Methodology · Source check 2026-08-24
How to Evaluate Acupuncture Research
How does Needle & Evidence turn sources into condition decisions without inventing a score?
Needle & Evidence reads condition-specific sources, keeps comparator details visible, and does not convert varied studies into a single effectiveness score.
What the record looks for
Each record identifies the population, intervention, outcome, comparator, source type, guideline position, limitation, safety question, and date checked. Policy coverage remains separate from clinical evidence.
What this does not establish
A source summary is not individualized advice. Important changes, corrections, and source replacements are noted in the update ledger so readers can see when a record needs a fresh check.
The same discipline applies to any document that carries a code, a charge and a date. When a reader checks whether a cited source is current, the date on the record is the first thing to verify, and the same holds for a hospital bill: each service, supply and medication appears with its own code, charge and date rather than a single total. A short guide to reading those dates of service and codes is available here: dates of service. It does not replace a billing office, but it shows where the evidence sits on the page.
A method page also states where a record stops. When a claim depends on a legal threshold, the threshold is a dated fact, not a fixed one, and it is read against the source text rather than a summary. France sets its line for hemp at a THC concentration of 0.3% on the dry plant, a figure that governs what a product may contain and what a label may say. For readers checking how such a number is verified, the same reading discipline applies to reading a CBD label.
The same discipline applies when a reader asks how a visible trait is inherited. A white coat in the German Shepherd and the White Swiss Shepherd is usually the visible result of the e/e genotype at the MC1R gene: the dog can still make black pigment, but the switch that would place it in the hair shaft is held off. That is a statement about pigment placement, not about pigment loss, and the distinction matters when a DNA test result is read. The method used here, naming the source, stating the comparator, and labelling the decision, is set out for this example in the page on colour is not albinism.
Before acting on this page
- Write down the outcome you hope to change and how you would notice it.
- Bring medicines, supplements, and relevant health questions to the clinician coordinating care.
- Verify a practitioner’s applicable license and ask about scope, consent, costs, and sterile single-use needles.
Sources to inspect
VA acupuncture evidence map, NCCIH acupuncture overview, CMS National Coverage Determination 30.3.3
Checked 2026-08-24. Source pages are linked for direct review; this publication paraphrases rather than reproduces their text.
The same method applied elsewhere
The steps above are not specific to acupuncture: name the population, name the outcome, keep the comparator, and say what the source did not test. Guidance on responsible merle breeding has the same shape, since the decision rests on a documented genotype and a stated risk rather than on how an animal looks. Readers who want to see this method applied end to end can open the Decision Index.