Do your own research. But do it right.

A lot of scientists make jokes about people who do their own research. I want you to know, that it’s utterly okay to do your own research --- provided you do it right. But how do you do that? I have collected some tips that I hope you will find helpful.

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00:00 Intro
00:39 Reasons for doing this video
03:35 When not to do your own research
04:27 Before You Start: Reasonable Expectations
05:27 Before You Start: Be Honest With Yourself
08:00 Before You Start: Acknowledge Biases
09:18 Start With the Basics
11:08 Understanding Scientific Literature
14:24 Don’t Do This
15:29 Statistics and other lies
16:02 Summary
16:40 Learn Science With Brilliant

#science #research #quizwithit

[charlesbradshaw]

As a computational scientist, I've published research in areas as different as high-energy astrophysics and computational chemistry. I've also made egregious blunders and had to withdraw papers with embarrassing mistakes. Admitting mistakes, in most of the community, is a sign of integrity. I wholly endorse your research methodology and enjoy your channel.

[SpiritmanProductions]

I believe the key difference between the scientific community and people who "do their own research" is that the latter only look for evidence to _support_ their hypothesis, whereas the former make every attempt to _disprove_ it, to see if it stands up.

[surferdude]

There are people that just want to silence any opinion that they do not share. The scientific method is not restricted to a single discipline. Your videos are informative, unbiased and entertaining. What more could I aske? Keep right on being you and I will keep on watching.

[paulcooper]

"And don't trust me, either." That is priceless. Thank you so much for posting this video. I'm going to keep your recommendations in mind when doing my own research.

[GvInit]

You keep debunking, challenging, and exposing the b.s. I will keep watching even if I see a mistake, because I know you have the integrity to correct your mistakes. Thank you.

[JorgeMunozJr]

It took me basically my graduate career to figure out what you say here in 20 minutes. Thank you for teaching us how to apply the rigor and methods of science to everyday life. Please do the video on experts.

[MCsCreations]

Sabine, I love to do "my own research", for decades already... Since I started to access the internet and learned to do it. And I absolutely agree, you NEED a very healthy dose of skepticism, including about yourself and your biases.
I remember when a friend of mine asked me to start writing articles for his astronomy blog. So I chose some topics and started searching about them... And then I had an transformative experience: I had to write something I was biased against.
And let me tell you... It felt bad! It's never easy to go against your own biases, but reality doesn't care for your feelings. It is what it is. So I went with what the evidence was telling me and wrote it. And published the article. And, honestly? After that it felt great. I felt fantastic for being honest, so that's what I kept doing.
(His blog unfortunately didn't live long enough, but then I created my own and published everything there. The idea was to create a non profit organization to keep it going, but it didn't work out... But the blog lived for more than 10 years, which is a big victory.)
Anyway, stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

[cloogshicer]

YES! Please do the video on how to recognize an expert in a field you yourself know nothing about.

[siimkinnas]

This should be a mandatory intro to each and any PhD study. Short and concise, excellent work!

[earthing]

Sabine's ability to inject humor into any topic is truly impressive. Her sense of humor shines through consistently, and absolutely adore it.

[sapelesteve]

Excellent video Sabine! Let's not forget that any subject of research is a continual learning process. Even having a PhD in a given field does not mean that one knows everything there is to know. You are correct about doing your own research & also admitting what you don't know. Well done! 👍👍

[mains]

Some of the most interesting research comes when ideas come together from disparate fields. If everybody had to just stick to what they were an expert in, we would be all the poorer for it. I am very glad Sabine, that you are helping give people the tools to learn for themselves.

[-Freeman]

I'm extremely thankful for your videos. You provide a wonderful introduction to several topics in a rigorous manner, and without disrespecting your audience by hiding the key points of scientific research and sounding cheesy like so many other science creators. Best regards from a fellow physicist.

[ez]

The most important thing is honesty. Some people only want information that proves their point right, others just seek randomly. Its difficult to research because it takes time and innitiative. Everyone has these phases but sometimes you mistake things for your own ideas and thats where you have to be honest to yourself

[vixlenz]

Thank you for being so open and honest Sabine. If people were forced to stop talking if they made any kind of error the whole world would be silent. Please keep making more video, they're incredibly interesting and helpful and unfortunately, not all of us can afford a PHD, and still want to try to educate ourselves. Much love!!💕💕💕

[ianbrown]

Sabine, whilst I enjoy all your videos I think this is probably the most USEFUL video that I have seen in combatting nonsense on the Web. Good research practice is absolutely vital starting with checking sources. I’d love to see some more episodes on areas like, P-values, statistical significance, visualisations and what claims you can reasonably make from your data etc to remind me of all the stuff I’ve forgotten since doing my own PhD.

Keep it up - you are brilliant (pun intended) !!

[studentjohn]

"Look at the data, don't trust the text". Getting that advice early on would've saved me a lot of time when I was doing my PhD!. I think there is a deep disconnect between scientific integrity (where acknowledging and trying to counter your own bias's, admitting 'I was wrong', or 'I don't know' is a sign of integrity and a useful step) and politics and management (where admitting 'I was wrong' or 'I don't know' seems to be an admission of fatal flaws and, if anything, it is standard practice to encourage and use bias in yourself and others).

[frasercain]

I really trust my instinct when I don't feel like I have a good understanding of a topic. That means I should report on it until I understand it deeper. Often this means I schedule an interview with someone who specializes in it so I can get a better explanation into my head. Most of my interviews come from this instinct. 🙂

[chonpincher]

Thank you, Sabine. This is one of your best. All the ideas presented flow coherently from one aim: wanting to know the truth and giving this priority over other concerns. These other concerns include many things, such as wanting to feel comfortable about one's beliefs, avoid tedious checking, keep one's job, be popular, etc.

[ArtisanTony]

I want an objective person to speak on subjects. This is more important to me than a PhD and I think you do a great job :)