MEpedia:Science guidelines

Thank you so much for deciding to contribute to MEpedia, and for rolling up your sleeves to work on the science! Let's dive right in.

Goals
The basic goals of an MEpedia science article are to:


 * Inform the reader of the basics
 * Provide resources via links and citations so the reader can learn more

Start with a one-paragraph summary
At the start of every article on MEpedia, there should be a plain-language summary of the content below. Sometimes, it is easier to write the summary last; you will have a much clearer conception of the main idea once the rest of your writing is done. The summary should appear above any sections you create, making it show up above the table of contents.

Outlines
You can find MEpedia article outlines for potential treatments, medical hypotheses, and body systems, e.g.. Just copy the outline (Ctrl-C) and paste it (Ctrl-V) into the article to have a template you can use.

A note on ME v. CFS
We have separate pages for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, ME/CFS and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome as well as SEID. The convention is that the terminology used in an ME-pedia article should match the terminology used in the underlying source. Where there is a tension between the term used in the source and the definition (e.g., ME defined by the Oxford criteria or CFS defined by the Canadian Consensus Criteria), it may be useful for clarity to mention the definition used.

Just the facts
Science writing should be about what we know to be true, so far as our current understanding of science can tell us.

It's important to omit descriptive words that encourage the reader to think in a certain way, such as adjectives and adverbs. For example, "intriguingly", "disastrously", and other adverbs inform the reader what they ought to think about the next piece of information. The facts must speak for themselves.

Aim as close to the objective truth as possible.

Avoid the omission of credible sources with which you may disagree.

Less is more
The goal of an MEpedia page is to inform the reader of the basics and link out to resources that will provide a more thorough grounding in the topic. To best serve our community in the long run, that may mean reading a long article and typing one sentence (or even one phrase!) into MEpedia.

If you aren't certain how to interpret a study or summarize it, you may be able to find more information if you look on Phoenix Rising or Science for ME and search for the study's title in quotes. Often there will be a thread with detailed discussions of the study's implications. You may also check out the MEpedia Project Facebook group and chat about the study there.

Do your best to avoid cutting and pasting, or paraphrasing blocks of information. Find the simplest way to convey the information so that brain-fogged readers can understand.

Use equivocal language
Recognize that scientific fact changes by using equivocal language: "it may be that..." "it is possible that..." are good examples. Avoid language like "it has been proved" or "we now know".

Types of studies
The type of biological sample used in the study can have a dramatic effect on whether or not the results of the study are accurate for human beings. The following are displayed from least to most applicable to human beings.


 * 1) In vitro: In vitro studies refer to studies performed on cells or tissues that have been removed from the organism. This could mean cells in a petri dish, blood removed from a patient, or tissue grown in a lab. While these studies can point in the right direction, the premises they introduce must be tested in a living thing before they are fully accepted.
 * 2) In vivo: In vivo studies refer to any study performed on tissues, cells, or organs within the living organism:
 * 3) In an organism not a mammal   The results of these studies, even perfectly performed, may have very little relationship to what might occur in a human being
 * 4) In a mammal but not a human  While rat and mouse studies are very common, and may lead to greater insight into biological processes, rat and mouse physiology differs significantly from that of human physiology.  The immune system in particular is very different in a mouse versus a human.
 * 5) In a human   When possible, always look for studies performed in human beings rather than in any other category.  In Pubmed, after you search for a topic you will see a list of modifiers scrolling down the left-hand side of your page.  One of these will say Species: Humans.  By clicking on this, you will only see studies performed on human cell lines, tissues, or on humans in vivo.

Citation
Even if you are certain it is true, if you can't cite it, you can't say it. And unless it's common knowledge, be sure to cite everything you say, whether you're quoting the source or paraphrasing an idea from it.

Suggested Sources
See  What counts as an academic source  (Monash University)

General topics (tertiary sources)
 * MSD Manuals - Consumer (basic topics) or Professional editions
 * Merckx Manuals
 * Medline Medical Encyclopedia
 * Merriam-Webster Medical Dictionary

ME/CFS High Quality sources (secondary sources) Searching for sources
 * NHS Health Conditions (UK health service)
 * British National Foundry - drug reference guide for UK doctors
 * Drugs.com - medications, side effects, brand & generic names
 * International Classification of Diseases v10 (2016) - World Health Organization
 * DSM-5 - American psychiatric manual (2013) - many websites have the diagnostic criteria
 * Canadian Consensus Criteria for ME (2003)
 * International Consensus Criteria Primer for clinicians for Myalgic encephalomyelitis (2011)
 * Beyond Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome - Institute of Medicine report 2015 - especially for SEID
 * ME Research UK very long list of articles
 * Google scholar
 * Google books
 * Science direct - many topics including book chapters
 * MedlinePlus

Image sources:
 * WikiMedia Commons
 * Public Health Image Library - CDC
 * Google advanced images search - use the  images for re-use  option

Tertiary/secondary vs primary sources
If you have worked on medical pages on Wikipedia before, you may be aware that they encourage the use of reference books (tertiary sources), and review articles (secondary sources). There are few review articles on ME/CFS, so it is acceptable to cite primary sources, so long as you use the equivocal language described above.

Seminal works and the age of works
The goal in scientific writing is to represent the most up-to-date information. For that reason, in biomedical research it's important to make the attempt to find primary and secondary sources that were published in the past several years.

An exception to this general guideline are seminal works. A seminal work is a publication that changes the way the field thinks about a topic. Did your source define something new or introduce a novel idea? If so, it may be a seminal work.

A second exception are works that focus on history or discuss a sequence of events as an important aspect of the narrative.

A good example in ME might be the Fukuda paper (1994) that presented a working definition for 'CFS'. Because it defines something new, it makes sense to cite it even in a modern paper, or in an article that discusses the history of ME.

Remember Wikipedia is not a reliable source
On many subjects, Wikipedia is an excellent trove of sources that may prove useful. However, by its own description, Wikipedia itself is not a reliable source: "'Wikipedia can be edited by anyone at any time. This means that any information it contains at any particular time could be vandalism, a work in progress, or just plain wrong...There are many errors that remain unnoticed for days, weeks, months, or even years. Therefore, Wikipedia should not be considered a definitive source in and of itself.'" Instead, check claims on Wikipedia to see if they are verified by a reliable source. If they are, add the information citing that source instead.

How to cite

 * To insert references in the Visual Editor, please see the relevant section in MEpedia:Visual editor.
 * To insert references in the Source Editor, please see the relevant section in MEpedia:Source editor.