"Do Your Own Research!"

Everybody with an opinion likes to throw around the phrase,

“do your own research.”

But after watching the debate between Wes Huff and Billy Carson in 2024, one thing became very clear:

Most people using that phrase have no idea what real research actually looks like.

It reminded me of that line from The Princess Bride:

“I don’t think that word means what you think it means.”

Because what we saw wasn’t just a disagreement.

It was a difference in method.

Wes Huff consistently worked from primary sources—actual manuscripts, documented scholarship, and historically grounded material.

Billy Carson, on the other hand, often relied on interpretations of interpretations—modern claims about ancient texts, sometimes getting the material wrong altogether, and even citing sources that scholars widely recognize as unreliable or forged.

That’s not just a difference of opinion.

That’s a difference between research… and just repeating claims.

Everybody says “do your own research.”

But most of the time, it’s just a dismissive phrase people use to avoid actually engaging with what you said.

Because the reality is…

Most people were never taught how to research.

Most people using that phrase:

don’t know the difference between a primary source and a secondary source,

don’t understand citations or how to check them,

have never actually tried to track down where those citations lead,

have never even heard the term peer review,

don’t know how to evaluate whether a source is credible,

don’t realize that not all “ancient texts” are equally reliable (some are late, altered, or even forgeries),

confuse confidence and presentation with actual evidence,

rely on headlines, clips, or summaries instead of full context,

and only engage with information that already confirms what they believe.

Most people aren’t doing research.

They’re collecting conclusions.

So if you genuinely want to do your own research…

Here’s a few steps for what that actually requires:

1. Start With Primary Sources

A primary source is the original material itself.

Examples include historical documents, court filings, original interviews, scientific studies, speeches, manuscripts, and official records.

Secondary sources are people talking about those things — articles, commentary, documentaries, podcasts, and YouTube videos.

Secondary sources can be helpful, but good research tries to trace claims back to the original source whenever possible.

2. Follow the Citations

Those small numbers at the end of sentences in books, articles, and papers point to the evidence behind a claim.

Click them.

Read them.

See if they actually support what the author is saying.

Many times you’ll discover that the original source says something far more nuanced than the way it was summarized.

3. Understand Peer Review

In academic research, many studies are reviewed by other experts in the field before publication.

Peer review doesn’t guarantee a study is perfect, but it means other specialists have examined the methods, data, and conclusions.

That’s very different from information that simply circulates on blogs, social media, or opinion pieces.

4. Don’t Treat News Sources as Final Authority

Journalists often do important work, but news outlets are still secondary sources.

They summarize information and sometimes interpret it.

Whenever possible, go one step deeper—look at the documents, studies, or records they are reporting on rather than stopping at the article.

5. Titles Are Not Arguments

People sometimes assume that a person with extra letters after their name automatically has authority on every topic.

But a PhD usually means someone has expertise in a very specific field.

A physicist is not automatically an expert in history.

A historian is not automatically an expert in epidemiology.

A psychologist is not automatically an expert in biblical manuscripts.

Credentials can be helpful—but good research looks at the evidence itself, not just the title attached to the person presenting it.

6. Check Multiple Independent Sources

If something is true, it usually does not appear in only one place.

Look at how different scholars, historians, or investigators discuss the same issue.

Where multiple independent sources converge, confidence usually increases.

7. Read People Who Disagree With You

This is the hardest step.

If your research only confirms what you already believed, you’re not researching—you’re curating.

Real research tests your ideas against the strongest arguments on the other side.

8. Separate Evidence From Opinion

Almost every article mixes the two.

Evidence is data, documents, studies, eyewitness accounts, and historical records.

Opinion is someone’s interpretation of those things.

Learning to distinguish between the two is one of the most important research skills you can develop.

The goal of research is not to win arguments.

It’s to get closer to the truth—even if that truth forces you to rethink your position.

Real research isn’t about finding something to believe.

It’s about testing whether what you believe is actually true.

Most people say “do your own research.”

Very few people are willing to do what that actually requires.

But if you do…

you won’t just become harder to argue with—

you’ll become much harder to deceive.

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