When diagnosed with a serious illness like a brain tumor, many people want to learn more about their condition and possible treatments. At some point, they may wish to consult medical journals and read research articles to find out about new treatment options. However, complicated medical and scientific jargon can be an obstacle to obtaining vital information. By following a few basic guidelines and learning a few research terms, the world of medical literature can become more understandable to the amateur researcher.

To begin, it is helpful to know the basic structure of scientific papers. They generally begin with an abstract (a brief summary). Reading the abstract is a great way to get an overview of what the author was researching-the main question of the study- and the results. The rest of the paper usually will include the following sections: an introduction or background, methods, results, discussion, and bibliography. The introduction or background section discusses the reasons the researcher was doing the study and typically cites previous studies. The methods section explains how the study sample participants were selected and how the study was conducted (for example, through personal interviews or by examining hospital records). The results section gives the data from the study and tends to present a lot of numbers (percentages and statistics). In the discussion section, the researcher analyzes the results in relation to the original research question and draws conclusions. The discussion section is generally less technical than other sections of the paper. It can be a good way to get a summary of the findings and what they mean.

Remember that research findings should be carefully interpreted. It is helpful to look for information in journals that are "peer reviewed." This means other scientists and researchers in the field have had a chance to read and evaluate the studies before they are accepted and published by the journal. Major medical journals such as the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and the New England Journal of Medicine are peer reviewed. Internet sites such as Medscape (www.medscape.com) and Medline (www.medline.com) have a directory of peer-reviewed journals and allow you to search by topic of interest (i.e. brain tumors, temozolomide, etc.).

Some Internet sites are not reliable. If you read about a study on the Internet that sounds interesting and want to know more about it, it is a good idea to search the major medical research databases to see what they have published on the topic.

Here are a few key research terms to help you get started:

Clinical Trial - A research study conducted with patients to scientifically determine the effectiveness of new treatments or to improve existing ones. Each study tries to answer scientific questions and to find better ways to prevent, diagnose, or treat diseases.

Confidence Interval - A statistical range of values for a particular variable or characteristic, set up so that the variable lies within that range. (Example: The 95% confidence interval for height is 5'9"-6'. This means that 95 out of 100 people will be within that height range). Generally, the more narrow the confidence intervals, the more reliable the study results.

Control - An individual or group used as a standard of comparison for checking or verifying the results of an experiment.

Double-blind Study - A type of study in which neither the doctors nor participants know who is receiving a drug and who is receiving a placebo. This method helps to assure objective results by avoiding prejudice either for or against the treatment.

Placebo - An inactive substance given as a control (standard for comparison) in an experiment to test the effectiveness of a drug.

Qualitative Research - A study with findings that are not arrived at by using statistics. This type of research generally looks at opinions and personal viewpoints.

Quantitative Research - A study that uses measurements and statistical methods to identify causes, make predictions, and determine if the findings of a study can be applied to the general population as a whole.

Randomized Control Trial - A type of study where participants are randomly selected to receive either a placebo or the treatment being tested.

Sample - The group of people that participate in a study. The sample may be random or may represent a particular population group.

These terms are a good starting point to understanding medical research. The best way to become more comfortable with scientific research is to start reading.