Science is all around us. It is there with us when we turn on the lights in the morning, when we drive to work in dead locked traffic, and when we pick up our cell phones to make a call. Science has defined many of our lives since we were little kids and it is constantly evolving and changing. New research and studies are coming out daily. So, how do we know if a study is truly reliable?
Many studies you see in magazines, on television, or in advertisements many times contradict themselves or other studies. Scientist nowadays are so desperate to come up with a new “groundbreaking study”, that they are grasping at anything out in the open to make breaking news. They are only looking at one part of the experiment and fail to see how ridiculous it looks and sounds.
Scientists also participate, usually subconsciously, in something called p-hacking. This is a way of altering a study so you get the results you want. Scientist collect an abundance of data and them rearrange it so they get the positive outcome they were looking for.
On top of reaching and p-hacking, one other point makes certain scientific study extremely unreliable. Many of these exploratory studies are not replicated. Scientist do not want to be noted as the “Scientist who disproved that coffee does not cure cancer”, or some other study that people were excited about. They would rather come up with their own study that is new and “groundbreaking”.
One of the main reasons Oliver gave for being skeptical about scientific studies were being portrayed in the media was title changing. This is where a medical journal or media release will change the title to “fluff” it up and make it seem more appealing and a lot less uneventful. I have seen many studies in the media and on the news, that seem stretched and a but unbelievable. I feel this is because of title changing. Authors are taking parts of the study that might draw a reader’s attention and changing the title so it seems more ground breaking than it actually is.
This information is valuable in more than just college research, but for life as well. I can now pick out fraud articles by looking a little more in depth and seeking out what the article is truly about. This will be helpful later on in my research throughout college.
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