We often resort to research when we want to acquire knowledge about a topic,issue or just to understand something better. But just how trustworthy is the information out there?
Lecturers have advised us against using platforms such as Wikipedia as the information isn’t the most reliable. We all expect that research available is accurate and the contributions made is honest and without prejudice. Personally I always wonder how accurate qualitative research actually is because,of all the numbers collected from the data collected.I’m sure that human error may influence the capturing of data and result in a false result,or even when someone feels strongly about an issue that might lead them to be bias regarding the issue, as they have their own beliefs regarding the issue pushing their research more into their favor. Even when sample groups are collected are these sample groups actually a true representation of the group the researcher is trying to portray. When I think of the textbooks that has to be reprinted due to errors I can’t help but wonder.
What is comforting is the fact that research has to go under a series of scrutiny where experts in the field of topic have the opportunity to scrutinize the information to help the researcher to achieve the best results but more important insure that the research is of quality. These peer reviews may help the researcher be more objective towards the aim of the study.
I would say it would be unprofessional to publish work that is not trustworthy and lacks credibility because that means that firstly the researcher doesn’t care about the information he/she wants to communicate to us. We all trust that the researchers’ aim is to help guide and inform us on issues important, that we need to know which would help us make informed decisions and deliver quality work when doing our assignments. A few of the things that would help us decide on which research to use would be if strategies are set in place so that,if I was to test what was found and follow through the whole process as described we would be able to reach the same conclusion. This is enough reason to motivate researchers to outline their exact methods to maintain their credibility and produce the best quality and reliable results. Another way of ensuring research integrity is the fact that all researchers have to adhere to the policies , set in place to prevent things such as plagiarism and therefore might have to sign a declaration stating that your work is true and portays your own work that may give recognition to other researchers that might have helped you reach your aims regarding your research.
When I think of research integrity I think about whether I am able to trust the methods used to measure the results and confidently use it to acquire knowledge and make informed decisions from our knew found knowledge. When we make use of research it’s important to communicate it responsibly and give recognition to whom it’s due. I acknowledge research integrity and being open with, and sharing your findings is important because it allows us to develop our findings further as more recources become available and new ideas arise.