Battling the biomedical information explosion: a plan for implementing a quality filtered database

In 1980 an article appeared in the Archives of Internal Medicine stating that two-thirds of the studies appearing in the best medical journals contain unwarranted conclusions. In order to deal with the ever increasing mass of biomedical information (termed a "journalistic blastoma" by one editor), IAIMS has extolled the use of quality filters, devices to sort through the literature and sift the good from the bad. The complexity of the task is staggering. Quality is obviously subjective, and its nature raises the question of whether our users can be taught the necessary skills to systematically evaluate the literature. This report is based on a research project that grew into an elective course for medical students at Texas Tech University School of Medicine on "Critical Appraisal of the Biomedical Literature."