Most students think that research is opening as many tabs on your browser until your browser crashes. Copy-pasting bits and pieces and calling it a report.

Consider this piece an invitation to think differently. A conceptual appetizer rather than an exhaustive resource. We are not handing you the final rulebook today; if this raises more questions than it answers, it is doing its job.

1) The Induction Illusion

Obviously, the sun will always rise in the east! We are taught that stacking up observations leads us to the truth. So, we keep observing swans and note that all of them, without exception, have been white—black swans don’t exist.

No amount of observed white swans can logically guarantee a black one doesn't exist.

2) The Deductive Trap

All dogs have 4 legs. My pet is a dog. So, my pet has 4 legs.

All males have beards. My friend is a male. So, my friend has a beard? No? Why not?

Deductive reasoning feels safe: start with a solid premise, follow the logic, and reach a conclusion.

What happens when the foundational premise is flawed? All males don’t have beards, but they have the potential to have them.

3) The Vocabulary of Rigor

Everyday language does not meet scientific precision. Recall all men have beards? All men have the biological capacity to grow beards (*though even this is not precise). Do not say “I obtained significant results!” Significance is not used in scientific research in the way it is commonly used in colloquial language.

4) Observe. Hypothesize. Test.

Do not forget study design limitations, confounding variables, statistical testing, and much more!

We’ve only scratched the surface of how logic and language shape what we accept as evidence. Would like to know more?