Cassandra Alviz

Emily Galvez
Anyela Valle
Yadira Arias
Annotated Bibliography
Andersen, M. Robyn, et al. "Potentially Dangerous Complementary And Alternative
Medicine (CAM) Use By Ovarian Cancer Patients." J ournal Of Gynecologic Surgery 28.2
(2012): 116-120. Academic Search Complete. Web. 5 Mar. 2014.
In their article, Potentially Dangerous Complementary And Alternative Medicine
(CAM) Use By Ovarian Cancer Patients, author M. Robyn Andersen et al. suggests that there
needs to be a more proficient method to perceive the risks related to the use of herbs and
additives with females having surgery and to inform the individuals involved about the potential
threat. Andersen supports this by conducting a study about women with ovarian cancer that were
using alternative medicine (i.e. herbs) to see if that may put them at a heightened risk when it
came time for them to have their surgery for ovarian cancer. The authors purpose is to raise
awareness for the need for more research to be conducted to see if the use of alternative medicine
by individuals who are already diagnosed with a condition are more dangerous or not for the
patient. Andersen uses an informative tone with an audience of individuals exposed to
alternative medicine in mind.
Andersen exhibits credibility in her article by the fact that she received her M.A. and
Ph.D. from the State University of New York and she also received her M.P.H from the
University of Washington. This study was done just two years ago, suggesting that concern for
misinformation about alternative medicine is still relevant. This source is proficient in providing
evidence about a topic that is still at large in todays society.
The author is very persuasive due to the fact that she was able to conduct and receive
results from the study. She found that the use of alternative medicine (i.e. herbs) may lead to a
heightened threat that is linked with exaggerated bleeding during the surgery was typical in
patients with ovarian cancer. Yet, the study failed to show improved perceptions of the risks
linked with the use of herbs by females that are going to have surgery soon.

Baker, Beth. "Alternative Medicine." CQ Researcher 6 Sept. 2013: 741-64. Web. 28 Feb.
2014.
In her article, Alternative Medicine, author Beth Baker presents studies that question
the effectiveness of complementary and alternative medicine while other studies show promising
practices. Baker supports this idea by introducing various arguments and statistics on why
complementary and alternative medicine have been widely spread and the reason why it is not
adequate to use in replacement of proved medicine. The authors purpose is to raise awareness
among medical students and physicians of the wide use of complementary and alternative
medicine in order to not be one of the unfortunate and suffer the severe side effects of it. Baker
uses an informative tone with her intended audience who in this circumstance is anyone exposed
to the complementary and alternative medicine.
Through statistical evidence and related articles, Beth Baker confirms her credibility as
an author. Her background also provides evidence to her research based on health care. She has

received many awards for her reports as well as for her book titled Old Age in a New Age
The Promise of Transformative Nursing Homes. Baker introduces many arguments pro and con
in relation to the issue of complementary and alternative evidence and she fully demonstrates her
neutrality throughout the report.
In some areas but not in all, Baker presents herself persuasive. When analyzing why
many people prefer alternative medicine, she mentions that this could be a cause of financial
resources. She could be leaning to the alternative side but also that is a reasonable argument.
Baker has a background on health care so that could advocate for her opinions of alternative
medicine. From her experience in journaling, she does not represent bias in no way.

Brown, Cecelia. "The Information Trail Of The Freshman 15A Systematic
Review Of A Health Myth Within The Research And Popular Literature." Health
I nformation & Libraries J ournal 25.1 (2008): 1-12. Academic Search Complete. Web. 4
Mar. 2014.
In her article, The Information Trail Of The Freshman 15A Systematic Review Of A
Health Myth Within The Research And Popular Literature, author Cecelia Brown discusses that
media (newspapers and magazines) did not accurately inform people of the weight freshman gain
in their first year of college. Brown supports this discussion by using graphs and statistics based
off of research found throughout 23 databases to show that freshman do not necessarily gain 15
pounds in one year. Browns purpose is to create awareness that media can and usually blows
facts out of proportion in order to demonstrate that changes need to be made in the way that
media portrays scientific research. Brown uses an urgent tone with teacher, librarians, students,
and parents.
Cecelia Brown wrote this article in March 2008. Even though she wrote this article six
years ago, students still believe that they will gain 15 pounds within their first year of college.
This article is accurate up to this day, especially if students are still being told to be careful of the
Freshman 15. Brown uses a good amount of graphs and charts that were previously made
when researched began observing students during their first year of college. These graphs and
charts are reliable and can be traced back to the source. She has a list of resources she used at the
end of her article, so all of this information can be found.
Brown does consider a great deal of evidence, but she could go deeper. She should have
been able to state why the Freshman 15 was named the Freshman 15. It is very questionable
that if researchers did not conclude that freshmans gain 15 pounds within the first year of
school, then how and why did this myth come around? People (referring to media) do not pass
along information they did not hear from someone they assume to a reliable source. So, Brown
could have also spoke about they way news travels between people.

