sometimes the research you are able do yourself is not enough because of hype. the hype alone can trigger “scientific studies” that get approved just because they are about a visible topic and the results get cherry-picked by “journalists” creating a false sense of consensus to everyone who didn’t spend their life studying the topic in detail.
see books like 80/20 running (based on a “study” done by the author on members of a single running club with n<=5 participants per group) or baby led weaning (based on the ability of the author to bullshit parents with baby brain) that created whole movements behind them and claimed to be based on strict scientific research.
sometimes even researchers themselves can get swiped away by the collective delusion (hype) even in otherwise very rigorous fields (e.g. string theory in physics or all the “AI” research going on right now).
the only way to be sure that what you are learning is right is if it can show past results. someone (many someones) took the risk before you and went with it. and they came up with predictions that panned out and applications that were useful and are well known.
you can be adventurous and try new promising things, but be aware of what you are doing, why and what the cost and consequences are.
yes, you do it yoursef, but you always need some external inputs and inspiration before you try something new. and where you get that inspiration and what you try matters a lot.