Evidence and Causality in the Sciences Conference

AHRC symposiumThursday 6th September 2012

Brendan Clarke

Department of Science and Technology Studies

UCL

'Mechanisms and the Evidence Hierarchy'

Should evidence of mechanisms have a place in the EBM evidence hierarchy?

Four problems with RCTs

• Confounding• Evidence of no mechanism• Design and interpretation• External validity

EBM as an exercise in determining research standards

Which research practices provide the most useful support to the actions of medical practitioners?

Acknowledgements