How to conduct research

If you have questions about diet, exercise or other health related matters, it is a common practice to “google it.” The problem is, the first results to pop up are ad’s from companies trying to sell something. If you aim to seek credible information about your topic of interest, you must get information from credible resources. As discussed on the home page, evidence-based fitness and health will help you make decisions about your health from the best available information. As professionals, it is important to use evidence, experience and the specific needs of each client to develop the most beneficial plan of action. As an individual looking for information, one should research vigilantly to find the most credible information available (Kang,2016). This may not always be the quickest way to get answers but it is better to put in the time initially than to waste time trying methods that are not suitable for you.

Here are some tips to follow when conducting research:

Be sure to use credible sources of information like PubMed or Google Scholar
Look for peer-reviewed, scholarly articles.
Systematic reviews are summaries of current evidence to a specific research question. If you are able to find these reviews, it is a very efficient means of gathering information.
Information should be attainable, obtained externally from research, unbiased, up-to-date, timely, of high quality, applicable to individual (Kang, 2016).

If you want to know how a journal ranks you can visit the SJR ranking website.

Reference

Kang H. (2016). How to understand and conduct evidence-based medicine. Korean journal of anesthesiology, 69(5), 435–445. doi:10.4097/kjae.2016.69.5.435