AIA Research Academy

Research Methods for Practitioners: Learning from a Systematic Review

with Marco Valussi, BSc. (Hons) Herbal Medicine

Learner Outcomes:

• Be able to discuss what science is, and why it relies on specific concepts and methods.
• Be able to discriminate between poor or fraudulent research and pseudoscience.
• Be able to elaborate on the different risks involved pseudoscience.

This presentation will present arguments to support the idea that before conducting scientific research we should have a broader understanding of what science is and why we should, as individuals and as members of the aromatherapy community, engage with it. Without this broader understanding, we risk using scientific tools mechanically, which limits both their effectiveness and our ability to interpret results, and to examine critically our own actions and beliefs.

Marco Valussi is a qualified, UK-trained, clinical herbalist (BSc. (Hons.)) and aromatherapist (ITHMA). He has been working in this field for 30 years, and over the years has moved from clinical work to consultancy, independent research and teaching. He teaches clinical herbalism and aromatherapy at various University Masters, has published two university textbooks on essential oils’ science and Materia Medica, an introductory text for beginners and more than 20 scientific papers (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9108-848X). He also works as a consultant for the essential and distillation industry, and for NGOs operating in the field of traditional medicine.