"Further research is needed" (FRIN), "more research is needed" and other variants of similar phrases are commonly used in

research papers Research paper may refer to: * Academic paper (also called ''scholarly paper''), which is in academic journals and contains original research results or reviews existing results or shows a totally new invention * Capstone project or synthesis pr ...

. The

cliché A cliché ( or ; ) is a saying, idea, or element of an artistic work that has become overused to the point of losing its original meaning, novelty, or literal and figurative language, figurative or artistic power, even to the point of now being b ...

is so common that it has attracted research, regulation and cultural commentary.

Meaning

Some research journals have banned the phrase "more research is needed" on the grounds that it is redundant; it is almost always true and fits almost any article, and so can be taken as understood. A 2004 metareview by the

Cochrane collaboration Cochrane is a British international charitable organisation formed to synthesize medical research findings to facilitate evidence-based choices about health interventions involving health professionals, patients and policy makers. It includes ...

of their own systematic medical reviews found that 93% of the reviews studied made indiscriminate FRIN-like statements, reducing their ability to guide future research. The presence of FRIN had no correlation with the strength of the evidence against the medical intervention. Authors who thought a treatment was useless were just as likely to recommend researching it further. Indeed, authors may recommend "further research" when, given the existing evidence, further research would be extremely unlikely to be approved by an

ethics committee An ethics committee is a body responsible for ensuring that medical experimentation and human subject research are carried out in an ethical manner in accordance with national and international law. By jurisdiction European Union An ethics commi ...

. Studies finding that a treatment has no noticeable effects are sometimes greeted with statements that "more research is needed" by those convinced that the treatment is effective, but the effect has not yet been found. Since even the largest study can never rule out an infinitesimal effect, an effect can only ever be shown to be insignificant, not non-existent. Similarly, Trish Greenhalgh, Professor of Primary Care Health Sciences at the University of Oxford, argues that FRIN is often used as a way in which a " ck of hard evidence to support the original hypothesis gets reframed as evidence that investment efforts need to be redoubled", and a way to avoid upsetting hopes and vested interests. She has also described FRIN as "an indicator that serious scholarly thinking on the topic has ceased", saying that "it is almost never the only logical conclusion that can be drawn from a set of negative, ambiguous, incomplete or contradictory data."

Addressing the phrase

Greenhalgh suggests that, because vague FRIN statements are an argument that "tomorrow's research investments should be pitched into precisely the same patch of long grass as yesterday's", funding should be refused to those making them. She and others argue that more thought and research is needed into methods for determining where more research is needed.

Academic journal An academic journal (or scholarly journal or scientific journal) is a periodical publication in which Scholarly method, scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. They serve as permanent and transparent forums for the ...

editors were banning unqualified FRIN statements as early as 1990, requiring more specific information such as what ''types'' of research were needed, and what questions they ought to address. Researchers themselves have strongly recommended that

research article Academic publishing is the subfield of publishing which distributes academic research and scholarship. Most academic work is published in academic journal articles, books or theses. The part of academic written output that is not formally pub ...

s detail what research is needed. This is conventional in some fields. Other commentators suggest that articles would benefit by assessing the likely value of possible further research.

Example

Both the needfulness and needlessness of further research may be overlooked. The blobbogram leading this article is from a

systematic review A systematic review is a scholarly synthesis of the evidence on a clearly presented topic using critical methods to identify, define and assess research on the topic. A systematic review extracts and interprets data from published studies on ...

; it shows

clinical trial Clinical trials are prospective biomedical or behavioral research studies on human subject research, human participants designed to answer specific questions about biomedical or behavioral interventions, including new treatments (such as novel v ...

s of the use of corticosteroids to hasten lung development in pregnancies where a baby is likely to be born prematurely. Long ''after'' there was enough evidence to show that this treatment saved babies' lives, the evidence was not widely known, the treatment was not widely used, and further research was done into the same question. After the review made the evidence better known, the treatment was used more, preventing thousands of pre-term babies from dying of

infant respiratory distress syndrome Infant respiratory distress syndrome (IRDS), also known as surfactant deficiency disorder (SDD), and previously called hyaline membrane disease (HMD), is a syndrome in premature infants caused by developmental insufficiency of pulmonary surfacta ...

