Was the Paper Published in a Peer-Reviewed Journal?
"If it wasn't, you have no reason to trust it," says Ivan Oransky, former executive editor at Reuters and cofounder of the blog Retraction Watch. "The peer-review system, as flawed as it is, stands between us and really poor science." Also, find out if the journal or its publisher is on Jeffrey Beall's list of questionable open-access journals, at scholarlyoa.com.
What is the Journal's Impact Factor?
The impact factor is the average number of times a journal's papers are cited by other researchers. You can usually find this information on the journal's home page or by searching "impact factor" along with its name. Check out the impact factor of other journals in that field of research to see how they compare.
Do the Researchers Cite Their Own Papers?
If so, this is a red flag that they are promoting views that fall outside the scientific consensus. Citations are listed at the end of a paper.
How Many Test Subjects Were Used?
A large number of test subjects makes a study more robust and reduces the likelihood that the results are random. In general, the more questions a paper asks, the greater its sample size should be. Most reliable papers contain something called a p-value, which measures the probability (p) that a study's results occurred by random chance. In science a p-value of 0.05 suggests the study's conclusions may be meaningful. Smaller p-values are better.
Does it Rely on Correlation?
Cigarette smoking has declined dramatically in the U.S. in the past few decades, and so has the national homicide rate. But just because two events occur at the same time doesn't mean that one caused the other.
Have the Results Been Reproduced?
To find out, search the paper's name on Google Scholar and click on the Cited By link beneath the name. This will list other researchers who mention the paper in their own publications, and may also give you a clearer view of how other researchers critiqued the paper.
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