errors marred 2015 study that questioned psychological research
Last Updated : GMT 09:40:38
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
Last Updated : GMT 09:40:38
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle

Errors marred 2015 study that questioned psychological research

Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle

Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicleErrors marred 2015 study that questioned psychological research

A study that questioned the reliability of scientific research -- named as the third biggest story of the year by Science magazine
Miami - AFP

A study that questioned the reliability of scientific research made huge waves last year, but its key finding was likely overblown because of numerous mistakes in methodology, scientists reported Thursday.

The initial study, published in August in the peer-reviewed journal Science, attempted to replicate 100 previously published studies, and found success just 39 percent of the time.

The results -- named as the third biggest story of the year by Science magazine in its "Breakthroughs of the Year" edition -- "led to changes in policy at many scientific journals, changes in priorities at funding agencies, and it seriously undermined public perceptions of psychology," said researcher Daniel Gilbert, a professor of psychology at Harvard University.

But a new look at the methods of that study suggests it was riddled with errors and may have overestimated the failure-to-replicate rate.

"Readers surely assumed that if a group of scientists did a hundred replications, then they must have used the same methods to study the same populations," said Gilbert.

"In this case, that assumption would be quite wrong."

In some cases, the consortium of 270 scientists known as the Open Science Collaboration (OSC), tried to replicate a study in a different geographic location.

In some cases, this set up the repeat experiment for failure.

- A 5,000-mile testing gap -

One such study attempted to redo an experiment involving racial attitudes at a prominent California University, but using Dutch students who did not have the same cultural attitudes or experiences with the US policy at the center of the experiment, known as affirmative action, aimed at boosting the access of minority groups to higher education.

"They had Dutch students watch a video of Stanford students, speaking in English, about affirmative action policies at a university more than 5,000 miles away," said Gilbert.

It didn't work. But even more troubling, said Gilbert, the research team anticipated that their replication would not work, so they tried it at a US university too. That one did work, but they only included the negative finding in their final analysis, thereby distorting their takeaway message.

"The failure of the replication studies to match the original studies was a failure of the replications, not of the originals," said Gilbert.

Other problems included allowing scientists to choose which experiments they would attempt to repeat, possibly introducing bias to the results.

"All the rules about sampling and calculating error and keeping experimenters blind to the hypothesis -- all of those rules must apply whether you are studying people or studying the replicability of a science," said co-author Gary King, professor at Harvard University.

The Harvard team stopped short of suggesting any intentional wrongdoing by the initial team.

"No one involved in this study was trying to deceive anyone," said Gilbert. "They just made mistakes, as scientists sometimes do."

Indeed, the original team, led by Brian Nosek of the University of Virginia, cooperated with the Harvard team's investigation, Gilbert said.

Nosek wrote an accompanying article in the current issue of Science, in which he agreed with some parts of the critique -- including that "differences between laboratories and sample populations reduce reproducibility."

But he did not entirely back away from his team's findings.

The 2015 study "provides initial, not definitive, evidence -— just like the original studies it replicated," Nosek wrote.

 

themuslimchronicle
themuslimchronicle

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

errors marred 2015 study that questioned psychological research errors marred 2015 study that questioned psychological research

 



Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle

GMT 11:36 2018 Thursday ,04 January

Mountain bike world champ seriously hurt in car crash

GMT 12:47 2016 Saturday ,24 September

How to save endangered species

GMT 12:08 2011 Tuesday ,22 November

Mini Éclairs

GMT 11:17 2017 Thursday ,16 November

UN warns fuel running out

GMT 09:11 2017 Monday ,25 September

German campaign takeaways and challenges

GMT 22:02 2017 Tuesday ,19 September

Tariq Yahia says his team is ready

GMT 22:17 2017 Sunday ,01 January

Israeli forces nab 6 Palestinians in WB

GMT 11:08 2017 Thursday ,14 September

New Zealand opposition looks

GMT 19:26 2014 Tuesday ,30 December

Bahrain to implement several development projects

GMT 17:08 2016 Friday ,18 November

South Korea blocks Google export of map data

GMT 13:34 2012 Thursday ,16 February

Q&A: Tuition fees

GMT 04:08 2011 Thursday ,06 October

US dominates university global rankings
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
 
 Themuslimchronicle Facebook,themuslimchronicle facebook  Themuslimchronicle Twitter,themuslimchronicle twitter Themuslimchronicle Rss,themuslimchronicle rss  Themuslimchronicle Youtube,themuslimchronicle youtube  Themuslimchronicle Youtube,themuslimchronicle youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2023 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2023 ©

muslimchronicle muslimchronicle muslimchronicle muslimchronicle
themuslimchronicle themuslimchronicle themuslimchronicle
themuslimchronicle
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle