Research needed, even in opinion

    In the social sciences, including history, economics, political science, psychology, anthropology and sociology, there is research, as there is in the natural sciences. This concept is a bit-surprising to some students of natural history, physics, etc here at GCSU, however not to all.
    In the social science fields, empirical evidence is used to support claims, thus the beginning of research. Why do we use empirical research? So we don’t look like a bunch of idots, whether we’re conservative, moderate or liberal. Opinions are formed from this research that could eventually change policy decisions in the future.
    Though as columnists, we are not politicians. Most of us are just merely here to analyze whatever the topic d’jour is and hope that our readers gain some understanding and come up with their own ideas/opinions, whether they agree with us or not. (Some of my readers don’t agree with me –what a concept!)
    However, there are those who just don’t seem to get it yet. They write full-page columns on their ideas, which may seem interesting at first, yet as you read on, they’re full of hogwash.
    They rant on and on and on with absolutely no connection of ideas and no basis of information to come from. For example, how is environmentalism a religion? Really, come on honestly come up with empirical evidence for it.
    Now, am I to say that I’m balanced and fair all the time? I’ll be the last person here to say that I am, as well as the editors here at The Colonnade who know I enjoy sharing my opinions on the left.
    However, when I analyze a policy, decision or new piece of information that just came out, you have to have some background knowledge at least. Wikipedia or Conservapedia might be a place to start with, but it’s not the only source of information in the world. And at least have the brains to connect your ideas to something people on your side can connect with and make a rallying point for the whole of your column.
    If you want to rant on and on in The Colonnade, that’s your American right to free speech and free press here, I won’t dispute your right to speaking on whatever topic of choice you have. That’s not my point. My point is that you should actually, please, have some source of information to go from. And don’t make up facts on the spot; you gain no respect from making facts up.
    If you rant on and on until half the campus finally only reads one sentence or paragraph of your column before they get sick and read something else, you might want to change some things about your column. And if you can’t do that, give us all a break and please do us all a favor, just shut the hell up and crawl back into the hole of from whence you crawled out. Or would you rather prefer some cheese and a cracker with your whine?

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Posted by Colonnade Archives on Apr 11 2008. Filed under Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry