Research Methodologies

Inspired by what Infinity said in the thread about Subliminal Messaging

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Originally Posted by Infinity tha God

oh alright then. You really get down when you research huh? you got a certain method that you use regularly when you research something?

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yeah - i take a few approaches

usually i first put whatever i am researching into a context

i have a map or matrix that i work off of, so when i come across something, i try and determine where it fits into the larger context

that allows me to determine the limitations of what im looking at

it also helps me get a visual understanding of whatever it is im researching


then its pretty much a process of deconstruction

reverse-engineering

dismantling something to its basic components and then re-constructing it



these days, having access to so many intelligent minds and perspectives on the internet, forums are usually my first stop when i am learning something new

and the feedback i get generally determines what i look for in other sources


stuff like this:

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When you use SM , its to get something done. Sell , Control , etc.

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is significant - thats why i usually hit forums first when i research something


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what kind of approach do you take to learning?

when it comes to determining 'the best way to learn', it seems that the criteria would be
1. how fast you can learn
2. how accurate the conclusions of your research can be


i have found myself consulting books often as a last resort, and often only by recommendation by a person who seems to have a good perspective on the topic at hand


like what froth said in the Cayce thread - im almost on the verge of checking that book out


share your insights

Peace

Thats a good way of researching.

For me it depends what is being researched. Since I work in the field of science, of course a journal is going to be the most reliable source of information. It will tell you everything that was found and the authors will even put their own input on how the data collected and what things weren't considered so next time the tests will include those variables. Then you can put your own thoughts of consideration on how true it is.

It all depends who is giving (or selling) you the information. A book written many years ago may be outdated on the subject and only some things may be considered.

In other words it all depends how confident you are and believing the information that you gathered is "right".

Do you know how people can lie with statistics? (and i don't mean by makeing up numbers)

Other ways some of you may notice that I break issues down to its concepts before applying them to scenarios in society.

On message boards sometimes its tricky since many people try to persuade others into thinking their way that reflects their personal situation. But since this is a casual environment it is easier to spot the fallacies that people make and take other things into account.

robert anton wilson always said when you are looking at something to look at both sides. this helps suspend belief and allows you to grasp something more fully. thus if you are reading about a historic event, look at multiple sides.

and always remember that you affect what you are studying if it is an experiment. science has concluded as much with the study of light for example. if you look at it one way, it is a wave. look another way, its a particle. thus you sometimes get what you are looking for depending on how you look at it.

quantum physics has proved that phenomena isnt always yes or no, but sometimes maybe. this helps us break our dogmatic aristotlean logic and opens us to be more fluid

sometimes saying you dont 'know' anything is the smartest thing you can say.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by froth

science has concluded as much with the study of light for example. if you look at it one way, it is a wave. look another way, its a particle. thus you sometimes get what you are looking for depending on how you look at it.

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yup, thats the best example on how some things need to be studied when you dont understand it fully.