Gal, Jacqui. "Vitamin Myths." Dance Magazine82.10 (2008): 30. Academic Search
Complete. Web. 4 Mar. 2014.
In her article, Vitamin Myths, author Jacqui Gal clarifies common misconceptions that
dancers have about vitamins in their daily lives. Gal supports this clarification by consulting with
dieticians and nutritionist on how to find the correct amount of vitamins someone should take on
a daily basis. Gals purpose is to correctly inform people on how to go about taking daily
vitamins in order for people to create safe diets/lifestyles. Jacqui Gal uses a concerned tone with
her dancers.
The author, Jacqui Gal, stays very objective in this article. She quotes dieticians and
nutritionist and further explains these quotations. She does not lean more towards one side or the

other. Gal simply states facts and information given to her from experts. She is missing a lot of
information. She could have thrown in statistics about how many dancers have certain problems
or run to certain vitamins. She could have also opened this article up to athletes or people in
general. Dancers are not the only people that believe in the myths she mentions in her article.
Including a broader range of people would not alter the argument because very many people
easily abuse vitamins in their diet.
Jacqui Gal clarifies these myths very well. Her article is very well structured. She is very
clear and logical. Since her focus is mainly on dancers, she is not missing any vital information.
Therefore, this article is not incomplete. However, like stated before, Gal could have used more
statistics about dancers and their daily vitamin intake.

Hall, Harriet. "Popular Medical Fallacies. (Cover Story)." Skeptic 14.2 (2008): 8-9.
Academic Search Complete. Web. 3 Mar. 2014.
In her article, Popular Medical Fallacies, author Harriet Hall argues that supporters of
substitute treatments arent always thinking logically when they claim that the substitute
treatments supposedly work. Hall supports this argument by using the three false assumptions:
ancient wisdom, it works for me, and its natural that she runs into frequently. Halls
purpose is to reveal that there is alternative reasons as to why a condition that one had has either
gone away or is getting better and that its not necessarily due to the substitute treatment. Hall
uses an informative tone with people who are using substitute treatments in mind.
Harriet Hall exhibits credibility in her cover story due to the fact that she received her BA
and MD from the University of Washington. This cover story was published recently in 2008,
allowing the audience assume that concern that arise with this topic are still up to date. This
source would be of good when researching about misinformation due to the fact that it presents
the concerns of how common fallacies may lead one to believe that whatever type of remedy
they are using is actually working and helping them. The author poses multiple alternative
explanations for why a person may be relieved of a condition instead of it necessarily being the
substitute treatment. She backs up her statements with research that found some substitute
treatments to actually be more harmful than helpful for the individual.
The author is very persuasive in her argument that individuals shouldnt always think
that it is the substitute treatment that helped them. Yet, I feel that she should have provided more
studies that have been scientifically tested to show the effects of what could happen by using
substitute methods. I feel this would add to her credibility and help strengthen her argument that
misinformation leads people to assume false positives.

