Medicine tested

Medicine tested

Test results are called "provings" which is taken directly from the German word meaning "test".  Note, test results are unrelated to the English word, proof.  Proving means a test of a remedy. Healthy people take the remedy and those who report changes in the mental emotional or physical state contribute to the test results.

Are tests numerical or qualitative?

Tests are qualitative.  First, the provers describe their reactions in their own words.  Those descriptions are analyzed to find consistent themes among provers and themes that relate to themes from other tests.  This organization of the database requires qualitative analysis.  Secondly, some provers do not react at all and they do not contribute to test results. The nuances that develop from the provings are much more important than statistical comparisons of the frequency of any specific theme or description.  As a result, the quality of reporting and the analysis of the prover's report are essential for evaluating the quality of a proving.

Reliability of tests

Remedies vary in the degree to which they can be described by highly reliable test results. Reliability of "provings" is basic "shop talk" among homeopaths, and different school vary in their standards. The statistical studies that I use are my starting line for using these test results.