First Step in the Student’s Guide to Research
The first step in the student’s guide to research is to frame the research question. This pertains to the question that the researcher aims to answer through his or her research. This question should also be related to the researcher’s purpose or objective for conducting the research in that the answer to the research question should lead to the fulfillment of the purpose intended for the study.
Brainstorming for the proper research question will usually start from the researcher’s personal experience and common sense about the world, specifically about the topic of interest. Based on these experiences and common sense knowledge, the researcher can further explore the said topic by searching for other angles or areas of interest that are related to the topic. Alternatively, the researcher may choose to frame his or her question around his or her own personal experiences or common sense knowledge, that is, to either prove or disprove the validity of those experiences or knowledge.
The researcher should be careful in framing their research question in that its answer should enable them to achieve their purpose or aim for the research. In addition, it is important for the research question to be framed properly as this will also serve as a basis for the method that should be used for the research.
Major Assumptions and Bias of the Drug Industry that Underlie Drug Research
There is a bias among doctors against clinical research that is funded by pharmaceutical companies. there is the notion that these pharmaceutical companies are only after generating profit. However, this may not necessarily be a valid perception because one’s perception of a clinical research should be based on its quality and not on the funding source. Similarly, there is a bias against the information provided by these pharmaceutical companies where physicians distrust such information. Aside from the FDA approval process being thought of as corrupted. there’s also the assumption that even medical schools accept money for the conduct of clinical trials. However, it should be kept in mind that the FDA and the involved medical institution have their own policies for ensuring the safety and credibility of the clinical trials and drug research, as well as of the actual drugs that they approve.
Moreover, there is the bias that illegal drugs or alternative medicine have no medical value and that conducting researches on them would not be worthwhile. For example, there is the bias that marijuana is bad for the health. As such, despite patients’ testimonies of its health benefits, the drug industry in general shows no interest in further exploring this area of pharmacological treatment.
My Personal Bias on the Drug Industry’s Influence over Research
One of my personal biases on the drug industry’s influence over research is that I tend t o lend more credibility to large and well-known pharmaceutical companies over smaller and less well-known ones. I tend to think that the drugs made by the former are more effective than the ones made by the latter. As such, I tend to prefer the more expensive drugs over the generic or less expensive ones.
Another bias that I have is the notion that pharmaceutical companies intend to make drugs that have side effects so that the consumers will also seek testament for these side effects, in turn leading to more profits for the company. Similarly, there is the notion that drug companies intentionally make ineffective medicines so that people won’t get cured; thus, they would keep buying medicines. Because of this notion, I tend to avoid taking medicines whenever possible.