Hall, Harriet. "The Skepdoc." Skeptic 18.2 (2013): 4-5. Academic Search Complete. Web. 3
Mar. 2014.
In her article, The SkepDoc: Why We Cant Trust Science Reporting, author Harriet
Hall confronts that people believe in quack remedies because media immediately brings forth
scientific facts that are constantly changing. Hall supports this confrontation by presenting new
reports which show how quickly news spreads. Halls purpose is to reveal that people should not
automatically believe what they hear in the media in order to provoke them to start doing in
depth research on the topic at hand. Hall uses an informative tone with people who are overly
exposed to media in mind.
Harriet Hall exhibits credibility in her article by the fact that she received her BA and
MD from the University of Washington. This article was just published last year (2013),
allowing the audience to infer that research on this topic is still relevant for todays society. This

article would be of good use when researching about misinformation in the field of science do to
the way science is portrayed in the media. A majority of people fall for the quack remedies they
hear from the news, yet they fail to step back and do further research on their own to see if what
is being stated is actually true. The author presents various amounts of evidence in her article
that therefore leads me to believe she is unbiased.
In the article Hall presents a study done by John Ioannidis which discusses the reasons
why research that has been published are later found to be wrong. This source helps the author
explain point about how people shouldnt jump the gun to trust every little thing they hear in the
news. Yet, this source goes further by providing detailed examples of why people shouldnt
believe everything they read/hear before doing more research on the topic. The study provides a
list of elements that may add to the reason why sources arent always correct and therefore why
people shouldnt jump the gun based off of one source alone.

Heise, Tim, Michael Berger, and Peter T. Sawicki. "Non-Evidence-Based Concepts Are
Still Established In The Treatment Of IDDM." Hormone Research 50. (1998): 74-78.
Academic Search Complete. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.
In the report, Non-Evidence-Based Concepts Are Still Established in the Treatment of
IDDM authors Heise, Berger and Sawicki argue that two out of three types of therapies
recommended for IDDM patients can no longer be regarded as useful therapeutic strategies. The
authors supports this assertion by refuting arguments made about dietary, exercise and insulin
based treatments in which they were to be the top best three ways of caring for diabetes patients.
Their purpose is to stress the need for the incorporation of scientific, critical, and patient based
thinking into maintaining a more concise routine of diabetes care in order to reduce mortality and
improve the quality of life. They use a didactic tone with their diabetes patients to get them into
not believing everything that doctors offer as treatments for their sickness.
The authors promote their credibility because they base their arguments on proven
experiments made on diabetes patients. They are part of the Department of Metabolic Diseases
and Nutrition where they have experience in dealing with diabetes and other diseases related to
it. Although the date is from 1998, it is still reliable enough because there are more recent
articles that argue the same ideas the authors have. When this article was created there was
evidence to prove this assertions and up to date there still is. The authors present both sides of
the problem and they offer possible solutions to both, never only defending one side.
Heise, Berger and Sawicki present a logical argument based on evidence gathered from
experiments. However, some points made dont seem to go in accordance with the author's main
ideas. For example, a point about exercise is interpreted as bad for IDDM patients but also as
good depending on the patients choice of therapy. This idea can be considered as illogical
because exercise has always been seen as a crucial part of anybodys life. But within the context
of IDDM patients, exercise can be viewed differently depending of what type of treatment the
diabetes patients requires.

Hunt, Linda M., Nedal Hamdi Arar, and Laurie L. Akana. "Herbs, Prayer, And Insulin-
Use Of Medical And Alternative Treatments By A Group Of Mexican American Diabetes
Patients." Journal of Family Practice 49.3 (2000): 216-223. Academic Search Complete.
Web. 10 Mar. 2014.
In their study, Herbs, Prayer, and Insulin: Use of Medical and Alternative Treatments by
a Group of Mexican American Diabetes Patients, authors Linda hunt, Nedal Hamdi, and Laurie

