Introduction to Etiognostic Research

Abstract

In the development of a sound orientation to the exceptionally challenging, etiognostic species of quintessentially-applied clinical research, the very first need is to reach a critical understanding of the meaning of a case of an illness (or sickness not due to illness) having been caused by a particular factor present prior to this outcome. Closely related to this is the need to achieve a tenable understanding of what those factors are in principle. Then comes the pivotal, greatest challenge: the need to reach a true understanding of how research on this species of causation is possible, despite the retrospective and unobservable essence of it. Finally, there is the considerable challenge to understand the deduction, from this pivotal understanding, the requisite essence of etiognostic studies. This essence remains commonly misunderstood in contemporary epidemiological research, and in etiognostic clinical research in consequence of this.