What is Good Research?

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# What is Good Research?
## Advice on How to Find and Make Sense of Scientific Evidence

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## [Justin Nix](https://jnix.netlify.app)  
## University of Nebraska Omaha

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.white[May 2022]

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# The Hierarchy of Evidence

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# Where to Look 👀

[Google Scholar](https://scholar.google.com/) is my go-to

- Set up alerts for keywords and authors

- Check for non-paywalled versions

- Can't find any?
  
      - Inter-library loan  
      - Email the corresponding author and ask!

Other places:

- [JSTOR](https://www.jstor.org/)

- [ResearchGate](https://www.researchgate.net/)

- [CrimRxiv](https://www.crimrxiv.com/), [SocArXiv](https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/)

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# How to Screen

## If you search "police legitimacy," Google Scholar returns ~36,000 results

## ...since 2018!

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## Disclaimer: The tips that follow are not foolproof

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# How to Screen

## 1. Was it peer-reviewed?

"No" doesn't necessarily mean you shouldn't read it

- Pre-prints, dissertations, and book chapters can be informative

## 2. What journal?

Consider things like the field and *impact factor*

- [Google Scholar](https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=top_venues&hl=en&vq=soc_criminologycriminallawpolicing) and [SCI Journal](https://www.scijournal.org/categories/social-sciences) provide ranked lists by fields and sub-fields

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# How to Screen

## 3. How many citations?

*Can be* an indicator of quality

If you're doing a lit review, be sure to click "Cited by" in Google Scholar

## 4. Who wrote it?

You'll begin to recognize various "experts"

- Or at least people who have a track record of doing solid work
  
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- Though if it's Alpert, double-check he had a good team around him 🤣

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# OK, you've decided what goes in the "read" and "don't read" piles

![tobias](tobias.gif)
## Now how are you ever going to read all this stuff?

\*Whispers\* You don't actually have to read it all

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# How to Read

## 1. Read the Abstract

It's good practice to read all the abstracts in each new issue of the journals you follow

## 2. Skim over the "Discussion" or "Conclusion"

Good ones will do the following:

- Reiterate the importance of the issue

- Summarize the big-picture findings
  
  - And why they matter in practical/real-world terms

- Identify limitations and next steps for researchers
  
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# How to Read

## 3. Look at the Tables and Figures

Pay attention to:

- Sample size

- Direction and size of coefficients

- *Others?*
  
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# How to Read

## 4. Skim the "Methods" sections if you need more clarification

Things like:

- Research design and setting
  
  - Cross-sectional or longitudinal?  
  - Comparison group?
  - *Others?*

- Inclusion/exclusion criteria

- How missing data were handled

- *Others?*

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# How to Read

## 5. If necessary, read the "Intro" and "Lit Review" sections

If it's your first time reading about a theory or program, bump this up to #2 (at least initially)

- As you become more familiar, much of the information covered here will be redundant

- And remember you've got to get through your pile!

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# Did I miss something?

## Let me know!

**Justin Nix**  
School of Criminology and Criminal Justice  
University of Nebraska Omaha