How should you find reliable information?

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Reliable information can be found through various sources, depending on the type of information sought. For scientific data, it's recommended to refer to popular science articles that cite original peer-reviewed research, as these often provide a more accurate understanding than simplified summaries. Wikipedia can serve as a starting point, but users should verify information by checking the references listed at the bottom of the articles, ideally focusing on peer-reviewed journals. For medical information, trusted websites like the CDC, FDA, and NCBI are suggested as reliable resources. Engaging with discussions about the pros and cons of popular science articles can also enhance one's ability to assess the quality of such sources.
Flying_Cookie
Where is the best place to find reliable information?
What is the best way verify the reliability of information found online?
 
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Welcome to PF.

It depends on what kind of information you mean. If you mean scientific information, you can try to look in the popular science articles to find reference to the original peer-reviewed papers that inspired the pop-sci article. Often the pop-sci article will have simplifications in it that can be misleading if you really want to understand the science and math involved.

You can also read the introductory articles on Wikipedia, but be sure to click on some of the reference papers listed at the bottom of the pages to find the source articles (again, preferably in peer-reviewed journals).

For reliable medical information, there are several websites that you should try first in your searching. You can see some of them cited in the Medical/Biology forum, including CDC, FDA, NCBI, etc.

Enjoy PF! :smile:
 
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Thank you so much, this is a huge help!
 
You're welcome. BTW, there is a current thread discussing the pros and cons of Popular Science articles:

https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/in-defence-of-popular-science.1009790/

It may help you to get calibrated on how to judge such articles and sources (some of them can be pretty good, as mentioned in the thread), and some can be quite bad.

(BTW, don't worry about the misspelling of the word "defense", the Original Poster is in the UK) :wink:
 
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