Int J Technol Assess Health Care. 1997 Winter; 13(1): 111-21.

How should we research unconventional therapies? A panel report from the Conference on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Research Methodology, National Institutes of Health.

Vickers A, Cassileth B, Ernst E, Fisher P, Goldman P, Jonas W, Kang SK, Lewith G, Schulz K, Silagy C.

University of North Carolina, USA.

Research in unconventional medicine requires a number of different questions to build up a "mosaic" of evidence. Choice of research design depends on the question being asked and is independent of the therapy under investigation. Despite the doubts of some practitioners, randomized trials are of value for determining certain questions in alternative medicine.