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How to Conduct Quality Research for Health and Medical Writing

Samantha O'Connor, PA-C

Updated: Jan 18


A picture of the blog cover page with the title How to Conduct Quality Research for Health and Medical Writing

Knowing how to research is a crucial skill for a health or medical writer. Here's how to conduct quality research and find reliable sources for health and medical writing.


In this article:




 

Whether you're a seasoned medical writer or just getting started in the industry, knowing how to find quality sources online is essential. It's one that you, as a health or medical writer, cannot go without. 


When it comes to health and medical writing, any information or facts that you write about need to be properly referenced. Because without this, your content loses credibility. And when you’re writing for clients like physicians, medical professionals, and medical device companies, credibility is everything.


The research process can be daunting, especially if you’re new to medical writing. With so much information on the internet, how are you supposed to know the difference between good and bad sources?


And how do you avoid spending hours scrolling and sorting through sources online only to come up empty-handed?


Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be this way! By following a few simple steps, you can streamline your research process, save time, and find high-quality sources. 

Here’s a step-by-step process you can use today to conduct quality research for your next medical writing project.



1. Find a database for medical writing


As you know, having reliable sources is especially important when it comes to health and medical writing. 


While you can start your research with the Google search bar, this often takes up too much time as you have to sort through different websites, medical journals, articles, and studies. For this reason, it’s best to go directly to something called a database, which is essentially a collection of (you guessed it) data.


When it comes to health and medical writing, there are several credible databases to choose from. Some of them include:


  • PubMed

  • Cochrane Library

  • World Health Organization (WHO)

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

  • National Institutes of Health (NIH)


Personally, I always start with PubMed. I’ve had great luck with finding excellent sources at no cost. If additional references are needed, I’ll try a different database.


On the other hand, avoid referencing curated sources, also known as secondary sources. Some of these sites include:


  • Wikipedia

  • Healthline

  • WebMD


Curated sources collect and simplify information from various places to help make complex topics easier to understand. These sites may be good for a non-medical person to get information from, but as a health and medical writer, it’s best to prioritize primary sources.

 


2. Set your filters to save time


This step is optional, but it will save you a ton of time. Because you’ll be searching through hundreds of thousands of articles, setting filters allows you to narrow research results to exactly what you want. This is another perk of using PubMed, as the search and filter tool is very user-friendly.


First, set your time range. With health and medical writing, it’s important to make sure what you’re writing is relevant and up to date.


For this reason, you should ideally use articles published from the last two to five years. There are some cases where you’ll need to use older research, like comparing new and old treatment recommendations.




An image showing medical writers how to research articles by year




Next, check the box next to “free full text.” Nothing is worse than thinking you found a great article to cite, but the only thing available is the abstract. Avoid this disappointment entirely by checking this box!



An image showing medical writers how to select free full text for research.



After that, you have the option to select the types of articles and research you want to see in the search results. The types of articles you need will depend on what you’re researching. If you’re unsure what boxes to check, start with randomized controlled trials and systematic reviews, as they’re considered high-quality evidence.



An image showing medical writers how to select article types for medical writing.


At a minimum, you should use these above filters to help you save time during your research process. Additional filters can be found under “advanced filters” and they include:


  • Age groups

  • Sex

  • Language

  • Other specific article types



3. Start your medical research


Once you’ve picked a database and set your filters, it's time to start your research. Databases have search bars just like Google which allow you to search for topics based on keywords. 


While you’re researching, take note of themes and trends among what you’re finding. Are studies consistently showing that a new medication is effective? Or are results inconclusive? This can help you avoid roadblocks and save time during your writing process. 



4. Get picky with your references


For each potential reference you find, you should have a checklist that you go through. And if a potential reference doesn’t check off all of the boxes, don’t use it. This applies to any type of source, including systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and clinical trials. 


All of these questions can be answered just by reading through the abstract of an article:


  • Is the study size large enough? In short, the larger the study size the better. When we specifically look at clinical trials, study sizes are typically a minimum of 100. But if you’re looking at systematic reviews or meta-analyzes, aim for study sizes of at least 1,000 participants.

  • Is the article up to date? Remember: aim for the last two to five years.

  • Was the study done on humans? Sometimes studies will only provide data on animal testing. As a general rule, aim to avoid this. The best, most relevant data is going to come from research done on humans.

  • Do the results support what you’re writing about? You want research that supports your topic and argument. Avoid inconclusive studies.

  • Are the results of the study statistically significant? Look for p-values (probability values) less than 0.05. This means that it’s less likely that study results are due to chance or other outside factors, and it’s more likely that results are from the treatment in question.

  • Is the reference peer-reviewed? It's important to make sure that studies are peer-reviewed because that ensures that they're written and reviewed by experts in the field.

  • Was the study done in the country you live in? This is important to note because different countries have different medical and healthcare systems. And you don’t want to cite a study on a treatment that isn’t approved for use in the country you live in.

  • Is there bias or conflict of interest? After the abstract, there will be a conflict of interest statement. If the authors declare a conflict of interest, toss the article. 



5. Keep track of your research


As you come across different sources that check off all of the boxes, easily keep track of them with a reference management tool. These tools include:


  • EndNote

  • Mendeley

  • Zotero 


These tools save lots of time by creating a reference list as you go. And if you need to move sources around in your content, your reference list will automatically update. 


Zotero is a great option because it works directly with Google Docs, which makes it easy to use.

 


It's a wrap!


Research for health and medical writing has the potential to be overwhelming and time-consuming. But now, you know how to streamline your research process to save time and get high-quality sources. 


So for your next writing project, instead of starting with Google, start with step one of this guide. And with practice, consistency, and time, you'll be a pro before you know it. 



 

Samantha O'Connor, PA-C is a physician assistant & medical writer helping healthcare businesses grow organically with thoughtful, educational, medically-accurate content. Read more about her work on her website and connect with her on LinkedIn.


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