Follow up on aromatherapy not working
Skeptics sense victory as study dismisses alleged benefits of aromatherapy - Britain - Times Online
I did some more digging about the research I mentioned in my last post. The researcher was Dr. Neil Martin, a psychologist from Middlesex University. It turns out that his research was presented at the annual British Psychology Conference in Cardiff.
Why is this significant? Research presented at a conference is not peer reviewed the way research submitted to a journal for publication is. So the research he presented at the conference was not reviewed rigorously by other scientists before it was presented.
It also means that it will be more difficult for anyone else to review it. I can’t go to Pub Med and look up an article. Even if the conference has published a summary of the research presented, it’s going to be tough to get a copy of it.
Sadly, this situation points out some of the problems with traditional media. Not all reporters are trained in scientific methods and so are not prepared to objectively evaluate research. So they take a piece of questionable research and use it to write sensational headlines that write off the entire field of aromatherapy.
As I said in my last post, all this piece of research says is that smelling the scent of lemons does not take away the sensation of discomfort you feel after plunging your arm into ice cold water for 15 minutes.
Aromatherapy Guide