Why Research is
The Most Important Skill You Need

How do you research pets and animals without a college’s library and network? Part of the answer lies in how you word your search. There are questions that may give biased results. For example, “what size hamster ball should I get?” gives me, “an 8 inch ball.” If I only read what was on the visible screen instead of scrolling down, I would buy an 8 inch ball. But if I just write the most important words, “Hamster ball” the results are images and immediate questioning of their safety. It is closer to the correct answer. This doesn’t always work when you need specific, detailed answers. Subsequently, asking in different ways and reading entire articles from multiple websites for the same question fixes the problem.

When researching, I study at least 4 webpages per search. Sometimes I read twelve or more. There really is no maximum for this. After I’m done, I rewrite the query to keep the meaning, the core information I need, but trying to change any bias. This method will generally give you a different list of results than the original question. Here are some examples of rewritten questions keeping necessary data:

1. Hamster cage sizes.

   

2. What size hamster cage should I get?
3. Hamster cage size minimums.
4. Recommended cage size for hamsters.

Think you’ve researched enough? You probably haven’t. I researched hours every day for a month before every question searched gave an answer I already knew instead of a different one. If it was, I already learned it was incorrect. This proved the site questionable or downright inaccurate. Read books, sites, ask current pet owners if possible, investigate the answers you get and then challenge the explanation for those answers. Understand what and why.

Some websites are better than others. Unreliable sites are places anyone can give advice, for example forums and social‌ media. Sites dedicated to the topic you are researching tend to be more knowledgeable or accurate, but also ‌commonly fall for the more widespread misinformation. Such as paper being better and safer than wood bedding. So I encourage looking at multiple webpages and not only checking for sources, but investigating them. Is where they got the material reliable? False information is everywhere, so check and recheck; do not read one answer and take it as fact.

If you don’t want to deal with potential issues, that pet probably isn’t for you. For example: most chinchillas aren’t cuddly. A hamster might dislike people or always prefer to stay in their cage. Rabbits and hamsters eat their poop, which is normal and encouraged. Some pets may be destructive, not potty trainable, or outside only. They may be legal in some states but not others, preventing you from getting or moving to certain states with one.