Read the Evidence

The one transferable skill on this site: telling strong evidence from a claim that is merely sold hard. Works on content we will never write.

5 steps · ~25min · tick as you go

5 steps

  1. How our composite indices work

    See the ladder this site grades every claim on, and why a medal is only ever awarded to real evidence.

  2. Randomised controlled trial

    Know what a randomised controlled trial buys you that an observational study cannot.

  3. Food Myths, Rated

    Watch the ladder applied to seven claims you have definitely met, including one where the popular answer is backwards.

  4. Longevity Supplements and Drugs, Rated

    Learn the single most useful question to ask a health claim: was this measured in humans?

  5. Grade the Claim

    Grade six claims you haven't seen, and find out how calibrated you actually are.

How this works

Nothing here is gated and nothing is new: every step is a page or a calculator already on the site, and you can jump straight to any of them. The order is the contribution, along with the last step — a round of Grade the Claim, because reading something and being able to judge it later are different skills, and only the second one survives the week.

Ticks are saved on this device. Claims you meet in the check come back on a spacing schedule, and what you know keeps the tally.

Written and reviewed by Mathew Beale, MSc Biotechnology, University of Reading.

Last reviewed: