"I have done my own research"

[MareofBeasttown]

Didn't want to put this in the coronavirus board because it's got so weird there. But just wanted to ask if I am the only one who does not do my own research in areas that I have no expertise in? I take expert advice and trust it will be fine.

I consulted my GP to ask if I should take the vaccine since I have no hope of understanding all the science behind the vaccine. Then I took it.
I go to lawyers if I have legal problems.
I have a financial consultant to help me with investments.

I am not saying none of these are ever wrong.DD had an illness that was not picked up by the family doctor, so I got a second and third opinion. But it was still better treated by a doctor than it would have been by Googling and trying to decipher medical journals on my own.

Am I just a lazy sheep?

@Ladylokidoki

Doing your own research is a long and arduous task.

Mainly because just reading up isn't enough. You then need to look at the sources and look them up and research them. If you don't know your sources, you research does mean alot. They verify the detail that those sources have put in. This is all at a minimum really.

And the research may require you to have an understanding or a subject that takes people years of studying and experience to understand the detail.

While researching a subject can be a good idea, it's not a quick process. Which is why we have experts, available to consult.

Unfortunately 'do you own research' usually means 'I googled it and read the first answer, go do that'.

well kind of yes but I think we can all do PROPER research to a certain level and I would not want to say to anyone "Oh don't do it, trust the folk who have been studying this for years. I agree absolutely with your first paragraph...the second and third not so much...we should be ENCOURAGING people to use their brains and minds and to articulate their findings. We should be teaching critical thinking in schools because that is such a great protection against scams, spam and the aluminium foil hat brigade.

@AlfonsoTheMango

As a defrocked academic, the phrase "do my own research" makes me twitch as it usually means "I looked up stuff on Google in a random way".

THIS!! (But from a biologist).

The average lay person has MUCH more confidence in their own ability to discern the accuracy of information than they have in reality.

This is why experts with actual real world widely recognised qualifications are helpful. And you don't need to be able to physically visit them if you live in deepest wales. There's this wonderful thing called the internet - you just have to use discernment with it to make it work properly for you.

@Seeingadistance

I do my own research on some issue, but I go to reputable sources - academic papers, qualified commentators etc. I also consider the possible motives of those pushing for a particular approach, especially when money or a particular ideology are involved.

So, for example, when my dog damaged her cruciate ligament, I read various papers and reports on-line on the pros and cons of surgery before deciding against the very expensive surgery which the vet was clearly pushing for. I was able to express my reasons for the low-cost approach I was choosing and vet grudgingly agreed.

Similarly, when it was first suggested that my DS might be autistic. I was a student at the time and was able to borrow books on the subject from uni library and do my own reading.

‘Research’ which consists of on-line echo chambers and spurious opinions of those with no relevant qualifications or expertise? Nope!

Exactly. Choose your sources wisely. But I think we're always going to lean towards the sources that 'back up' our original feelings to a problem or conundrum. I'm an expert in nothing..... So I have to trust in people and resources that have the experience and proven track record in a particular area.

I find confirmation bias fascinating. And all of our other biases - we have so many that affect us every day of our lives!

I think in terms of the vaccine you have to weigh up your odds to a certain degree because they have no idea about any long term effects the vaccine could cause
It's not been around long enough for anyone to know not even an expert

I do alot of my own research I like to know why things are done and how they work

We are all human and can make mistakes if I have a issue I will go to the Dr's but I will also google symptoms treatments and causes beforehand because I want to know if there's anything I can do to help my symptoms or if I have caused them!
A Dr is the last resort I don't want to waste their time

I also do alot of research on my diet because I feed my family and I want them to be the healthiest they can be and make sure they are not missing any vital nutrition!
I love that we have Google and we have all this information at our fingertips
It's not just SM and influencers that people get their information from you can find out proper information

Also I might add that just because someone is in a profession doesn't mean they are upto date with all the latest information some are and like to keep on top of it but some people are lazy and do the minimum to scrape by or already think they know it all

I do my own research after being hugely let down by an authority system I previously trusted.

But I think there is a difference between research using say, proper legal/medical/whatever sources and believing a YouTuber or someone with an agenda. You need to research the source as well as the research!

I did look into the vaccine a bit, realised my medical knowledge ability is far less than my legal, and took the vaccine!

Know your limits.

But there are many experts who have come forward to say they do not agree with the vaccine rollout, and have displayed their own reasonings. These include viral immunologists, chief scientific officers, MD's and many, many more. We're told to listen to the experts.... but no, not those ones.

@TheTuesdayPringle

Oh I have met so many of these lone ranger researchers, that line makes me cringe every time. Because all the scientists and researchers are wrong but you Belinda on facebook have it sussed.

You have to wonder at the egoism of those who really think they have a "higher" understanding than those who have dedicated their entire academic and vocational careers to bioscience. I just can't imagine thinking a quick google of a couple of things could put me in the same region of knowledge as an actual expert. What do they think people do at University for 3 years if it is all in 1 David Icke Youtube video?!

@eandz13

But there are many experts who have come forward to say they do not agree with the vaccine rollout, and have displayed their own reasonings. These include viral immunologists, chief scientific officers, MD's and many, many more. We're told to listen to the experts.... but no, not those ones.

and when you look into the background of those "experts" its AMAZING how often there is a flaw in their expertise. Can you name some of the ones you mean please?

