3 ms·
>How do you know if the papers you read are a representative sample? How do you know the papers that are published are a representative sample? You don't. You
by boomboomsubban 6y ago
>How do you know if the papers you read are a representative sample? How do you know the papers that are published are a representative sample?
You don't. You use the sources you've seen to make the best analysis you can, fully prepared to drop it if with further evidence.
- ironmagma 6y agoThat’s the very reason you can’t “trust the science” in general though. Science is a good tool for knowledge when there has been a repetition of studies, but when all you have is a few, you’re kind of screwed. You can’t claim to know even a basic thing without being an expert in the field these days as a result. A large part of this though is down to lack of discoverability of similar studies which I think can be helped.