It may come as no surprise to learn that not all scientific research is completely objective. We would like to think it is, but sometimes the researchers that conduct studies or the organizations that fund them may have ulterior motives for carrying out a study -- objectives that may sway results.
That means it is important for you to assess the objectivity of the organization and researchers who carried out the medical study you're interested in. That objectivity can often be established by following the money.
Some organizations conduct studies to support their own profit-making. Pharmaceutical companies, disease-focused clinics, medical manufacturers and others conduct their own studies to "prove" how valuable their own products are, then issue results claiming there is substantial research for the public to believe. When a study is conducted simply to enhance profits, then its objectivity can be considered to be in question. You'll need to find another, unbiased study that duplicates those results to feel confident about the findings.
More objective results will usually come from independent laboratories or not-for-profit institutions, such as government or university labs. One caveat: Even those "more objective" studies are sometimes funded by the business wishing to prove its point for profit's sake. If so, it is expected that the researchers will mention conflicts of interest. This is expectation is not always as stringently followed as it should be. You may need to look further to get the objective information you need.
Once you determine that the study was done objectively and the results are credible and potentially helpful, you'll want to take a more comprehensive look at how the study was conducted.