Akana examine Mexican American patients with type two diabetes to find out about the different
alternative treatments being used. The authors support the information by providing charts,
which include percentages of various situations, such as Specific Herbs for diabetes Named by
Mexican American Patients with Type 2 Diabetes. Hunts, Hamdis, and Akanas purpose is to
inform the public how lower class and lower educational Mexican Americans believe or have
heard about alternative treatments for their disease. The authors use an informative tone with his
worldwide audience.
The evidence in this study is important towards the credibility of this source because it
revolves around the whole concept of Mexican Americans using alternative treatments to help
with their type 2 diabetes. The type of evidence given in this source are interviews, charts, and
percentages. Although, most of the interviews given in this source have been transcribed to
English from Spanish, the source is still credible because 43 patients were studied in the clinics.
This study was published in the year 2000, which means that fourteen years have passed since
this study was made. Fourteen years is a long time for new information to be gathered about this
study, but it does not take away the credibility of this source.
This source can relate to the book by Damian Thompson COUNTERKNOWLEDGE:
How We Surrendered to Conspiracy Theories, Quack Medicine, Bogus Science and False
History, in the way that they both include the use alternative treatments by low income people.
The authors of this article does not disagree with others, but instead informs others about the
results of their study. Both articles explain how believing in the treatment helps with the illness
or disease they are trying to cure. Although, Thompson explained how it was the Placebo
effect, while Hunt, Hamdi, and Akana explained that these Mexican Americans believed that
God played a role in their treatments. The concept of both articles were the same, but it
contained it in different forms, such as Thompson explained that alternative medicine will
always be around and that it is mostly the middle class who use it, while the other article
explained the different alternative medicine used.

JHA, VIVEKANAND. "Herbal Medicines And Chronic Kidney Disease." Nephrology
15.(2010): 10-17. Academic Search Complete. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.
In his article, Herbal Medicines and Chronic Kidney Disease, Vivekanand Jha argues that
unknown herbs may be toxic for humans. Jha supports his claims by providing statistics that
prove the amount of people who have gotten a kidney disease because of a toxic herb.
Vivekanands purpose is to show how not only people are being affected financially and health
wise in order to prove that alternative medicine can be dangerous. Vivekanand Jha uses an
informative tone with his worldwide audience who have a particular taste in alternative
medicine.
This article was published in 2010, which gives the source credibility because it means
that the majority of the information provided should still be accurate. The author provides
evidence, by adding statistics to the article. Statistics not only add more detail to the article, but
the readers can see the percentage of people who are being affected by the herbs. Not only that,
but statics give the reader a sense that the author did research and di not just create an article
based on his own beliefs and opinions.
The author of this article would agree with the authors of Herbal Medicine and Epilepsy:
Proconvulsive Effects and Interactions with Antiepileptic Drugs because both articles talk about
the effect that alternative medicine has on humans. In the other article we see how herbs/
alternative medicine are causing seizures, while this article explains how herbs are causing
chronic kidney disease. Although, they are two different things occurring in the articles, we see

how people are being affected because they are low income families who may just want to take
the easy way out of illnesses.

Karal, Yasin, Metin Demirkaya, and Betl Sevinir. "Use Of Complementary And
Alternative Medicine In Children With Cancer: Effect On Survival." Pediatric Hematology
& Oncology 29.4 (2012): 335-344. Academic Search Complete. Web. 5 Mar. 2014.
In the article, Use of Complementary And Alternative Medicine In Children With
Cancer, authors Yasin Karal et al. suggest that families in Turkey that have children that are
diagnosed with cancer use complementary and alternative medicine often. Karal et al. develop
this assertion by conducting a study that asked families willing to participate to fill out a
questionnaire about CAM use. Their purpose is to show the increase and frequency of CAM use
and that this method is given by parents who obtained information on CAM via family, friends,
or internet and not through their physician. The authors use an informative tone with an
audience of families that have children that are diagnosed with cancer in mind.
Karal and colleagues present an unbiased view by stating a declaration of interest at the
end of their article that stated that none of them had any clashes of concern about the topic. This
article was recently published in 2012 allowing one to assume that the relevance of this topic is
still prevalent. By providing statistical evidence the authors exhibit their credibility to their
audience.
In this article Karal and colleagues provide statistical evidence from not only their study
down in Turkey, but from studies done in other parts of the world. I believe this gives the
authors a strong sense of being able to show others they can be relied on as a proficient source
for research. I believe that by using statistics from studies done one CAM use from all around the
world it gives the audience a more in depth look of why people in certain areas use CAM and
why they may believe it works. The audience is able to get viewpoints from every angle rather
than just one view on the topic.

