dc.contributor.author | Haber, NA | |
dc.contributor.author | Wieten, SE | |
dc.contributor.author | Rohrer, JM | |
dc.contributor.author | Arah, OA | |
dc.contributor.author | Tennant, PWG | |
dc.contributor.author | Stuart, EA | |
dc.contributor.author | Murray, EJ | |
dc.contributor.author | Pilleron, S | |
dc.contributor.author | Lam, ST | |
dc.contributor.author | Riederer, E | |
dc.contributor.author | Howcutt, SJ | |
dc.contributor.author | Simmons, AE | |
dc.contributor.author | Leyrat, C | |
dc.contributor.author | Schoenegger, P | |
dc.contributor.author | Booman, A | |
dc.contributor.author | Dufour, M-SK | |
dc.contributor.author | O'Donoghue, AL | |
dc.contributor.author | Baglini, R | |
dc.contributor.author | Do, S | |
dc.contributor.author | Takashima, MDLR | |
dc.contributor.author | Evans, TR | |
dc.contributor.author | Rodriguez-Molina, D | |
dc.contributor.author | Alsalti, TM | |
dc.contributor.author | Dunleavy, DJ | |
dc.contributor.author | Meyerowitz-Katz, G | |
dc.contributor.author | Antonietti, A | |
dc.contributor.author | Calvache, JA | |
dc.contributor.author | Kelson, MJ | |
dc.contributor.author | Salvia, MG | |
dc.contributor.author | Parra, CO | |
dc.contributor.author | Khalatbari-Soltani, S | |
dc.contributor.author | McLinden, T | |
dc.contributor.author | Chatton, A | |
dc.contributor.author | Seiler, J | |
dc.contributor.author | Steriu, A | |
dc.contributor.author | Alshihayb, TS | |
dc.contributor.author | Twardowski, SE | |
dc.contributor.author | Dabravolskaj, J | |
dc.contributor.author | Au, E | |
dc.contributor.author | Hoopsick, RA | |
dc.contributor.author | Suresh, S | |
dc.contributor.author | Judd, N | |
dc.contributor.author | Peña, S | |
dc.contributor.author | Axfors, C | |
dc.contributor.author | Khan, P | |
dc.contributor.author | Rivera Aguirre, AE | |
dc.contributor.author | Odo, NU | |
dc.contributor.author | Schmid, I | |
dc.contributor.author | Fox, MP | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2022-11-04T10:02:03Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2022-08-04 | |
dc.date.updated | 2022-11-03T19:16:02Z | |
dc.description.abstract | We estimated the degree to which language used in the high profile medical/public health/epidemiology literature implied causality using language linking exposures to outcomes and action recommendations; examined disconnects between language and recommendations; identified the most common linking phrases; and estimated how strongly linking phrases imply causality. We searched and screened for 1,170 articles from 18 high-profile journals (65 per journal) published from 2010-2019. Based on written framing and systematic guidance, three reviewers rated the degree of causality implied in abstracts and full text for exposure/outcome linking language and action recommendations. Reviewers rated the causal implication of exposure/outcome linking language as None (no causal implication) in 13.8%, Weak 34.2%, Moderate 33.2%, and Strong 18.7% of abstracts. The implied causality of action recommendations was higher than the implied causality of linking sentences for 44.5% or commensurate for 40.3% of articles. The most common linking word in abstracts was "associate" (45.7%). Reviewers' ratings of linking word roots were highly heterogeneous; over half of reviewers rated "association" as having at least some causal implication. This research undercuts the assumption that avoiding "causal" words leads to clarity of interpretation in medical research. | en_GB |
dc.description.sponsorship | European Union Horizon 2020 | en_GB |
dc.description.sponsorship | Australian Research Council (ARC) | en_GB |
dc.description.sponsorship | National Institute of Mental Health | en_GB |
dc.description.sponsorship | National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering | en_GB |
dc.description.sponsorship | National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences UCLA Clinical Translational Science Institute | en_GB |
dc.description.sponsorship | Bloomberg American Health Initiative | en_GB |
dc.description.sponsorship | Karen Toffler Charity Trust | en_GB |
dc.identifier.citation | Published online 4 August 2022 | en_GB |
dc.identifier.doi | https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwac137 | |
dc.identifier.grantnumber | 842817 | en_GB |
dc.identifier.grantnumber | CE170100005 | en_GB |
dc.identifier.grantnumber | T32MH122357 | en_GB |
dc.identifier.grantnumber | R01MH115487 | en_GB |
dc.identifier.grantnumber | R01EB027650 | en_GB |
dc.identifier.grantnumber | UL1TR001881 | en_GB |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10871/131621 | |
dc.identifier | ORCID: 0000-0001-7744-3780 (Kelson, Mark J) | |
dc.language.iso | en | en_GB |
dc.publisher | Oxford University Press | en_GB |
dc.relation.url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35925053 | en_GB |
dc.relation.url | https://osf.io/jtdaz/ | en_GB |
dc.rights.embargoreason | Under embargo until 4 August 2023 in compliance with publisher policy | |
dc.rights | © The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.
This article is published and distributed under the terms of the Oxford University Press, Standard Journals Publication Model (https://academic.oup.com/journals/pages/open_access/funder_policies/chorus/standard_publication_model) | en_GB |
dc.subject | association | en_GB |
dc.subject | causal inference | en_GB |
dc.subject | causal language | en_GB |
dc.subject | observational study | en_GB |
dc.title | Causal and associational language in observational health research: A systematic evaluation | en_GB |
dc.type | Article | en_GB |
dc.date.available | 2022-11-04T10:02:03Z | |
dc.identifier.issn | 0002-9262 | |
exeter.place-of-publication | United States | |
dc.description | This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Oxford University Press via the DOI in this record. | en_GB |
dc.description | Data, data analysis code, and materials are available on
the Open Science Framework project https://osf.io/jtdaz/. | en_GB |
dc.identifier.eissn | 1476-6256 | |
dc.identifier.journal | American Journal of Epidemiology | en_GB |
dc.rights.uri | http://www.rioxx.net/licenses/all-rights-reserved | en_GB |
dcterms.dateAccepted | 2022-07-26 | |
rioxxterms.version | AM | en_GB |
rioxxterms.licenseref.startdate | 2022-08-04 | |
rioxxterms.type | Journal Article/Review | en_GB |
refterms.dateFCD | 2022-11-04T09:41:09Z | |
refterms.versionFCD | AM | |
refterms.dateFOA | 2022-11-04T10:02:10Z | |
refterms.panel | B | en_GB |
refterms.dateFirstOnline | 2022-08-04 | |