Verify!

During the past two weeks, I was able to learn a ton of new content!

When conducting research, I often resort to either the first search result or a creditable source for my answers. This week, I was able to learn that sometimes more must be done to be certain about the information provided. As humans, we are capable of creating human error. This can also be applied to our research. So many factors can affect the quality of our research. A great example is what Loren Marks discovered regarding the research of the American Psychological Association. When they made the claim that “Not a single study has found children of lesbian or gay parents to be disadvantaged in any significant respect relative to children of heterosexual parents’’ Loren Mark examined this claim alongside its research and found many flaws to the research.

 

One flaw of research could be the purpose of a research. For example, the researchers at the APA were observing if children of gay or lesbian couples had any disadvantages compared to children with heterosexual parents. However, many of the research did not focus on the lives of the children. The research had focused on other topics like the parental motives and desires. When your research does not focus on your question, it does not meet the needs of the question.

 

Sample sizes are also a factor on whether or not research is reliable. A great example was given in class. If one were to question how many students at the university wears glasses, the research would have to survey as many students as possible to be the most accurate. If we were to conduct the survey to only ten students, then the sample size would not give us the most accurate results. If eight of those ten students had glasses, then it would still not be safe to assume that eighty percent of students have glasses. If we are to conduct the survey to a larger sample size, then we may learn that there are actually less students who wear glasses. The larger the sample size, the more accurate the research will be. The smaller the sample size is, the less accurate the research will be.

 

Research that is conducted with convenience could also affect the quality of your research. If we were to survey what is the most popular major in the university, we must conduct the research from around the university. If we were to take the survey in the music building. Then we would get more students who major in music. The research would then imply that the major in music is the most popular degree in the university. This is very inaccurate due to the research convenience. The survey must be performed from all around the university. Convenience must not get into our way. It is very important that we recognize any conveniences we may be performing and conduct research outside the box!

 

In conclusion, I was able to learn a ton about research. We must verify our sources, rather than assuming they are true. Credentials are a great way of recognizing if research is trustworthy and accurate. However, we must verify more than just the credential. Even trusted sources may come up short with flaws. We must provide the most accurate research we can. We are human, and humans are capable of many mistakes. There are many flaws that will step into our way. We must do our best to recognize our flaws and eliminate them. If we try our best to avoid flaws in our research, then we can provide the most accurate data to solve our questions!