How Is Research Like an Onion?

How is research like an onion? 

It’s not just because both have many layers.  (I apologize to Shrek for stealing and re-purposing this comparison).  

On this blog, I commonly write about the importance of evaluating the accuracy of information, whether it is from a photograph or a passage on a website.  

Sometimes people who spread false information online are trying to cheat people out of money, but others are only trying to help people.  They have no idea that what they are posting is inaccurate.

My friend just posted the following internet meme (words or an image that many people share online) on Facebook.  While reading it, decide if it seems accurate to you.

“In 1919 when the flu killed 40 million people there was this Doctor that visited the many farmers to see if he could help them combat the flu. Many of the farmers and their family had contracted it and many died.

“The doctor came upon this one farmer and to his surprise, everyone was very healthy. When the doctor asked what the farmer was doing that was different the wife replied that she had placed an unpeeled onion in a dish in the rooms of the home, (probably only two rooms back then).

“The doctor couldn't believe it and asked if he could have one of the onions and place it under the microscope. She gave him one and when he did this, he did find the flu virus in the onion. It obviously absorbed the bacteria, therefore, keeping the family healthy.

“Now, I heard this story from my hairdresser in AZ. She said that several years ago many of her employees were coming down with the flu and so were many of her customers. The next year she placed several bowls with onions around in her shop. To her surprise, none of her staff got sick. It must work.. (And no, she is not in the onion business) The moral of the story is, buy some onions and place them in bowls around your home. If you work at a desk, place one or two in your office or under your desk or even on top somewhere. Try it and see what happens. We did it last year and we never got the flu.

“If this helps you and your loved ones from getting sick, all the better. If you do get the flu, it just might be a mild case..

“Now there is a P. S. to this for I sent it to a friend in Oregon who regularly contributes material to me on health issues. She replied with this most interesting experience about onions:

“…Thanks for the reminder. I don't know about the farmers story, but I do know that I contracted pneumonia and needless to say I was very ill I came across an article that said to cut both ends off an onion put one end on a fork and then place the forked end into an empty jar... placing the jar next to the sick patient at night. It said the onion would be black in the morning from the germs... sure enough it happened just like that... the onion was a mess and I began to feel better.

“Another thing I read in the article was that onions and garlic placed around the room saved many from the black plague years ago. They have powerful antibacterial, antiseptic properties” (retrieved March 7, 2012, from http://www.hoax-slayer.com/onions-flu-remedy.shtml).

My friend had only the noblest of intentions.  He read this meme and re-posted it because he wanted to help others prevent the flu.  However, I was skeptical of how accurate this story was for several reasons:

1. The article did not quote an expert such as a scientist or doctor—actually, it did not quote anyone.  Articles should use expert testimony and cite proper sources.
2. The tone of the article is vernacular—in other words, it reads like someone telling a friend a story, and the grammar and punctuation have mistakes.  For example, one paragraph begins, “Now there is a P. S. to this…”  Do you think that this phrase would appear in a scholarly article?
3. The evidence is all anecdotal, meaning it is something that the author or authors claim happened to them or have informally heard about but does not include scientific data.  Anecdotal evidence can be useful if it is documented properly, i. e., if the authors had explained specifically where they had learned about the information in the article, but it would have been better to have included scientific evidence, such as the findings of scholarly articles.  How do we know that anecdotal evidence is true?  For all we know, the author just made up this story.  (To read more about anecdotal evidence, read “Anecdotal vs. Scientific Evidence" at http://www.personal.psu.edu/pel2/blogs/whitepine/2008/03/anecdotal-vs-scientific-eviden.html.)
4. I used my own judgment.  Leaving an unpeeled onion out prevents people from getting the flu?  It seemed silly.
5. I saw it on Facebook. 

