The Sports Physical Therapy Podcast · Mike Reinold

How to Read a Journal Article with Phil Page - Episode 38

·29 min·2 clips

Phil Page says “significant” findings are not enough, and clinical decisions should not be based on p-values alone.

1. The Sports Physical Therapy Podcast episode is about how to read a journal article with Phil Page. 2. Mike Reinald hosts the conversation, and Phil Page is an associate professor, research director at Franciscan University DPT program in Baton Rouge, and an editor of the International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy. 3. The episode asks how clinicians can find quality research and use it to improve clinical practice. 4. Phil Page says journal quality starts with the publisher, peer review, and whether the journal follows International Committee of Medical Journal Editors guidelines. 5. He warns about predatory “journal farms,” fake publisher addresses, and emails promising publication in 24 to 48 hours. 6. Phil says open access and publishing fees do not automatically make a journal good or bad. 7. He recommends checking PubMed, looking for familiar editorial reviewers, and using Beall’s list as a starting point for predatory journals. 8. Phil says even credible journals can publish articles with errors, including flipped data and incorrect abstract p-values. 9. He describes sending emails to an editor and posting on social media after finding seven errors in one published article. 10. Phil says reviewers are a “dying breed” because they are not paid and journals are struggling to find them. 11. Phil says the purpose statement, hypothesis, and research question should come first when reading an article. 12. He uses PICO and keywords like difference, effect, association, and relationship to match purpose with design. 13. Phil says authors may label a study as a randomized controlled trial even when the design does not fit that claim. 14. He points listeners to equator-network.org for reporting guidelines and to PEDro and Joanna Briggs for risk-of-bias tools. 15. Phil says tests and measures must be checked for validity and reliability before trusting the results. 16. He says p-values are often overused, while confidence intervals, effect sizes, and minimal clinically important difference are more useful clinically. 17. Phil says the sample may not represent the patient in front of the clinician, even when a result is statistically significant. 18. He and Mike Reinald keep the tone practical and conversational, with examples from journals, tables, and clinical decision-making. 19. Clinicians, early-career PTs, and journal readers who want a method for appraising research. 20. People looking for entertainment rather than a detailed research-methods discussion.

As heard by us

A practical guide to judging research without mistaking journal reputation for quality.

Phil Page draws a clean line between research that looks polished and research that can actually shape practice. The conversation stays centered on how clinicians can find solid studies and review articles, then weigh what the findings mean in real care.

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Learn how to sort quality research and review articles so the findings that matter in clinic rise to the top.

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