Mafimisebi, Taiwo E., and Adegboyega E. Oguntade. "Preparation And Use Of Plant
Medicines For Farmers' Health In Southwest Nigeria: Socio-Cultural, Magico-Religious
And Economic Aspects." Journal Of Ethnobiology & Ethnomedicine 6.(2010): 1-9.
Academic Search Complete. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.
In their article, Preperation and Use of Plant Medicines for Farmers Health in
Southwest Nigeria: sociocultural, Magico-Religious and Economic Aspects, Taiwo Mafimisebi
and Adegboyega Oguntade argue that traditional medicine should be funded by the government,
so researches can find a way to include it into the healthcare system. The authors support this by
providing examples and statistics in their work. Mafimisebis and Oguntades purpose is to
reveal the amount of people in Nigeria who rely on traditional medicine instead of clinics and
hospitals to make others feel like a difference should be made. The authors use an informative
tone with his worldwide audience who enjoy reading about medicine.
The evidence provided in this article are statistics that make the source credible because it
proves that the authors conducted research. For example, a statistic that was in the article was
that 80-90% of Africans receive traditional medicine, instead of prescribed medication. The date
of this article was 2010, which means that most of the information in the source might be
accurate because it has only been four years since the article was published.
The authors of this article would disagree with the authors of the articles Herbal
Medicine and Epilepsy: Proconvulsive Effects and Interactions with Antiepileptic Drugs and

Herbs, Prayer, and Insulin: Use of Medical and Alternative Treatments by a Group of Mexican
American Diabetes Patients because they believe that alternative medicine/ traditional medicine
has an effect on people because we do not know what it contains. While the authors of this
article say that knowing what is in the herbs is the best for the Africans because that is the only
medication they want to receive. These people may now have clinics and hospitals but they
didnt in the beginning, which means that what they know has been handed down from
generations. The only fact that all three articles agree on is the fact that is mostly low income
families who use alternative medicine.

Marks, R. "Acne -- Social Impact And Health Education." J ournal Of The Royal Society Of
Medicine (Supplement) 78.10 (1985): 21-24. Academic Search Complete. Web. 4 Mar
In the article, Acne Social Impact and Health Education, author R Marks argues that
acne has important and potentially disastrous economic and social consequences. Marks
develops this assertion through a series of explanations in which he discusses the causes of acne
according to the public. His purpose is to get patients who suffer from acne and their
surroundings to learn the nature of acne and how it can be treated in order to surpass the mythical
treatments to get rid of acne. To conclude, he uses a didactic tone to teach his audience about the
real background of acne.
R Markss article mainly offers counterexamples to what they myths of acne have been.
Throughout the discussion he offers his point of view but at the same time he acknowledges that
other people will think differently. This idea supports his level of education because he knows
that it could cause his credibility. To confirm, Marks wrote this article in the Department of
Medicine at the University Of Wales College Of Medicine. He has background experience on
this subject therefore he can make assumptions of why acne is approached the way it is. This
article has sources from the 1960s, so the article is old but it still offers credible information
because Marks had experienced in the medical field.
One way R Marks provides evidence that makes me believe his argument is credible.
From personal experience I can say everything he mentioned in the article is true because I suffer
from bad acne and my treatments are based on remedies from home. Also, acne is not economic
for everyone to get it treated that is why they utilize homemade remedies. Marks created this
article very relatable in order for the audience to understand what acne really is. When people
dont know how acne is created, they begin creating myths about it that only create a negative
effect on patients and their surroundings.

Melleuish, Greg. "Why Smart People Believe Stupid Things." Institute Of Public Affairs
Review 60.2 (2008): 42-44.Academic Search Complete. Web. 3 Mar. 2014.
In his book review, Why Smart People Believe Stupid Things, author Greg Melleuish
focuses on misinformation that people still believe today. Melleuish develops his focus on this
information by counter arguing misinformation on things such as quack medicine, global
warming, and spirituality. Melleuishs purpose is to create an awareness of common fallacies
that exist in todays world in order to prove to people that they cannot believe everything they
hear. Greg Melleuish uses a concerned tone with everyday people who do not research things
they are being told.
Greg Melleuish is a reliable source. He is an Australian professor who teaches Australian
politics, political theory, world history, and ancient history. He has also taught European history.
He writes many articles for newspapers. This article was written in 2008, which was six year

ago. So, this article is kind of old. But with how much life changes, Melleuish makes strong
arguments as to why people believe common fallacies that still apply to our generation.
Greg Melleuish does a great job of being clear and logical in his book review. Even
though he is clear and logical, his work feels incomplete to a certain extent. His work dabbles
between three books that discuss different issues. Therefore, he does not dive into why these
books misinform people on these topics. It is nice to have it short, sweet, and simple, but it feels
as if there is information missing.

