Do you think this was the kind of kindergarten play the authors had in mind? Photo: gmutlu/ iStockphoto Kindergarten is in the news. Specifically, teachers, parents, and school administrators are discussing how much time kids should spend in kindergarten just playing. This story tells how some schools are re-introducing water and sand tables into their …
Category: Chapter 02; Sources of Information
Does international aid work?
These Bangladeshi girls received aid from BRAC, the same program that was investigated in this study. Photo: Brent Stirton/Getty Images Do international aid programs work? Many of us send money to an organization like Heifer International, Mercy Corps, or Oxfam. Does the money these programs invest, either through direct aid, microloans, gifts of livestock, or …
Football, brain injury, and “compared to what?”
Football players who develop cognitive problems cannot ask "compared to what?"--they do not have a comparison group of what symptoms they would have had without their history of playing football. Photo credit: Joe Rimkus Jr. / Miami Herald / MCT / Getty Images Here's a sobering feature story about a former college football player, Ryan …
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The fallout of an unethical study
July is turning out to be Ethics Month at EverydayResearchMethods blog. Here's a great piece about the damage that was done by a case of data fabrication. In 1998, a physician named Dr. Andrew Wakefield published a study on 12 sample of patients whose autism symptoms, he claimed, had appeared right after receiving the vaccine …
Talk to strangers. Field studies say it’s good for you!
We know that meaningful social support and relationships with friends and family are good for our health and well being. But what about superficial small talk--even with strangers? Well, it turns out that seems to be good for us, too. Here are some examples of experiments that were conducted out in the real world--subway trains …
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Plane crashes and the Pop-up Principle
Events like last Saturday's Asiana Airlines plane crash are not only tragic; they can also make us feel more vulnerable. Vivid images of burned planes help us form clear images in our minds, and constant, urgent press coverage helps reinforce our memories for these events. Later, when we ponder whether it is safe to fly, …
Data vs. intuition: which one best predicted the US election results?
The recent U.S. presidential election provided an interesting chance to compare the different "ways of knowing" that are covered in Chapter 2. That chapter explains why research is a better source for knowledge than intuition, authority, or personal experience. Before the November 7, 2012 election, many strategists predicted the outcome. One such expert was Newt Gingrich, who predicted …
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Three different takes on a single journal article
In the journal-to-journalism cycle, the details of a study can get distorted on their way to the web. Here are three different takes on a recent article published by Canadian researchers. The study had apparently investigated links between spanking and child outcomes. Notice that the headlines in each study make different claims and focus on …
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Ben Goldacre on TED
Here's Ben Goldacre in a 20-minute TED video talking about his favorite topic, Bad Science. He addresses the journal-to-journalism cycle, the flaws of authority, the placebo effect, industry-sponsored trials, publication bias, correlation/causation, ethics, and more. The overall message is the importance of publishing all data--both for and against a drug, therapy, or intervention. Ben Goldacre …
The rich are different….and not in a good way
This article on msnbc.com presents a summary of research by Dr. Dacher Keltner on differences in empathy and social reasoning between upper- and lower-class Americans. How does the evidence support the view that richfolks, like Mr. Potter here, are less sensitive to others? Photo: RKO Radio Pictures/Photofest 1. The article describes several studies from Dr. …
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