A lot of people aren’t aware of what makes scientific research good, or bad. In this post, you will learn how to identify shoddy science. You can use these 10 tips to evaluate the quality of any upcoming study.
Humans are terrible at spotting bad science, so we need things like peer review and scientific consensus to protect us. Thankfully, there are plenty of signs that a study or an article contains bad science, such as incorrect statistics, cherry picked data and biased results. Here’s how to spot the next fake news story from far away.
You can spot bad science!
There are many ways to tell if a study is good or bad. But first, it’s important to know what makes science good in the first place. Science is defined as “a method of acquiring knowledge based on empirical evidence.” So when you’re reading about a new health trend or something that may affect your life, ask yourself these questions:
Is this author qualified? Have they done research before? Are they credible? Do their credentials match up with the topic at hand? Who funded this study (and why)? Who reviewed it before publication–were those people qualified too? Was this published in an academic journal or just somewhere online where anyone can post anything without vetting from peers who understand what kinds of errors might have been made during data collection or analysis processes
This is good news. It means that bad science isn’t a mystery, and you can learn how to spot it. You can even make sure your own work isn’t affected by bad science! But perhaps the most important takeaway from this article is that knowing how to spot bad science is an essential skill for everyone involved in research or public policy, no matter what field they’re in.
