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Wednesday, February 20, 2013
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How to Conduct Scientific Research On the Internet (Without Getting Duped)
February 20th, 2013Top StoryHow to Conduct Scientific Research On the Internet (Without Getting Duped)You know how to tell if something controversial is actually true, but what if you want to read up on something without stumbling into half-truths and pseudoscience? Here's how to use the internet as a powerful research tool without being led astray. The internet is full of useful, well-documented information, and all of it is right at our fingertips. The problem is that the signal-to-noise ratio can be pretty low. Most search engines try to separate the real science from unsourced opinions and so-called "experts" only interested in selling books, but it's not enough to guarantee validity. With these tips, you'll learn how to quickly cut through the weeds and get to the good stuff in no time. Recognize Your Two Biggest Research EnemiesBefore you just fire up Google and start researching blindly, you have two big obstacles to watch out for:
Combined, these two can convince people to believe even the most tenuous claims. We discussed how to beat them back and get to the truth, but n this case, you're starting from scratch and researching a new subject. Just keep them in mind and watch out for anything that seems too good to be true, or doesn't pass the almighty sniff test. Fire Up Your Critical Thinking Skills and Start SearchingIf your goal is to read up on current research in quantum physics or understand a specific type of cancer, the first thing to know is that real research doesn't take ten minutes. If you really want to dig into a topic, you'll have to do a good bit of hunting and reading. Through it all, you'll also have to make sure what you find is corroborated elsewhere (Hey, it's called research for a reason). Open your favorite search engine, whether it's Google, Bing, or something else, and start looking for the topic you'd like to learn more about. These search engines won't be the end of your search, but they're fine for getting your feet wet. You'll probably find yourself wading through thousands of results from hundreds of sources (and we'll get to how to differentiate the good ones from the bad ones in a moment), but this is a good way to understand the depth of information available for the subject you're researching. It's also a great way to get an overview of what's available so you can refine your searches to get right to what you want to know. Next, try some of these more scholarly search engines as well. They'll lead you to more credible, cited information, along with journal articles and reference material that can help:
Try to avoid second or third party articles that write about studies or research unless they link to or quote the study in question. If they do, go read that instead. Relying on third party articles is like playing the "telephone game"—the actual information from the first party will likely be distorted by the time it gets to you. At best, it's not a problem, but at worst the conclusions of a third-party article or press release can be wildly different from the conclusions in the study itself. Even the most well-intentioned outlets and highly trained journalists suffer from this sometimes. Learn to Differentiate Good Sources from Questionable OnesRemember those "questionable sources" we talked about earlier? When you start your search, you'll need to learn to separate them from the good stuff. Scammers and hoaxsters go out of their way to disguise marketing copy as "journal articles" and "clinical testing." Here are a couple of ways to tell whether the reference you're reading is legitimate:
These tips don't just go for journal articles, they go for articles and entire web sites as well. Granted, third party reporting isn't held to the same standard as peer-reviewed journals, but most well-intentioned publications at least try to cite their sources, offer additional reading, and avoid drawing unfounded conclusions from individual studies. For example, Wikipedia may seem like a good resource, but it's really not. Wikipedia data is too easy to change and the pages often too static and outdated to be useful for reference material. That doesn't make it useless though: Wikipedia is a great place to read up on the basics, and a great jumping-off point for more reading. Wikipedia's real research power is in its own citations—even if an article is out of date or inaccurate, that article's citations are worth reading (and sometimes, citing.) Learn to Read and Understand Journal ArticlesNow that you have a pile of journal articles, it's important to understand exactly what they are and how to read them. First of all, avoid the temptation to assume a journal article is in itself an indisputable fact. Researchers use journal articles to share new research, discuss theory among experts, and as a forum to share knowledge. They are not an end-product, and no lab says "Well, we published a paper, we're done studying cancer!" Reading a paper can often be daunting. Depending on the field you're reading about, you may be awash in language you're not familiar with, or mathematical calculations you're not familiar with. That's okay—this is where you get to cheat a little bit. Read the abstract and introduction first and see if the topic is relevant to what you're researching. Read the conclusions to see how the methodology panned out and what the results of the research were, along with suggested avenues of future study. Then go through the data and the methodology if you can, and try to understand how the study was conducted. What was the sample size? How was the study controlled, if a control was necessary? In good papers, all of these things are discussed openly. The video above does a great job explaining in layman's terms what scholarly journals and academic papers are and how to understand them. Remember, almost every journal article, even if it obtains broad consensus, is a jumping off point for additional study. It's almost never the last word on a topic, and never should be. The beauty of science research is that it's always testing new theories and methods until old patterns and assumptions are either well explained and duplicated or break down entirely. How to Access to Journals, Research Papers, and Well-Sourced Reference InformationIf sitting at home isn't cutting it for you, and you need more or easier access to quality data, you have some options:
The idea that you can't trust the Internet is misplaced. The key is just to find well-sourced, well-cited information on a given topic before you can trust it. It's not even that difficult to do—it's just not something that aligns with the fast-paced world of blog comments and Twitter arguments. Becoming literate in a subject area or even remotely knowledgeable requires time, patience, and a good bit of actual open-minded research. It's not something you can do in time to respond wittily to someone who made you angry on Facebook. That said, it's worth doing every time. You'll benefit with better understanding of a topic, and you'll be more prepared to have an informed dialogue, make better health and wellness decisions, or get excited about new research in the future. Title image made using ostill (Shuttstock). |
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