Noel, Pamela. "Facts And Fiction About Dieting." Ebony 40.3 (1985): 43-46. Academic
Search Complete. Web. 3 Mar. 2014
In her article, Facts and Fiction About Dieting, author Pamela Noel clarifies that people
cannot lose weight without working for it. Noel supports this clarification by quoting doctors and
showing people that it is possible to cut weight and keep it off through the use of Leighton
Singleton as her example. Noels purpose is to rid people of the thought that fasting or dieting is
safe and effective in order to open peoples eyes to the fact that losing weight takes time and
dedication by exercising and eating right. Noel uses an encouraging tone with people who are
looking for an effective way to lose weight.
Noel has a good use of evidence. She makes exercise and diets sound doable by making
them real. She makes exercise and diets real by interviewing Leighton Singleton, a man who lost
170 pounds and was able to maintain weight afterwards. She also quotes doctors and experts in
nutrition. Noel, in this article, is very persuasive, but she does not speak much about the harm in
fasting or diets. I feel that she should have included statistics for this topic as well.
Author, Pamela Noel, is very clear and logical in this newspaper article. She has a very
positive way of showing that losing weight the right way is much more effective (it is
maintainable after reaching goal weight). However, she should have included statistic on the
wrong way of losing weight through detoxes and fads. These statistics could have helped
emphasized why detoxes and fads do not work and how people are misguided into thinking they
do.

Palmer, Brian. Himalayan Bath Salts Will Not Save Your Life. Medical Examiner.
Feb. 18, 2014. Web. 04 Mar. 2014.
In his article Himalayan Bath Salts Will Not Save Your Life, author Brian Palmer
argues that individuals should not mix up optimistic beliefs with science. Palmer supports this
argument by providing an example of a famous situation in which the man that published an
article misinforming people that a certain vaccine caused autism lead to his own demise when his
study was found to be incorrect. His purpose is to bring awareness that people should start
challenging things they see on the internet or hear via media and look more in depth on that topic
to see if what was said/heard is really correct. Palmer uses an informative and encouraging tone
with an audience that is highly exposed to media in mind.
Palmer exhibits credibility due to the fact that he received his doctorate from Harvard
University. Palmer is a social anthropologist and scholar of religion at Uppsala University. This
article was actually just published a couple of weeks ago, therefore indicating the problem of
misinformation is still continuing to occur. The author presents various studies of misinformation
cases and uses them to show his audience why people need to be careful when being first
informed of superstitions that will supposedly help you.

Author, Brian Palmer, presents his argument in a very logical manner. He displays a very
concerned attitude to his audience that people need to change the way they think about studies
that are presented to them. However, I believe he should have included more ways in which
others can help start the change of the way we perceive superstitious studies. I think that if he
provided methods one could use to find out if a superstitious study was bogus or not could have
strengthened the article.

Samuels, Noah, et al. "Herbal Medicine And Epilepsy: Proconvulsive Effects And
Interactions With Antiepileptic Drugs." Epilepsia (Series 4) 49.3 (2008): 373-380. Academic
Search Complete. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.
In their article, Herbal Medicine and Epilepsy: Proconvulsive Effects and Interactions
with Antiepileptic Drugs, authors Noah Samuels, Yoram Finkelstein, Shepheard Singer, and
Menachem Oberbaum claim that herbs are the cause for seizures. The authors support this
argument by providing examples and percentages of people who consume herbs as an alternative
treatment and then had a seizure. The purpose for their work is to show how not informing
physicians about consuming alternative medicine can affect someones health in order to
promote an awareness. Samuels, Finkelstein, Singer, and Menachem use an informative tone
with his worldwide audience, but in particularly with his audience who consume herbs.
Credibility is surrounded by many details, including the evidence and the date it was
published. This source was published in the year of 2008, which means that it was not too long
ago when this information was published. Having information from the 21
st
century is important
because it means that the information that is being shown is recent. The evidence presented in
the source helps to make the source even more credible because it shows that the authors did
research and it is not only based off of opinions. For example, these authors showed us
percentages of adults who actually tell their doctors about the consumption of herbs and the
percentage of adults who actually consume herbs.
This source can connect with the study of Mexican Americans who have type 2 diabetes
and consume alternative remedies to help them with their disease. The authors of this study seem
to disagree with the authors of the Mexican American study because in this article we see how
many adults are actually taking herbs to help them with their illness or disease. While in the
other study we see how many Mexican Americans heard about the remedies but not a high
percentage actually tried it.

