Research Bias

Selective publication is said to distort what readers can infer from the published research record. Nutrition and medical research are described as valuable but vulnerable to researcher expectations and funding interests. The antidepressant trial example claims favorable trials were usually published while unfavorable trials were usually unpublished. Nutrition claims should not rely only on isolated research citations because research may be biased or cherry-picked. Funding is described as a source of bias because sponsors may not want results that undermine their interests.