search for confirmation

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "search for confirmation" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when discussing the act of looking for validation or evidence to support a belief or statement. Example: "In scientific research, it is important to search for confirmation of your hypotheses through rigorous testing."

✓ Grammatically correct

Science

News & Media

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

6 human-written examples

To me it has appeared to be sufficiently good to warrant full consideration of its consequences and to suggest further search for confirmation of the results.

Nature

Nothing drains objectivity more than a family member's name in the top left hand corner of the CT scan you search for confirmation, or for the signs of spread and damage.

The Guardian - Books

Mr. Malsom told the police that he suspected that Mr. McCoy was wanted in the Columbus shootings but went to a friend's home to search for confirmation on the Internet.

The New York Times

But there is a difference between the pre-conscious search for confirmation of existing views – we all engage in that to some extent – and the deliberate attempt to dress this search up as a quest for truth, as denialists do.

The Guardian

This testimony has been denied and the prosecutor's search for confirmation has led to the confrontation between the President and the prosecutor over the White House tape recordings of conversations between the President and other persons.

The New York Times

Therefore, it is hypothesized that compared to experts novices and intermediates collect more evidence to come to a diagnosis and tend to search for confirmation of their hypothesis rather than contrasting information.

Advances in Health Sciences Education

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

54 human-written examples

Substitutes too had stirred, searching for confirmation.

The Guardian - Sport

Elissa Schappell, in Salon, wrote, "I felt sick and off-balance, searching for confirmation, vision blurred with tears".

The New Yorker

In a statement his mother Sally Evans, 57, who separated from her husband Anthony more than a decade ago, said she heard the news from a journalist – and that her other son, Michael, immediately found himself looking at a picture of Thomas's body when he searched for confirmation of the news on Twitter.

Independent

Additionally, since the pilot study performance for predicting the response to platin-based chemotherapy was not statistically significant, we searched for confirmation on an independent test set.

BMC Cancer

Team Kind (Tobias Kind, Hiroshi Tsugawa, Masanori Arita and Oliver Fiehn) submitted entries to Category 3 using a developer version (1.60) of the freely available MS-FINDER software [35, 36] combined with MS/MS searching and structure database lookup for confirmation (entry MS-FINDER+MD).

Journal of Cheminformatics

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When using "search for confirmation", ensure that your search is comprehensive and unbiased to avoid confirmation bias. Actively seek out contradictory evidence as well.

Common error

Don't equate finding confirmation with absolute truth. Confirmation can be limited by available evidence or biased interpretation. Always consider alternative explanations.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "search for confirmation" functions as a verbal phrase, typically acting as a predicate or part of a predicate in a sentence. It describes the action of seeking evidence or validation. As Ludwig AI exemplifies, this may occur in many different contexts.

Expression frequency: Uncommon

Frequent in

News & Media

32%

Science

45%

Wiki

8%

Less common in

Formal & Business

5%

Encyclopedias

0%

Academia

10%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The phrase "search for confirmation" is a grammatically correct verbal phrase used to describe the action of seeking evidence or validation. Ludwig AI indicates that the expression is commonly found in scientific and news contexts, reflecting its use in academic research and journalistic reporting. While grammatically sound, it's important to be aware of confirmation bias when employing this phrase and ensure a comprehensive, unbiased search for information. Alternative phrases include "seek corroboration" and "look for verification", offering nuanced ways to express the same core concept.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

seek corroboration

Replaces "search" with "seek" and "confirmation" with "corroboration", emphasizing the act of finding supporting evidence.

look for verification

Substitutes "confirmation" with "verification", focusing on ensuring accuracy and truth.

pursue validation

Replaces "search" with "pursue" and "confirmation" with "validation", highlighting the active pursuit of approval or support.

investigate to confirm

Replaces "search" with "investigate" and restructures the phrase to emphasize the investigation's purpose.

try to substantiate

Replaces "search" and "confirmation" with an emphasis on providing evidence to prove something.

attempt to verify

Focuses on the attempt to establish the truth or accuracy of something.

find proof

A more direct and concise way of expressing the need to find evidence.

validate the findings

Highlights the action of confirming the accuracy of results or discoveries.

substantiate the claim

Focuses on providing evidence to support a statement or assertion.

back up the hypothesis

Emphasizes supporting a theory with evidence.

FAQs

How can I effectively use "search for confirmation" in a sentence?

Use "search for confirmation" to describe the process of actively seeking evidence or validation for a specific idea or hypothesis. For example, "Scientists often "search for confirmation" of their theories through experimentation".

What are some alternatives to "search for confirmation"?

You can use alternatives like "seek corroboration", "look for verification", or "pursue validation" depending on the context.

Is it better to "search for confirmation" or "search for disconfirmation"?

While "searching for confirmation" can strengthen existing beliefs, actively "searching for disconfirmation" helps to identify weaknesses in a hypothesis and promotes more objective evaluation. A balanced approach is ideal.

What is confirmation bias and how does it relate to "search for confirmation"?

Confirmation bias is the tendency to favor information that confirms existing beliefs. When you "search for confirmation", be mindful of this bias and actively seek out opposing viewpoints to avoid skewed results.