Survey Says...

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I remember having an argument with someone about a health fact.  It was something that was well known and time seemed to only solidify the proof that it was true.  But this individual, in an effort to play devil’s advocate, decided he wanted to disagree with it and sent me a link to a “study” that proved it wrong.  I took one glance at who wrote it and completely shot him down.  I said, “This isn’t even a credible source.  It’s some Joe Shmo’s opinion.  He has no credentials to back him up.”  He couldn’t argue with that.  It surprised me that someone who claimed to be very educated would attempt to prove his point with something so weak.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned about the social sciences during my studies, it’s that you can’t rely too heavily on just any scientific research evidence that is out there.  It is important to read those studies with scrutiny.  (Hawkins, Dollahite, & Draper, 2012)

The first time a professor told me this, I have to admit it was very disheartening.  I had always felt better when my personal beliefs were backed up by some scientific study.  It almost felt like nothing could be for certain now.  If we couldn’t count on science, then what was the point of studying all of this? 

While not all studies have solid findings, some still give us a pretty good idea to go off of.  We can still use the better studies to make an educated guess in our decisions.  That being said, it is important to remember that scientists do not study moral agency.  “Social scientists study the outward manifestations of behavior, the inner workings of the mind, and the contexts in which beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors are forged.  The observation that much human behavior appears to be following predictable scripts does not obviate agency.”- Thomas W. Draper, professor in the School of Family Life at Brigham Young University  (Hawkins, Dollahite, & Draper, 2012)

So how can you tell if a study is better than others?  The first thing I do is look at where it came from and who wrote it, like in my example above.  If they have no credentials to back them up then don’t even waste your time reading it.  (Hawkins, Dollahite, & Draper, 2012)

The better studies are also those that can be repeated over and over with similar results.  For example, you might remember hearing of a study that supposedly proved that there was a “gay gene”.  The trouble came when no one could replicate the results.  Unfortunately many people still weigh heavily on this study that only proved to be a very weak theory.  (Hawkins, Dollahite, & Draper, 2012)

Finally you have to take into account the human factor.  All studies are done by humans and therefore are flawed.  There is no such thing as a perfect study.  (Hawkins, Dollahite, & Draper, 2012)

So be careful.  When you hear of a new scientific study, be smart and do your own research before you just believe anything you see or hear.  Especially before you try to prove any points with it.