. However, when the treatment was rolled out in lower- and middle-income countries, early data suggested that more pre-term babies died. It was thought that this could be because of a higher risk of infection, which is more likely to kill a baby in places with poor medical care and more malnourished mothers. The 2017 version of the review therefore said that there was "little need" for further research into the usefulness of the treatment in higher-income countries, but further research was needed on optimal dosage and on how to best treat lower-income and higher-risk mothers. Further research was done, and found the treatment did actually benefit babies in lower-income countries, too. The December 2020 version of the review stated that the "evidence

hat the treatment saves babies A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...

is robust, regardless of resource setting (high, middle or low)" and that further research should focus on "specific understudied subgroups such as multiple pregnancies and other high-risk obstetric groups, and the risks and benefits in the very early or very late preterm periods".

In culture

The idea that research papers always end with some variation of FRIN was described as an "old joke" in a 1999

epidemiology Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and Risk factor (epidemiology), determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population, and application of this knowledge to prevent dise ...

editorial. FRIN has been advocated as a position politicians should take on under-evidenced claims. Requests for further research on questions relevant to political policy can lead to better-informed decisions, but FRIN statements have also been used in bad faith: for instance, to delay political decisions, or as a justification for ignoring existing research knowledge (as was done by nicotine companies). Policymakers may also not know of existing research; they seldom systematically search databases of research literature, preferring to use

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and ask colleagues for research papers. FRIN has been advocated as a motto for life, applicable everywhere except research papers; it has been printed on T-shirts, and satirized by the "Collectively Unconscious" blog, which reported that an article in the journal ''

Science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

'' had concluded that "no further research is needed, at all, anywhere, ever". The webcomic

xkcd ''xkcd'' is a serial webcomic created in 2005 by American author Randall Munroe. Sometimes styled ''XKCD'', the comic's tagline describes it as "a webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language". Munroe states on the comic's website that the ...

has also used the phrase as a topic, for self-satire, and as a bathetic punchline.

References

{{reflist , 30em, refs= {{Cite journal, publisher = John Wiley & Sons , collaboration= The Cochrane Collaboration , last1 = Roberts, first1 = Devender, journal = Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, last2 = Brown, first2 = Julie, last3 = Medley, first3 = Nancy, last4 = Dalziel, first4 = Stuart R, volume = 3, pages = CD004454, title = Antenatal corticosteroids for accelerating fetal lung maturation for women at risk of preterm birth, location = Chichester, UK, date = 2017-03-21, issue= 3 , doi = 10.1002/14651858.CD004454.pub3, pmid = 28321847, pmc = 6464568{{Update inline, reason=Updated version https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33368142, date = March 2021 {{Cite journal, vauthors=McGoldrick E, Stewart F, Parker R, Dalziel SR, date=December 25, 2020, title=Antenatal corticosteroids for accelerating fetal lung maturation for women at risk of preterm birth, journal=Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, volume=12, issue=2 , pages=CD004454, doi=10.1002/14651858.CD004454.pub4, pmid=33368142, pmc=8094626 {{cite web , url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/brain-flapping/2016/mar/16/more-research-needed-cliche-science-higher-education , title='More research is needed': empty cliché or words to live by? , first=Dean , last=Burnett , date=16 March 2016 , work=

