{"id":286269,"date":"2026-02-11T06:45:22","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T11:45:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?p=286269"},"modified":"2026-03-31T12:00:44","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T16:00:44","slug":"what-does-it-mean-to-do-your-own-research-and-how-often-do-americans-do-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/journalism\/2026\/02\/11\/what-does-it-mean-to-do-your-own-research-and-how-often-do-americans-do-it\/","title":{"rendered":"What does it mean to \u2018do your own research,\u2019 and how often do Americans do it?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
About this research<\/summary>\n

This report from the Pew-Knight Initiative<\/a> looks at how Americans think about their role in the news environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why we did this<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With information coming at people faster than ever before, and a seemingly endless array of options competing for Americans\u2019 attention and trust, we wanted to evaluate the attitudes and behaviors of regular people when it comes to their role in navigating the news.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In some ways, this is a natural follow-up to our recent studies on what \u201cnews\u201d means to the public today<\/a>, how news habits are changing<\/a> and how Americans view the role of journalists in society<\/a>. With these reports, we have looked at opinions about both sides of the relationship between news producers and news consumers in the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn more about Pew Research Center<\/a> and our research on news habits and media<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How we did this<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We surveyed 3,560 U.S. adults from Dec. 8 to 14, 2025. Everyone who took part in this survey is a member of the Center\u2019s American Trends Panel<\/a>. The survey represents the views of the full U.S. adult population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also conducted nine online focus group discussions led by PSB Insights with 45 U.S. adults, held from June 10 to 18, 2025. These discussions do not represent the entire U.S. population. This report shares findings and quotes from the focus groups to help illustrate and add detail to the survey results. Quotes were lightly edited for spelling, punctuation and clarity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are the survey questions<\/a> used for this report, the detailed responses<\/a> and the methodology<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a Pew Research Center report from the Pew-Knight Initiative, a research program funded jointly by The Pew Charitable Trusts and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Find related reports online at https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/pew-knight\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

In an era of declining trust in news organizations<\/a> and heightened concerns about false information online<\/a>, \u201cdoing your own research\u201d <\/strong>has become a common step Americans take. Nearly all Americans (94%) \u2013 including similar shares of Republicans and Democrats \u2013 say it is at least somewhat important for people to do their own research <\/strong>to check the accuracy of the news they get. About two-thirds say this is extremely or very important (66%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Most Americans think it is important for people to ‘do their own research’ to check the accuracy of the news<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
% of U.S. adults who say it is __ for people to do their own research to check the accuracy of the news they get<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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Note: Respondents who did not answer are not shown.<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
Source: Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults conducted Dec. 8-14, 2025.
\u201cAmericans\u2019 Complicated Relationship With News\u201d<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
PEW-KNIGHT INITIATIVE<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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