[WikiEN-l] Original research

[slimvirgin at gmail.com]

On 3/24/06, Keith D. Tyler <keith at keithtyler.com> wrote:
> To me, "original research" is when I perform an investigative task involving the
> scientific or statistical methods to get information that has not been
> determined before.
>
> Here's some examples.
>
> 1. I drive up to Seattle, and stand outside Boeing Field, and count the number
> of planes that fly in and out over the period of a day.
>
> 2. I call Boeing Field on the phone and ask them how many planes fly in and out
> every day.

> To me, 1 is clearly OR, and 2 is not ...
>
> For some reason, though, contacting an authoritative source is OR, but finding a
> book from an authoritative source is not.
>
That's because if you cite a published source, readers can easily
check that it says what you say it does. They can't easily check that
the guy on the phone told you 500 planes fly in and out every day.

Sarah