So I searched for articles that investigated the accuracy of this meme.  I wanted to find three.  The Rule of Three states that three of anything is stronger than just one or two.  "Three" suggests a pattern.  The number three appears in religions, jokes, and fairy tales (for example, the Big, Bad Wolf hunts three pigs and Cinderella attends a ball three times).   When I research something, I like to find three reputable, independent sources with the same information.  I am more likely to believe three good sources than just one or two.

First, I found the article “Onion Fielded” (http://www.snopes.com/medical/swineflu/onion.asp) on Snopes, a website that calls itself “the definitive Internet reference source for urban legends, folklore, myths, rumors, and misinformation” (retrieved from http://www.snopes.com/).  The article’s author analyzed the meme, researched its findings, and decided that it was false.  The article mentions that the onion method is over 100 years old, but, “No scientific studies back it, and common sense rules it out:  cold and flu viruses are spread by contact, not by their nasty microbes floating loosely in the air where the almighty onion can supposedly seek out and destroy them.”  The article also quotes The Wall Street Journal, a reputable newspaper, and includes a bibliography.

My second source analyzing the meme was a discussion page on the University of Minnesota's website (http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0910&L=comgar-l&P=5476).  Someone named Ginny Zawistowski addressed the meme:   

"Well, I don't think it would hurt you to put onions around your house, but the story is highly suspect.  The first tipoff is that viruses and bacteria are two entirely different types of organisms...Also, you would not have been able to see a virus under the microscope in 1919, because the electron microscope wasn't around yet.  (I don't think the actual influenza viruse was even isolated until the 1930's?)..."

It is not clear from this page who Zawistowski is, and whether or not she is an expert on chemistry or medicine, but she mentions a few good points.  If I wanted to check her facts, such as when the electron microscope was invented, I easily could—and if I were writing a paper on the subject, I would have to do so.  She also provided the URL of the Snopes article that I just read.

My third source was Hoax-Slayer, a website similar to Snopes. 

“Hoax-Slayer is dedicated to debunking email hoaxes, thwarting Internet scammers, combating spam, and educating web users about email and Internet security issues. Hoax-Slayer allows Internet users to check the veracity of common email hoaxes and aims to counteract criminal activity by publishing information about common types of Internet scams. Hoax-Slayer also includes anti-spam tips, computer and email security information, articles about true email forwards, and much more. New articles are added to the Hoax-Slayer website every week” (from http://www.hoax-slayer.com/).

Hoax-Slayer's article on the subject is titled "Flu Remedy Myth - Onions Absorb Viruses and Bacteria From a Room" (http://www.hoax-slayer.com/onions-flu-remedy.shtml).  This article’s conclusion is similar to with the others’, that onions cannot prevent diseases simply by absorbing harmful microbes, although onions are healthy to eat.  The author also quote the same Wall Street Journal that is mentioned in the Snopes article, and other sources beside, including one by Dr. Joe Schwarcz of McGill University's Office for Science and Society—a great source if Schwarcz is a real doctor.  My guess is that he is, but if I were writing a paper and wanted to quote him, I would need to confirm that he is a doctor.  McGill University’s website probably lists his credentials, so this is the first place I would look. 

And if I were writing a paper, I would look for scholarly articles on the subject, not just popular websites like these.  I explained the difference between scholarly and popular articles on the blog entry “What Is a Scholarly Article?” (http://ihelib.blogspot.com/2012/01/normal-0-false-false-false-en-us-x-none_23.html)  Remember that your Jersey City Free Public Library card allows you access to databases with many scholarly articles (http://ihelib.blogspot.com/2012/01/you-can-get-jersey-city-free-public.html).  

You need to use information you find in scholarly articles when you write papers, but looking for popular articles can be useful.  Just make certain that the articles site their sources and make sense. 

The next time someone posts information that might be wrong or asks you to sign an online petition, check the facts first.  If these “facts” are true, then you should be able to find proof.

So how is research like an onion?

Both can be very useful if you know how to use them.  If you use them correctly, you can prevent disease, but if you take anything you read at face value, you can end up with a house that smells like onions.