How to dismiss research – In one easy step!

How-to-dismiss-research_Fotor

That is research that does not support your preconceived beliefs or your clinical modality-focused identity. The false publication date argument seems to be the preferred tactic! By many physiotherapists and chiropractors! This is an easy way to quickly defend against an attack on your precious preconceived beliefs or clinical identity without any effort!

Find the paper in question that does not support your preconceived beliefs:

Step 1: Look at the publication date; if it’s just a tad old, claim that it’s “too” old, that is it! You are done!

This defense is perfect; because the basis of the argument constitutes only of your own made-up norm and metric. It can easily be made fit any publication. The paper is ten years old, well that is too old! The article is five years old, well that is also way too old!

The publication date argument is erroneous because it assumes the paper is wrong merely because it’s old –  However, old does not automatically mean it’s wrong! That is a severe bias for newer research publications that totally ignore the paper’s quality!  Sometimes, older research articles are of higher quality than more recent ones on the topic. Many newer research papers often fall prey to the GIGO (garbage in, garbage out) error.

The erroneous publication date bias is often done by physiotherapists and chiropractors who resist looking at major problems in their own field.  They are often at very “critical” thinking against anything that is not in line with their preconceived beliefs and things done by other branches of care. 
 Still, they lack intellectual honesty regarding problems in their own backyard, totally ignoring it and making many strawman excuses for their own chapter. 


Like: “Well, this is not all physiotherapists; this is only a few “bad apples” or “Care done by chiropractors is included in many Clinical practice guidelines” or “This is not representative of how most chiropractors work today!” and so on.


The honest intellectual way is first to acknowledge and recognize the problem! Not to try to straw-man argue it until it disappears! Critical thinking means we need to be critical of ourselves first and foremost.

That is, in my view, where the real value lies – Not only to apply critical thinking skills against everybody else!