The goals of medical research
Since the beginning of modern mankind, scientists have been trying to comprehend the forces of nature. This quest for knowledge has evolved during history, as the methods to assess and analyze the data became more and more structured and controlled. In 1924, Alfred E. Cohn stated: “since the renaissance, men of science have indeed been continuously eager to escape from those influences which tended to focus their interests on the contemplation alone of natural phenomena, and have sought to enlarge knowledge by coming actually into contact with the facts and forces of nature” (Cohn 1924). He also stated that “the method of deduction in natural science as the sole method of investigation was finally abandoned and the method of induction, of experiment, was added” (Cohn 1924).
The characteristics of medical research have changed many times in the course of history. To date, the goals of medical research are as follows: to support the practitioner’s clinical decision-making; to evaluate new medical techniques and technologies; to improve the practitioner’s and the public’s medical education; and to assist policy makers in societal medical decision-making.
There is a constant trend of increasing rates of medical research and ensuing publications. The pros of these trends are the production of new information for the benefit of the medical community and the whole society. However, the cons include the accumulation of uncontained amounts of information. As the information revolution gathers pace, it becomes more and more difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff.