Why was the DOI on my PDF not accepted?

Occasionally a PDF shows a DOI that belongs to a reprint. MedQuiry requires the DOI from the original paper.

What is a predatory journal?

A predatory journal is a publication that presents itself as a legitimate scholarly journal but fails to follow accepted standards of scientific publishing, such as rigorous peer review and independent editorial oversight.

What do I do if my study is behind a paywall?

If you subscribe to the journal that has your study behind a paywall, you may download the PDF of the study and score it on MedQuiry.

Why does my study not rescore?

Re-scoring needs the text of the study again. If we cannot recover it — there is no open-access version to re-fetch and no stored PDF — you will need to submit the study again. Re-scoring can also fail if the scoring service errors, in which case try again in a moment. Eligibility is not re-checked: a study that already has a report has already passed those screens.

Why did my scoring take longer than 10 seconds?

On rare occasions, a very complex or lengthy study may take more than ten seconds to score. Also, if your scoring routinely takes longer than ten seconds, it is most likely due to slow internet speeds on your end or an unstable internet connection.

Why will the study from Open Evidence not score?

If your study from Open Evidence will not score, it is most likely an abstract or not a complete study, or the full study is behind a paywall. If it is the latter, and you have a subscription to the journal listed, you can upload the PDF to MedQuiry and it will be stored in your locker for future reference.

How long will you store studies in my locker?

As long as your account is active. Dormancy only begins once your token balance reaches zero, and it is measured from your last purchase or the last study you scored — not from when you last signed in. Your locker becomes read-only after 12 months dormant and is scheduled for deletion after 24, with a 30-day notice period and an email from us at each step.

Why is an account deactivated?

Dormancy is measured from your last purchase or the last study you scored, not from when you last signed in, and the clock only starts once your token balance reaches zero. Any unused token keeps the account active. After 12 months dormant your locker becomes read-only; after 24 months the account is scheduled for deletion, with a 30-day notice period. We email you at each step, and any purchase resets the clock.

What do I do if I disagree with a score?

MedQuiry is very open to feedback. Send us your commentary through the Submit feedback button on your score report, or via the Contact us link in the footer.

Why did my study score so low?

An explanation of each study's scores is always presented. It should be clear from the explanation which components of the study drove down the final score. If it is not, please submit feedback through the Submit feedback button on your score report, or via the report-a-bug option in the footer.

Why was my study scored at zero?

A score of zero is effectively unreachable — it would require every one of the eight domains to score nothing. What you are far more likely looking at is a very low score, which comes from a study missing whole categories of methodology at once: no conflict-of-interest disclosure combined with a lowest-tier journal caps the total at 6.9, and an empirical study with neither bias control nor reported statistics caps at 4.9. Retracted studies are a separate case. We refuse them before scoring and refund your token, so a retraction produces no report at all rather than a zero.

What is an abstract?

An abstract is a summary of the principal conclusions of a study; it is not the full study. Many abstracts do not address the types of information that MedQuiry analyzes, for instance conflict of interest disclosures or the absence of bias control. Because the metrics MedQuiry uses to analyze the methodological rigor of a study are frequently not present, MedQuiry will not score an abstract.

Are you like Open Evidence or UpToDate?

Not exactly. OpenEvidence, UpToDate, and MedQuiry all help users navigate medical evidence, but they are designed to answer different questions.

OpenEvidence uses AI to search and synthesize medical literature to help answer a clinical question. UpToDate goes further toward clinical decision support, using expert authors and editors to synthesize the available evidence and develop clinical recommendations.

MedQuiry starts with a different question: How much confidence should I place in this particular piece of research?

Rather than primarily summarizing a body of literature or recommending what a clinician should do, MedQuiry evaluates an individual research paper itself. It analyzes the full available article across a structured framework that considers study design, methodology, statistical integrity, potential bias, journal quality and credibility, relevance, and other factors that affect how much confidence should be placed in its findings.

Those interconnected assessments are translated into a standardized MedQuiry score, giving users a consistent and understandable way to evaluate and compare individual studies.

In simple terms: OpenEvidence helps you understand what the literature says. UpToDate helps clinicians decide what to do. MedQuiry helps you determine how much confidence to place in the research behind those conclusions.

Is MedQuiry a governmental agency?

No, MedQuiry is not a government agency. We are a private company.

Who developed MedQuiry?

MedQuiry was developed by a team that included MDs, PhDs, PharmDs, and technologists, because we wanted to understand which medical studies offered value, as it became clear that many do not.