Earlier, I mentioned the importance of critically analyzing the information we consume. However, I realize that this is easier said than done because many of us simply do not have time to pour over tons of books and articles to find a few pages of good information. In order to make things easier, I have created a survey to gather tips from BYU students on how to maximize the time we have to gather good information. If you have something to add, please do so here. I also posted some helpful tips that I have learned over the years.
In order to conduct good research, we need to focus on finding information and not be fixed with the information we already think we have. For example, if you want to find out more about abortion, you should not conduct your research already thinking that abortion is evil. You should find all the information you can and form an opinion from what you learn. Research should be conducted without any pre-conceived notions or stereotypes.
Another problem with research that there is usually too much information on the subject for you to process. the trick is not letting yourself be over-loaded and quickly sift through information by weeding out unreliable articles. How do you know information is unreliable? Simple. Just ask some self-check questions with an open mind and a drive to find correct information.
When we find an article with any facts or statistics, we should ask ourselves these main questions:
1. What is their source?
2. What is their agenda?
3. How do they know?
4. Who regulates their claims?
5. Who might disagree?
6. What are alternative explanations or counter-points?
Hopefully, these tips will help you week out the garbage and find those few nuggets of good information on this huge source of information we call the internet.
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