What does “extensive research” mean to you?

It means that someone has read up on a subject, as well as taken into consideration the professional opinions of others in determining their POV on the subject.
But it all depends on what the researcher intends, and/or what he really desires to find out that matters. If I wanted to find out something negative with, say, the COVID – 19 vaccines, I surely could. And I might state to others that I had undertaken “extensive research” in a attempt to fully convince those others of my opinions, right or wrong, biased or not.
The two people on Facebook that you mentioned could be terrorists or similar.

^Whatever they are, they are now unfriended.

It means they went to a fright wing website that said . . . “COVID-19 vaccine doesn’t work.”

A Jelly wrote a piece some days ago, regarding this subject, which I think was right on the money.
I’ll have a search and get back.
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It was @Kropotkin who wrote it:

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“Everyone will have their own personal heuristics for ‘seeking and evaluating information’, and some will be better at it than others.

But laypersons at home don’t really ever do research. Research, at least valid research, is what scientists and academics do either professionally, or as part of their studies.

There are methodological guidelines to follow, there’s proper sampling, controls, control of variables, experimentation, proper statistical analysis, and finally some conclusion that may be tentative or confident, and may include caveats and consideration for further research in the area—and at the end of that there’s peer review, and later research that will replicate or not replicate the conclusions.”

For the average layperson I think using credible sites is the only way they can actually “research.” Of course, they are only repeating what the actual researchers have found.
Hopefully the layperson examines more than 1 credible site. I suppose that could be considered a minor form of research.

It means you watch a couple YouTube videos, browse Reddit, listen to a few anecdotes out of context, and come to a conclusion that matches the conclusion you already had before doing your “extensive research”. :D

HA! “Extensive” is a fairly relative term (especially on social media), and in general usage it can mean that someone searched for information through 2 or 3 sources, or until they got bored, or until they found something that validated their own personal assumptions. It’s so vague that when it’s thrown out by any random person in some web rant it should immediately raise a warning flag.

But in academic, scientific, medical, legal, and other professional contexts “extensive research” is defined by more demanding expectations, and anyone asserting that they’ve done the work has to be able to actually show it.

Here are some examples :
Legal :
https://www.aallnet.org/advocacy/legal-research-competency/principles-and-standards-for-legal-research-competency/

Sciences :
https://www.nationalacademies.org/about/institutional-policies-and-procedures/guidelines-for-the-review-of-reports

News/Fact Checking:
https://www.ifcncodeofprinciples.poynter.org/know-more/the-commitments-of-the-code-of-principles

Academic :
https://www.library.georgetown.edu/tutorials/research-guides/evaluating-internet-content

But if you’re too busy to follow those links and actually read the info (or you’ve got lazy), just use the CRAAP test as your best friend in finding reliable sources -

C – Currency. What is the timeliness of the information? When was the information published or posted? Has the information been revised or updated? Is the information current or out-of date for your topic? Are the links functional?

R- Relevance. What is the importance of the information for your needs?
Does the information relate to your topic or answer your question? Have you looked at a variety of sources before determining this is one you will use?

A – Authority. What is the source of the information?
Who is the author/publisher/source/sponsor? Are the author’s credentials or organizational affiliations given? Is the author or organization a primary source of original reporting or research? Are they recognized as accurate and objective by peers and by the general public?

A – Accuracy: What is the reliability, truthfulness, and correctness of the content?
Where does the information come from? Is the information supported by evidence? Can you verify any of the information in another source or from personal knowledge? Does the language or tone seem biased and free of emotion?

P – Purpose. What’s the reason the information exists? Is the purpose of the information to inform? To teach? To sell? To entertain? To persuade? Do the authors/sponsors make their intentions or purpose clear? Is the information fact, opinion, or propaganda? Are there political, ideological, cultural, religious, institutional, or personal biases?

So if you actually want your own research to be “extensive” and credible, and you want avoid crap being pushed by some troll with an attitude, learn these rules and follow them.

Good luck.

2 minutes reading the first article google suggests that looks like it agrees with what I think any way.

“Extensive research” is usually a warning that someone is trying to sell me something. The words themselves sound good but don’t really mean much.

Regarding covid to me it means multiple trusted sources, and still I use my own brain too. The goal of the sources might be different than my own.

Data, statistics, doing my own math when analyzing the data, and enough time to see consistency.

I don’t think of lab rats and monkeys at all, even though that would be the initial phases of testing vaccines and treatments.

If we were talking about a time in history I would research different experiences, hopefully first hand accounts, of multiple people during that time.

It depends on the thing we are researching.

Reading memes on Facebook and watching vlogs by really serious sounding people who have important things to say about politics and science.

I think that “extensive research” can have many valid meanings. Let’s say you are looking to buy a new lawn mower. Do you research them at all or just buy the one you see in an ad? If you are looking for professional ratings, comparing different models, reading owner reviews, comparing prices and locations, looking at reliability and warranties, aren’t you doing extensive research?

But in a laboratory setting, “extensive research” can have an entirely different meaning. It can mean setting up and conducting tests, evaluating data, looking for gaps in information, having other people duplicate your testing and review your data independently, etc.

I think the term is determined by the setting.

Great question. Is this person trained in the field to do this kind of research? If not, then it is personal opinion and not true research.

It also sounds like they had a premeditated desire for the outcome to be a certain way and used Probabilistic Reasoning to come to their conclusions.

No. They never are. They just find obscure websites to back up whatever ridiculous claim they make and call it “research.” And won’t share their sources with you.

Not involving google.