The goal of scientific research articles varies greatly from popular press articles as they appeal to different audiences. Scientific research focuses on academic and research fields, while popular press articles focus on the general audience. The validity of scientific research, therefore, matters a lot. Often, popular press articles borrow information from scientific research articles, yet how they present information can vary from the original research making it less credible. Scientific research articles, therefore, are more credible and are written in a manner that appeals to an academic audience and utilizes research from other studies.
The popular article was found reliable from the first analysis because the participants were chosen randomly. A sample of study subjects is picked randomly from a broader population as part of the sampling technique known as random selection makes it valid. Giving everyone the same chance to participate increases the possibility that the smaller population will exhibit qualities similar to those of the larger group. As a result, the outcomes are much more likely representative of and pertinent to the larger group. Therefore, this method must be followed if it is mentioned in the research design.
However, the original article is more credible and reliable as it presents research from a focused and organized perspective. There are several differences that make the original article more reliable. The first difference is how the research is organized. In the popular press article, there is no information on how the research was done and what methods were used to produce the results. The academic research article, on the other hand, provides an introduction and a literature review of past studies as well as related studies. It offers the gaps in studies which will help a reader interpret what is missing in research or what the research is going to focus on. For example, it states that there are several studies and investigations that have measured how cannabis consumption impacts antisocial behavior (Vigil et al., 2022).
The other difference involves participants, how the samples were taken, and the study procedure. The popular press article does not include details on the participants and the method used to sample them. It only states that students with different levels of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) are in their urine samples (The University of New Mexico, 2022). However, in the academic research article, there is detailed information on how the sample size was chosen, who was eligible for the study, and the number of participants. The demographics of the participants are also stated in the article. The academic research article states that independent samples t-tests revealed that the participants’ gender distribution, average age, ethnicity, parental education levels, and childhood family income did not differ substantially between the cannabis user groups (Vigil, 2022). The research sample is crucial to the accuracy of the research. According to King (2015), a sample should reflect the general population, and a researcher must ensure there is no bias. It also shows how the urine samples were collected. Study procedures, including materials used, also make a huge difference between these articles. This concludes that the scientific research article is more convincing and reliable than the popular press article.
The details in the discussion also show the difference between these articles, proving that the scientific research article provides more information and is hence more reliable. The popular press article does not go into the details of explaining information such as the different reactions to cannabis between male and female participants. It only gives an account of what the authors think about cannabis and related research. The scientific research article, however, has dedicated a section that discusses the results deeply. It offers accounts of sex-specific details about cannabis use and prosocial tendencies as well as aggression (Vigil et al., 2022). It offers the biopsychosocial aspects of marijuana use and provides details on why cannabis shows an increase in prosocial behaviors among users. Scientific papers, therefore, have to include more details to be credible.
Credibility is an important aspect of any academic paper. When a scientific assertion can be replicated using new data, it could be considered credible. Replication is a study in which any result is taken into account as scientific proof of a claim made in earlier research. This concept puts a greater focus on the interpretation of potential results and places less significance on the study’s operating parameters. Replication’s goal is to advance theory by testing current theories against fresh data. When current understanding is the least profound, the usefulness of replication could be at its highest. Successful replication shows that the results can be applied to situations that necessarily differ from those in the original study. Replication is crucial in scientific advancement since it makes information clear by confronting the existing theoretical assumptions. This scientific research uses conceptual replication, where different methods are used to confront other studies. For example, by evaluating the relationships between cannabis use and typical social and psychosocial state in otherwise fit young adults, the current study adds to the psychology and clinical works of literature (Vigil et al., 2022).
Reproducibility is also a reason why scientific papers are written the way they are. A key element in determining a research study’s distinctiveness is reproducibility. It entails achieving consistent results while utilizing the same information and methodology as the initial study. For instance, researchers redo the experiments that yielded the initial results in order to confirm the reliability of a new finding. Additionally, other experts in the field are able to repeat the same tests and get outcomes that are comparable to the original findings. This is a key element in ensuring that the research is credible.
In summary, the scientific article proves to be more reliable than the popular press article due to the information written. It contains methods, procedures, other related research, and findings that make it more credible which is lacking in the popular press article. Scientific articles are academic articles that have to be credible. For this to happen, they use replicability and reproducibility to ensure that the findings are accurate without bias and to and against the existing theoretical assumptions.
References
King, L.A. (2022). Experience Psychology (5th ed.) New York: McGraw Hill.
The University of New Mexico. (2022). New Study Suggests Using Cannabis Can Make You a Nicer Person. https://news.unm.edu/news/new-study-suggests-using-cannabis-can-make- you-a-nicer-person
Vigil, J. M., Stith, S. S., & Chanel, T. (2022). Cannabis Consumption and Prosociality. Scientific reports, 12(1), 1–9.
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