On ideals of objectivity, judgments, and bias in medical research - A comment on Stegenga

Abstract

By using Stegenga's article Is meta-analysis the platinum standard of evidence as a case study, this paper shows how different notions of objectivity can affect discussions concerning medical research. I argue that the ideal of objectivity that underlies Stegenga's article is both unattainable in practice and insufficient and unnecessary in principle to capture some of the ways in which biases may enter medical knowledge production.

Keywords: Bias; Medical research; Meta-analysis; Objectivity.