Lecture Notes: Evidence, Essential Oils, and Scientific Process

Vocabulary flashcards covering terms related to essential oils, evidence quality, and scientific methods.

FDA disclaimer

A statement that claims have not been evaluated by the FDA and that the product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Aromatic

Describing a scent; subjective description of odor rather than an objective property.

Topical

Applied to the skin; intended for external use.

Internal

Used inside the body; ingested or internal application.

Cold-press (expressed) extraction

A method of extracting essential oils, especially from citrus rind, by pressing; often labeled cold-pressed.

Rind

The outer peel or skin of a fruit; source of citrus essential oils.

Mechanism not explained

A situation where how something works is not yet described or known.

Acupuncture

Traditional practice; some patients report pain relief, but mechanisms are not fully explained.

Peer review

Evaluation of a manuscript by independent experts before publication to check quality and validity.

Self-correcting science

The scientific process where conclusions are revised in light of new evidence and replication.

Retraction

Removal of a published paper from a journal due to errors, fraud, or misconduct.

Independent funding

Financial support not tied to the researchers’ institution or sponsors to reduce bias.

Andrew Wakefield

Researcher whose now-retracted 1998 study linked vaccines to autism, illustrating scientific fraud.

Single-blind study

A study in which participants do not know their group assignment, but researchers may know.

Double-blind study

A study in which neither participants nor researchers know group assignments to prevent bias.

Control group

The group in a study that does not receive the experimental treatment, used for comparison.

Experimental group

The group in a study that receives the treatment or condition being tested.