I am absolutely like this! And I worry about it sometimes as keyboard warriors and people who spend alot of time 'reading and researching' make me feel silly sometimes. But I've got a science degree, I'm not silly but I do trust the facts I'm presented with

@lilyofthewasteland

I did my own research before consenting to life-changing surgery because I wasn't going to agree to permanently mutilate my body and permanently change the rest of my life on the instruction of someone else without fully understanding the proposal and what questions to ask the medical team.

Moving away from paternalism and "just do what the doctor says" is a good thing.

I agree. One of my DC recently developed a fairly rare and potentially life changing condition. She was admitted to a medical ward as an emergency, and over several days, assorted on-take Medicine Consultants, and registrars in the speciality she was under, tried to make her undergo an invasive diagnostic test. She had become an expert in her condition and knew that this test could make her much worse so she refused. When her own consultant saw her, he agreed with her decision.

Another example is my DH being told he must have a particular surgical procedure, despite it only having a working life of 10 years before further surgery would be required. He did some research, sought a second opinion, and had less invasive surgery which is still perfect more than 15 years on. Then there's my DM who was told by a T & O reg that she must have a shoulder replacement following a fracture, and he started making arrangements. A consultant I knew walked by us as we were sitting in the clinic and stopped to talk. He took us into one of the consulting rooms and told us that it was entirely her choice whether to have such radical surgery and the outcomes would be similar either way. She didn't have the surgery.

Medicine and science are always full of differing, and sometimes, conflicting views. It's always good to be informed.

@BecauseMyRingBurnsSheila

It depends. I am actually a researcher so technically have research expertise. But it's not the 'doing the research' per se that's the issue, it's people's interpretation of the research and the reliability and credibility of the sources they have used.

As a researcher I can appraise sources and rule out ones which are unreliable or unscientific. I can interpret the information to a differing degree based on my wider world knowledge. For example I worked in public health research for 10 years so know the best sources. But I have no legal expertise so couldn't begin to research a legal issue with enough reliability to offer an informed view which keyboard warriors may have opinions on.

Nicely put.

No I don’t trust the medical field after having had bad experiences of negligence. So I do my own research and take responsibility for my own care.

I did have the vaccines though.

When dd had a serious medical issue (which was fine tg but very stressful at the time) I read loads and loads, pretty much any medical stuff I could find.

I found the medical language comforting in a way but also I completely deferred to top consultant. He was head of his department in key hospital and tbh the time spent talking to me I listened very carefully.

Generally for now I’m fine to go with JCVI and MRHA etc decisions. They have the data, high level of expertise and more than one person.

The reading wasn’t to question anything more to gauge what to expect and to calm anxiety over it

It’s entirely your choice. Personally I read medical journal and then asked Drs questions about things I don’t understand. Often medical procedures are a matter of opinion and are about balancing risks.

"do the research" is a bit of a tell as to who you are dealing with.

If facts are offered or asked for it's usually a link to a well known conspiracy theory factory - people like Dr Michael Yeadon. If you scaratch the surface of the links they always throw up an association to, for instance, a bonkers herbalist witha dodgy Dr title (not Yeadon obviously) or 3 degrees of seperation from David Icke.

There are ocassions where I want to say to someone "do the research", by which I mean proper information from a reliable source, but can't because the phrase is firmly in the CT realm now. Now it means youtube rabbit holes.

I don't do much of my own research, to much time, money and effort. Plus I would inevitably run in ethical issues.

I do read lots of other people's research. I love pre-prints on the internet, got a question? ask the author.

Another sciencey bod who used to make a living from risk assessments.

I agree with @RitaTheGreeter I used to think in my youth that medicine was about established facts, but actually there is a lot of opinion and judgement. Its good to be informed so you can ask the right questions and decide what course you want to take for yourself.

Sometimes you do have to make difficult decisions and it’s better to have as much info as possible

I also prefer to go to source rather than media version

I think the phrase has grown to mean something else now too - more aligned with conspiracy stuff - but it doesn’t have to be this

I do agree with you but I think we have to consider that the restrictions have impacted the majority of people in their daily lives way more than financial, tax or other advice could.

If your financial advisor lost you a ton of money, for example you’d probably do your own research and switch advisors - the latter not being so easy with a government!

I think people generally search for their own answers if the one they’ve got isn’t what they want or seems far too good to be true.

To add to the above. Arguably the government haven’t always got it right and people are losing faith. If they can’t trust what they’re told they will search out their own answers, whether well backed up or not!

As someone who has been continuously let down by professionals from doctors through to solicitors, I absolutely do my own research for lots of things and don't take things at face value. I've been advised to go on dangerous drugs that incapacitated my mental health, told to wean my 4 month old (eventually got him diagnosed with CMPI, through my own research and pushing), mortgage broker recommended a product that was far more costly than what I eventually found myself, solicitor gave actually wrong information in our last house move which I located.

These are just a few I can think of, I absolutely value professional opinion and do not ignore it, nor do I think I know more, but I think there is a lot to be said for keeping yourself informed of your own situation and context, challenging professionals whilst respecting their position. We are all human, and in my experience, so long as handled with tact, no professional should mind being challenged. I don't.

@Downthisroad the one thing that the government have got right is the vaccine programme. Where the recommendations of experts have been followed to the letter.

I agree with the OP that seeking real experts not your own research is the best thing to do for many things.

But most people do their own research on Facebook don’t they, rather than Google? 😂

There’s a plethora of ‘experts’ on there.