Strength of the Evidence Generated From Reports of Clinical Research

SUMMARy Positive or negative findings in clinical research may represent true‐positive or true‐negative results, which reflect a relationship that does or does not exist in the reference population of interest. Alternatively, positive or negative findings in clinical research may represent false‐positive or false‐negative results, which are due to chance, bias, and/or confounding factors. If such alternative explanations for the results of a study have been ruled out, a valid statistical association is reported. A judgment of a cause‐and‐effect relationship is based on the totality of all available evidence, and it can also be made from a large, double‐blind, and correctly conducted and analyzed randomized controlled trial.