[duaneb]

> one cannot make the claim "Psychotherapy via Internet found as good as or better than face-to-face" just yet.

Actually, they did find it as good or better, just not conclusively.... not that one ever could.

(I agree with the analysis—a larger sample size is definitely needed—but I get annoyed by people who discard studies entirely. This is far, far better than no study.)

[ForrestN]

I would say "found as" is a little misleading when the size is so small. Maybe "initial evidence suggests" or something would be more accurate.

[bigfudge]

I think there's actually an argument not to discuss these small pilot studies outside of the immediate community of researchers. The studies aren't powered to detect a difference, and history tells us we're more likely to be mislead than enlightened by interpreting the results of small trials.

[duaneb]

> we're more likely to be mislead than enlightened by interpreting the results of small trials

Potentially yes, but when you consider anecdotal evidence to be trials with sample size 1, this is still a large improvement.