Is this real verified science?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the validity of a scientific claim presented in an article regarding ultrafast magnetization, specifically questioning whether it constitutes "real verified science." Participants evaluate the credibility of the source and the publication process in the context of scientific verification.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express initial confidence in the article due to its citation of a reputable peer-reviewed journal, Physical Review Letters.
  • One participant emphasizes the importance of checking the publication source and confirms that Physical Review Letters is among the top journals in physics.
  • Another participant outlines a three-step process for evaluating scientific claims, highlighting that publication in a reputable journal is just the first step towards verification.
  • Concerns are raised about the distinction between proper publication and the verification of experimental results, which requires replication and further scrutiny over time.
  • Links to both the original article and an ArXiv upload of the related paper are provided for further reference.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the importance of the publication source and the need for verification in science, but there is no consensus on whether the specific claim constitutes verified science.

Contextual Notes

Participants note that verification in physics often requires time and replication, indicating that the discussion is ongoing and that the claim's status remains uncertain.

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Looks fine at first glance. Why do you ask?
 
Given that it cites to a reputatable peer reviewed journal article, probably yes.

A. B. Henriques et al, Ultrafast Light Switching of Ferromagnetism in EuSe, Physical Review Letters (2018). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.217203
 
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hagar said:
I wasn't sure about the source I received it from.

There are 3 things you need to do when you read something like this and want to make a first pass as evaluating it:

1. Check the publication source. This one was citing a publication in Phys. Rev. Lett. (they give you a link).

2. Then, go to our list of acceptable journals and see if Phys. Rev. Lett. is one of the journals. This will tell you whether this is a respectable journal, or some fly-by-night-and-accepts-anything-under-the-sun journal. In physics, Phys. Rev. Lett. is one of the top 3 most-prestigious journals for physics papers (the other 2 being Nature and Science).

3. And this is a separate issue. The question on whether it is "verified science" is completely different than figuring out if it has been properly published. Verification of anything in physics often requires time. For an experimental result, it requires that other people reproduce the same experiment, and even go beyond that (such as increasing the accuracy and sensitivity of the experiment). Publishing it first in a reputable journal is the first step in an often tedious process of verification.

If you do not have access to the PRL paper itself, check out the ArXiv upload:

https://arxiv.org/abs/1803.05038

Zz.
 
Last edited:
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ZapperZ said:
There are 3 things you need to do when you read something like this and want to make a first pass as evaluating it:

1. Check the publication source. This one was citing a publication in Phys. Rev. Lett. (they give you a link).

2. Then, go to our list of acceptable journals and see if Phys. Rev. Lett. is one of the journals. This will tell you whether this is a respectable journal, or some fly-by-night-and-accepts-anything-under-the-sun journal. In physics, Phys. Rev. Lett. is one of the top 3 most-prestigious journals for physics papers (the other 2 being Nature and Science).

3. And this is a separate issue. The question on whether it is "verified science" is completely different than figuring out if it has been properly published. Verification of anything in physics often requires time. For an experimental result, it requires that other people reproduce the same experiment, and even go beyond that (such as increasing the accuracy and sensitivity of the experiment). Publishing it first in a reputable journal is the first step in an often tedious process of verification.

If you do not have access to the PRL paper itself, check out the ArXiv upload:

https://arxiv.org/abs/1803.05038

Zz.
Thank you for the info.
 

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