Stokstad, Erik. "Desperate Parents Spark Search for New Treatment." Science Magazine:
Sign I n. AAAS, 5 Oct. 2001. Web. 03 Mar. 2014.
In the article Desperate Parents Spark Search for New Treatment, Erik Stokstad argues
that physicians should not prescribe secretin to autism patients until it has been proven to work.
Stokstad supports this assertion by providing personal testimonies of how the secretin did not
help the patient with autism but rather worsen his health condition. His purpose is to bring
awareness for patients that suffer from autism to not inhere to medicine that has not been tested
to work before. To ensure his idea, he utilizes an advising tone with his audience to promote
parents to first research what medicine actually has been proven before using it.
Erik Stokstad published this article in 2001, which is still up to date to other discoveries
made. The date only signifies that at that time not much research had been made on medical
fallacies. But now, after various researching people have came up with evidence to back up
Stokstad's idea. Although he does not have any background of higher education, he can still be a
reliable source because he has written many more articles related to health. His experience

accredits him to be an unbiased researcher. Stokstad does not include his personal opinion on this
topic, he only presents evidence from outside sources to confirm his belief.
As an experienced writer, Erik Stokstad still missed vital information to mention in his
article. He included evidence but he only included of one or two sources. This could be identified
as bias because it was the sources he choose that could also be from what he believes is correct.
This missing information is relevant because it could add more credibility to his work as well
have more arguments to why patients should be careful when consuming medicine that has not
being tested for approval. As well as many other authors, he too agrees that medicine that has not
been identified as good should not be prescribed to patients. Having many sources agree on the
same idea proves that most sources are up to date with the information and arguments they
present.

Stokstad, Erik. "Stalled Trial for Autism Highlights Dilemma of Alternative
Treatments."Science Magazine: Sign I n. AAAS, July 2008. Web. 04 Mar. 2014.
In the article, Stalled Trial for Autism Highlights Dilemma of Alternative Treatments,
author Erik Stokstad discusses the fallacies in the methods of treating patients with autism which
in this case was the usage of mercury. Stokstad develops this assertion by gathering information
from experiments made, confirming that mercury is not a way of helping patients but rather get
them worse. His purpose is to confirm that mercury is harmful in order for parents of autistic
patients to stop using that therapy. Consequently, he applies an affirmative tone with his intended
audience of parents to direct them this assertion.
Erik Stokstad provides evidence, such was various scientific names confirming of
experiments made on the therapy of mercury, to support his assertion. This article also does not
contain his opinion in no way, it is just a report informing of the tests made on the patients under
the therapy of mercury. He shows no biased responses that could set him off as an unbiased
source. Also, this article was written seven years ago, so therefore the information is likely to be
the same as of right now. This proves that Erik Stokstad has up to date information and none of
his responses are biased.
After comparing this article to the previous ones I concluded that most of the information
is the same. All the main ideas correlate to misinformation in the medical field dealing with
diseases. Most patients tend to believe anything that is said about medicine that people guarantee
its effective. But after many experiments made on patients, it has been proven that most of such
alternative medicines have a negative effect on patients.

