Why & How to Make Important Decisions Using Research

We all know that some decisions are more important than others. Some parenting decisions can be made intuitively or based on secondhand information without any worries on your part whatsoever. We have all done this before but this article is not about these types of questions.

This post will help to alleviate the big, swirling pools of doubt that fill your head at night when you have unresolved concerns. I will show you the hows and whys of conducting through research, and how to know what information is worthy of your consideration.

Why a big stinkin' post about research??? I thought this was an attachment parenting blog! This is long, it sounds like a lot of trouble!

Yes, this may be some work, especially when compared to the usual method of gathering information, such as search engines or joining an online attachment parenting group, etc. However, please realize that these methods only pertain to "the tough questions" however this term applies to you. But please consider that you are your best and sometimes only advocate for the best interests of yourself and your family. Many of the decisions that we take for granted are some of those that need the most re evaluation.

For example, a big issue for me is managed healthcare. Even though doctors have all that schooling under their belts, is their care right for you? Not necessarily. Doctors, like most professionals are out to make money. Many if not all have a passion to help people I'm sure but you have to realize that under managed healthcare they work under certain parameters that define the type of care you receive. The most disturbing of these for me are pharmaceutical corporations. Their big money, combined with the prevalent "quick fix" mindset of the modern healthcare model make for what is in my opinion substandard care. This is not the care I want for my baby or anyone in my family. If the situation were to warrant it, I would much rather define my own level of care. I would do this by being prepared with some knowledge, and have questions that take advantage of the doc's education and experience as I see fit. I would rather probe the causal root of illness than take a hit or miss, or broad spectrum approach of a prescription. However not taking an active role in my care, not asking the right questions, I do not define the parameters of my care, I pretty much let the powers that be define my "healthcare" and most likely walk out of the office with a prescription in hand, or a handful of sample packets of the drug of the week.

This may not be an issue for you, my only point being that some decisions are way too important to leave in the hands of the powers that be. Again, you are your own best advocate so make it count.

The best way to put forth your best efforts is digging directly into the source.

This would be researching via professional journals.

The easiest way to get your hands on a wide array of these publications would be to head to your local college or university. Once there, you need to lay your hands on one of the library's computers with its internal search engine.

There's likely to be so much info there that it will be difficult to pinpoint what it is exactly what you need topicwise in the list of results. However, once you get the hang of it, it becomes easy. After a point you discover the keywords that will narrow down to your desired results. It's pretty much a matter of getting used to using the college's internal search engine… It's one of those tiresome practice makes perfect things, I won't lie :P

Once you get that aspect of it down, the rest is gravy. You only need to find one or two relevant articles. From there, you will get more leads as you read into the content (bring a pen & plenty of paper!) However, these articles are usually designed to open more avenues for further research so, depending on what issues you are looking into, more questions may be raised than answered especially on broad or controversial subjects BUT you will have the tools at hand to form the most informed decision. Facts based on years of research and study conducted by someone who's job is to gather data in one specific aspect of their field. If the research is conducted correctly (more on this later) the facts cannot lie, and you may draw your own conclusions from there. Best of all, the information you find will build a solid foundation for your peace of mind.

Another thing to note is that these journals are filled with professional jargon and statistical data, and the first few times will be slow going with googling all the terminology and whatnot. Rest assured it will be slow going at first. The only thing I can say is, again this gets easier the more you do it. After a while you will be a pro researcher in your field of choice.

Although this is IMO the best way to make a truly informed decision I know that most of us do not have the time (or initiative?) to do it, especially those of us with cranky toddlers or little babies! I just outline it here because it's good to have this in your back pocket and I personally would never have thought to do this until I had to!

You can feel great about decisions made just from choice bits of info to be found on the internet from the comforts of your own home, now it just becomes vital to learn to properly assess the info you find, more on this next time...