Wellness Book Critical Appraisal Basics
There are quite literally thousands of books about health and wellness. Whether they are self help books or diet books or explanations of personal journeys, they are all trying to provide you with information. A lot of the information can be useful, but how do you sift through that information to understand what is relevant to you?
If you are like me and you like to read these books, you have also likely become confused when different books say different things about the same topic. How do we deal with the discrepancies? How do we decide which advice to follow?
The short answer is we follow the evidence. We look at the resources (if any) that are cited and we discern for ourselves if they seem legitimate. The long answer is we become experts in critical appraisal and spend much more time than you think necessary reading and understanding technical research. Neither of those options are perfect.
If we use our own expertise (depending on our educational background and penchant for keeping up with the research body), we may fall short of seeing all the available evidence and fall victim to cherry picking information that suits the answer we are looking for – which is easy to do! On the other hand, if we throw ourselves into evaluating all the literature available, we will likely not have time to sleep, drink or eat. So, what can you do?
#1 – Understand the Authors Background
Asking yourself a few questions about the Authors qualifications, motives and potential for monetary gain can help us to better evaluate the information given. Start with these questions:
1. Based on the book’s title and goal, does the author have an invested interest in you doing whatever it is telling you to do?
2. Based on the Authors qualifications, do they in fact seem qualified to be proving insight or advice in this field?
3. Does the Author consider other viewpoints, alternatives, or ideas that do not align 100% with their own?
4. Will the author (aside from the sale of the book) profit off a product, system, or item that they are promoting?
These questions can help you better understand the goals of the author and assess how much stock to put into their claims.
(disclaimer: we live in a capitalistic society and so the Author making money off something in their book does not automatically make their claims illegitimate, but it can help you use the information in #2 maybe a bit differently)
#2 – Think Critically
Just like the concerned parent’s advertising commercial told us to do, we must think critically about things like the North American House Hippo and what a book is providing us. This occurs by using the questions above and understanding the nature of science and research.
Research is an ever evolving, changing, and growing body. It is a living thing! So, at one point in time, the information being presented in the book may have been hot off the press and the direction to head in to help xyz issue. The problem, is how much time has elapsed since then? What new, contradictory or retracted evidence has emerged since then?
Knowing then that research is ever evolving and that it takes time to write and publish a book, we must keep in mind that the Author was likely working with the information available to them at the time!
Beyond the assumption of time, we must also think critically about the claims. If someone is offering an easy, almost magic wand level, solution to something; the chances are it is too good to be true. The same goes for claims that say everyone should do this and create blanket statements. We know that people are different, and the claims should address this to a degree.
To sum this part up: Don’t take a claim at face value!
#3 – Ask For Help!
If you have an issue you are dealing with, physical or otherwise, and you are turning to a book for help, then you are on a good path. You are seeking help which is the first step! However, if you are drowning in books and claims and you are suddenly trying many different things or unsure where to start, then reaching out to a professional is the next step.
There are several professions out there who are qualified and ready to provide you insight and guidance. Seeing a professional increases the likelihood of individualized care that is tailored to you heath needs and goals.
That being said, don’t lose that critical thinking just because you are face to face with someone! Ask the questions if you have them!
Hopefully you can continue reading to your hearts content without overload of information. If that occurs, come see someone, and they will help!
Stay curious, stay reading, and stay thinking critically!