Thompson, Damian. COUNTERKNOWLEDGE: How We Surrendered To Conspiracy
Theories, Quack Medicine, Bogus Science and Fake History. New York: W.W. Norton &
Company, 2008. Print.
In his book (chapter), Counterknowledge: Desperate Remedies, author Damian Thompson
argues that alternative medicine is alternative because it doesnt work. Thompson supports this
argument by providing various examples of different alternative remedies that people still use.
Thompsons purpose is to reveal the ignorance of the middle class who believe in remedies that
have no evidence of actually working in order to change health care problems. Damian
Thompson uses an informative tone with his worldwide audience.
The date to this source is important because it shows how long ago the book has been out
and it also provides a sense of credibility. Chapter four Desperate Remedies, from Damian
Thomas was published in 2008, which means that this book has been out for five years. Through
those five years there is a high possibility that new information has been found about alternative

and complementary medicine. Although, new information could have been found this source is
still credible because it was published not too long ago and most of the information might still be
accurate. The evidence that Thomas provided in this chapter made the source credible because it
gave readers an idea of commonly used alternative remedies that have to proof of actually
working.
This source on Desperate Remedies is straightforward, but it also has hidden meanings,
such as Alternative medicine feeds on middle class anxieties about body image, diet, lifestyle,
and illness (pg. 9). What the author is trying to say is that the middle class are the main ones
using alternative medicine because not many of them have acquired higher education. The
middle class does not know better, so they believe anything that the social media says because
they do not know how to go out and do research.

Twardowski, Zbylut J. "Fallacies Of High-Speed Hemodialysis." Hemodialysis
International 7.2 (2003): 109-117. Academic Search Complete. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.
In his article, Fallacies in High-Speed Hemodialysis, author Zbylut J. Twardowski
claims that longer dialysis sessions should be offered to patients with intradialytic hypotension
because it will control blood pressure and decrease hypotensive episodes which will ultimately
lead to lower mortality among patients. Twardowski develops this assertion by comparing the
results of short dialysis with the long dialysis sessions through several tests from patients both
receiving short and long dialysis therapy. His purpose is to inform patients who need
hemodialysis of the differences between short and long dialysis sessions in order to make them
realize that even though the long session requires more time, in the end it will be more beneficial
for their health. In addition, he uses a comparative and persuasive tone with his patients who
require hemodialysis on an everyday basis.
Zbylut Twardowski demonstrates credibility in his article by the fact that he works in a
Dialysis clinic in the University of Missouri with a MD and a PhD. This article was published
recently in 2003, allowing us to assume that the information could be similar to recent tests. This
specific article could be of much help when researching about misinformation in the medicine
field because it provides examples of how physicians have been a part of misguidance, allowing
the public to choose either of the hemodialysis sessions when they already know that the longer
session will have better results. The author presents both sides of the argument which represents
that his article is unbiased.
Although Twardowski presented a good argument, he still lacked in including other
important facts related to hemodialysis patients. The statistics provided are only based on small
groups of patients, the author does not include information from bigger groups. Although it is a
small population, it is still credible because the individuals who performed the tests belong to a
certified organization. Also, the author does not include personal experience from the patients. If
he were to include them, the argument could change due to the responses of the patients.

Zamora Navarro, Salvador, and Francisca Prez-Llamas. "Errors And Myths In
Feeding And Nutrition: Impact On The Problems Of Obesity." Nutricion Hospitalaria
28.(2013): 81-88. Academic Search Complete. Web. 3 Mar. 2014.
In their article, Errors and Myths in feeding and nutrition: Impact on the problems of
obesity, authors Francisca Perez-Llamas and Salvador Zamora Navarro expands that the
increase of obesity is due to the way people live (diet, physical activity, and sedentary lifestyle).
Perez-Llamas and Zamora Navarro develop this expander by quoting articles, using graphs to

show data, and thoroughly explaining in depth what it means to have a healthy diet. Perez-
Llamas and Salvador-Zamoras purpose is to smash myths and errors regarding weight loss and
miracle diets in order to inform and educate people on better successful, long-term diets. Perez-
Llamas and Zamora Navarro use an informative tone with anyone trying to live a healthier life.
This article is very credible and trustworthy. It was written very recently (September
2013). So, the statistics are up to date and it proves misinformation wrong in todays society. In
this article, the authors stay objective. They only state facts and they quote phrases that other
sources stated.
The authors, Perez-Llamas and Zamora Navarro, can seem to be unclear at certain times
while reading this article. Certain parts (and when I say parts, I mean during a sentence) the
authors seem to be unclear because the article was translated from Spanish to English. So, during
the midst of translating, some words must have been translated incorrectly. It is not so bad that
the article is difficult to understand. There are only a few parts that they are unclear, but reading
the sentence over is of great help.