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International Journal of Epidemiology 2001;30:954-957
© International Epidemiological Association 2001

Point-Counterpoint

Commentary: Toward systematic reviews in epidemiology

Michael B Bracken

Professor Michael Bracken, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Yale University School of Medicine, 60 College Street, PO Box 208034, New Haven, CT 06520–8034, USA. E-mail: michael.bracken@yale.edu

One does not need to agree with the premise of Swaen et al.,1 who examine the issue of false positive outcomes in this issue of the International Journal of Epidemiology, or have to ignore some methodological weakness in their study, or even to think their conclusions simply reaffirm some very basic scientific principles, to see considerable merit in the approach taken by these investigators and to believe their paper commands attention.

Taubes' paper,2 which highlighted the discrepancies between different study results that arise in epidemiology and the effect this has on public opinion, was famously read by some as predicting the imminent demise of epidemiology but it also permitted a broader examination of the state of the discipline.3 To be sure, epidemiology produces conflicting results but so does any research enterprise. It is only because the public has such a keen interest in the results of epidemiological studies . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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