I'll start off with mentioning a pet peeve: I do not think that "prove" and other words like it should not be used in scientific communication.

Now, I believe you are asking whether existing studies can be used to further test a research question. The answer is yes. We do it all the time by aggregating these studies into a systematic review and meta-analysis. Similarly, you could test a new theory by using existing results from older studies. Of course, the more information that's available, from each study, the more options you have.

Sure, there's a view that "research" means going out and generating your own data. And generation of new observations to test a theory is important, but we're entering an age of big data, even in science, and we have such a massive repository of existing observations, that so long as we did not use those data points to generate our theory, we can use them to test it. Why reinvent the wheel, so to speak?

Thank you very much Daniel!

Yes, indeed I was referring to whether a research question can be tested through a review of the existing literature and studies. Sorry, I definitely used the wrong terms before.

In regards to your answer, would the method based on previous literature and studies be Literature Review?

The method would depend on what you're trying to investigate. A literature review is a great way to come up with new theories that could then be tested. I've done this a few times, and I am working on writing a proposal for a paper format that I call the "call to research" format. It starts with a focused literature review, followed by a number of potential theories and research proposals based on that review.

However, if you wish to test an existing theory, you need to make sure that your search of literature is unbiased. Usually that's what a systematic review is for.

Allow me to give an example. In Preprint Studying the Efficacy and Perception of Whooping Cough Vaccines

In this case, I am literally testing a theory about the state of the field. Do you have a specific research question in mind?

Thank again Daniel! It was very helpful.

Your proposal sounds quite interesting must say.

Yes, I am currently research what role does emotion play in capturing and sustaining our attention in new media advertising.

For that I am looking at: 1. How emotions influence our memory; 2. Types of attention (short or captured, long or sustained) 3. How emotions influence our decision making process. 4.The attentional relationship between brands and consumers.

I would like to test wether emotional advertising can capture our attention and then transform short attention into long attention.

As it is complicated test this, I am considering to rely on different studies, and then combine them to create a new model in which separate theories are interconnected.

I would definitely gather information together and see if you can develop a model that can then be tested with additional information. It may be difficult to get a paper on the topic published, without "novel data" because that's the focus of academic publication, but if you can do a focused literature review, and provide a detailed model, I think it's something that would fit right in on OSF and/or RG. Additional researchers will then be able to comment on the paper and maybe you'll end up finding a research partner.

If I had the paper on the "call to action" format done, I'd link you to it, but I do not. I will try to keep you in mind when I push it to RG.

Thank you very much Daniel!