2.2 Explain How To Evaluate Research Enlightening And Informative

Internet Activity #2
This article, explaining how to evaluate research findings was enlightening and informative. When the average person sees a study reported by a familiar news source, they may take the publicized findings as absolute fact, without a second thought. This can lead to widespread misinformation. People may act on information that is incomplete or inaccurate and harm their wellbeing in the process. Contradictory studies can leave people feeling confused and frustrated. It is helpful to have a set of guidelines and red flags that may indicate faulty science.
While a costly and lengthy study is likely to sound credible, this isn’t necessarily so.
Huge amounts of money are often spent in unproductive ways and long periods of time
can be invested in research that fails to reveal conclusive results. The fact that a study sounds prestigious, does not indicate that it is accurate.
One thing that I learned early on to look out for was the sampling of a study.
Small sample sizes usually indicate that a study cannot be generalized to a larger population. Samples that are not selected randomly are likely to be biased and not apply to a general population.
Samples that are taken in a small area cannot be generalized to a larger, more diverse area.
Something that may apply to one select group of people does not necessarily apply to any other group. Another important consideration when evaluating research is significance, both statistical and actual. Statistical significance occurs when results are not likely to be attributable to mere chance. Data may be statistically significant, while the impact of the study is actually insignificant to those who are not involved in the research. If a variable is found to affect

wellbeing to a very small extent, which is not noticeable to the average person, the finding is not actually significant.
It is also essential to be wary of researcher bias. Both profits and pride can motivate researchers to purposely skew the results of research and to make unsubstantiated claims. Such bias is especially common in pharmaceutical research, in which those whose research supports
a pharmaceutical company often receive more compensation than those who are objective in their
research.
Without appropriate measurement tools, it is very difficult to make reliable measurements. It is sometimes the case that researchers are unable to find an appropriate way of measuring what they intend to study. This can lead to unjustified comparisons and inaccurate findings. Those who read about new ways of measuring a familiar concept should be skeptical and on the lookout for evidence that this method of measurement serves its purpose.
While new discoveries sound exciting and garner a lot of attention, they have yet to be proven through replication of the research results. If a study cannot be replicated, it means very little and it should not be accepted as fact. New findings are promising in that they provide new research avenues for other scientists to explore further, but they should not be accepted without further support.
After learning about various ways of evaluating research, I feel better armed to discover more in the scientific world. I am less likely to accept information without finding out where it came from and by which methods it was determined. There is an astonishing amount
of misinformation throughout the popular media and the scientific community. It is imperative that all those interested in science develop a critical eye for good and bad science.