RESEARCH

Valid Research in Medicine

Valid Research in Medicine

Introduction

In this paper, we assume the role of a doctor who wishes to conduct a robust research for information on the inflammatory bowel disease. Being a doctor, we have some basic information on the topic but wish to have more knowledge on the subject but we also want to ensure that the information is authentic and correct. The primary question that we want to research is: “Are probiotics useful in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease in adults?”

Inflammatory bowel disease

The basic information that we have with ourselves is this: IBD refers to the condition of the small intestine and the colon where inflammation occurs and this leads to certain digestion and bowel conditions for the patient. IBD is further classified into three main categories: Ulcerative Colitis, Crohn's Disease and IBD Unclassified. Crohn's Disease is usually referred by its actual name but Ulcerative Colitis is usually referred by the acronym UC. Alternatively, there are other forms of IBD that have been identified in medicine and these are: Lymphocytic colitis, Collagenous colitis, Diversion colitis, Ischaemic colitis, Indeterminate colitis and Behcet's disease ((Longstreth, 2004, 600).

Where are you going to look for the answers? Library bibliographies? On-line databases and catalogues?

The Internet is vast and there are many credible sources where medical information is published and can be found. One of the most popular of such is Medline, an online academic library where medical journals are published and can be retrieved. That is where we shall start the research, using different keywords. Once we retrieve all the possible information from Medline, the next place to look for would be ProQuest and Sage Medical, two of the most commonly used online libraries for authentic journals and research. In the Appendix section of this paper, we provide some snapshots of search results ...