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

, access-date=1 October 2017 {{cite web , url=http://www.evidentlycochrane.net/invisible-unicorn-grazing-office/ , title=An invisible unicorn has been grazing in my office for a month... Prove me wrong , author=Martin Burton , work=Evidently Cochrane , date=October 7, 2016 {{cite web , url=http://www.evidentlycochrane.net/cochrane-logo-health-warning/ , title=Should the Cochrane logo be accompanied by a health warning? , author=Iain Chalmers , date=October 4, 2016 {{cite web , url=https://abstracts.cochrane.org/2004-ottawa/further-research-needed , title=Further research is needed? , last=Vlassov , first=Vasiliy Victorovich , year=2004 , website=Cochrane Colloquium Abstracts {{cite journal , last1=Coyne , first1=James C. , last2=van Sonderen , first2=Eric , title=No further research needed: Abandoning the Hospital and Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS) , journal=Journal of Psychosomatic Research , date=March 2012 , volume=72 , issue=3 , pages=173–174 , doi=10.1016/j.jpsychores.2011.12.003 , pmid=22325694 , url=https://www.rug.nl/research/portal/files/6774405/Coyne_2012_J_Psychosom_Res.pdf, hdl=11370/e045970a-e3b6-49d3-a951-e221d8b71bc3 , hdl-access=free {{cite journal , url=https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/elsevier/editorial-Xq1Gu7rF5d , title=Editorial: More Research is Needed , date=January 1999 , publisher=Elsevier , journal=Annals of Epidemiology , volume=9 , issue=1 , pages=17–18 , doi=10.1016/S1047-2797(98)00050-7, pmid=9915604 , last1=Maldonado , first1=G. , last2=Poole , first2=C. , url-access=subscription {{cite journal , url=http://www.bmj.com/content/341/bmj.c4662 , title=More research is needed—but what type?, first=Fiona , last=Godlee , date=25 August 2010 , journal=BMJ , volume=341, page=c4662 , doi=10.1136/bmj.c4662, s2cid=72215015, url-access=subscription {{cite news , url=http://blogs.plos.org/speakingofmedicine/2012/06/25/less-research-is-needed/, title=Less research is needed, first=Trish, last=Greenhalgh, newspaper=Speaking of Medicine and Health , author-link=Trish Greenhalgh, date=25 June 2012, access-date=8 October 2017, publisher=

PLOS PLOS (for Public Library of Science; PLoS until 2012) is a nonprofit publisher of open-access journals in science, technology, and medicine and other scientific literature, under an open-content license. It was founded in 2000 and launched it ...

{{cite journal , author=Karianne Thune Hammerstrøm , author2=Arild Bjørndal , title=If there are no randomised controlled trials, do we always need more research? ditorial, journal=Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews , date=2011-03-14 , volume=3(?) , issue=8 , pages=ED000024 , doi=10.1002/14651858.ED000024, pmid = 21833983, pmc=10896119 {{cite web , url=https://thesislink.aut.ac.nz/?p=5179 , title=More Research is Needed , first=Anaise , last=Irvine , date=29 March 2017 , website=Thesislink , access-date=2 October 2017 {{cite web , title=Election claim pitfalls: "further research is needed" , url=https://fullfact.org/news/election-claim-pitfalls-further-research-needed/ , website=Full Fact , language=en , date=4 May 2015 {{cite journal , url=https://academic.oup.com/ije/article/30/4/771/705915/The-economics-of-more-research-is-needed , title=The economics of 'more research is needed' , first=Carl V , last=Phillips , date=1 August 2001 , publisher=Oxford University Press , journal=International Journal of Epidemiology , volume=30 , issue=4 , pages=771–776 , doi=10.1093/ije/30.4.771, pmid=11511601 , doi-access=free {{cite web , last1=Redd , first1=Steven B. , title=Scope and Methods of Political Science, Political Science 700 , url=https://uwm.edu/political-science/wp-content/uploads/sites/186/2015/01/polsci700-redd.pdf , publisher=University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee , date=2011 (course notes) {{Cite journal, doi = 10.1016/j.amepre.2011.02.023, issn = 0749-3797, volume = 40, issue = 6, pages = 637–644, last1 = Kessler, first1 = Rodger, last2 = Glasgow, first2 = Russell E., title = A Proposal to Speed Translation of Healthcare Research Into Practice, journal = American Journal of Preventive Medicine, access-date = 2017-10-24, date = June 2011, pmid = 21565657, url = http://sites.udel.edu/delawareproject/files/2011/10/14_Kessler__Glasgow_2011.pdf {{cite web , url=https://collectivelyunconscious.wordpress.com/2013/01/16/scientists-conclude-no-further-research-is-needed/ , title=Scientists conclude: 'No further research is needed' , author=Dr. Psyphago , date=16 January 2013 , publisher=Collectively Unconscious , access-date=1 October 2017 {{cite web , title=2268: Further Research is Needed - explain xkcd , url=https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2268:_Further_Research_is_Needed , website=www.explainxkcd.com , language=en, {{cite web , title=2271: Grandpa Jason and Grandpa Chad - explain xkcd , url=https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2271:_Grandpa_Jason_and_Grandpa_Chad , website=www.explainxkcd.com {{cite web , title=2344: 26-Second Pulse - explain xkcd , url=https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2344:_26-Second_Pulse , website=www.explainxkcd.com Research Medical research Philosophy of medicine Statistical hypothesis testing Phrases Metascience