are things like: will it be noticed? (many good pieces of research seem to slip under the radar) and if noticed, will it have impact and change practice. The policy and political landscape at the time may determine how much weight is given to research.

    One potential positive to blogging is to highlight good research and encourage stakeholders to consider and reflect on it.

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