Why is external criticism so important when it comes to analyzing data?

Question

anonymous · Answer

Welcome to Open Study :) What do you think might be the answer?

anonymous · Answer

I think it's because then the people who are studying the data can explicitly go out of there way to find out if any of the data is true or not

anonymous · Answer

Yes, and also maybe external criticism can provide an unbiased opinion on the data

anonymous · Answer

For example, experiments undertaken by researchers provide data that is then reviewed and criticized by other researchers, to make sure the data is accurate and not manipulated in any way...

anonymous · Answer

Otherwise, anyone can say that "Homework makes you dumber" without having this assumption challenged.