The podcast discusses the errors made in previous episodes, including cultural references and location descriptions. It also covers the reanalysis of a meta-analysis on cash transfers and the link between football and dementia. The importance of correcting mistakes in scientific papers is highlighted.
Correction and transparency are crucial in scientific research to ensure accurate findings and maintain a scientific attitude.
Meta-analyses face challenges such as publication bias, making well-controlled studies more preferable for reliable results.
Deep dives
Corrections and Mistakes in Previous Episodes
In this episode, the hosts discuss several mistakes made in previous episodes. They highlight errors such as misnaming football grounds and geographic locations, inaccurately stating the gender of a politician's child, and overlooking the mention of birth defects in the context of nuclear power. They also address the issue of publication bias in a meta-analysis of cash transfers and the statistical phenomenon that fitter individuals may appear to have a higher risk of dementia. Additionally, one host clarifies that a researcher's papers were retracted due to missing data, not fraudulent behavior. The hosts emphasize the importance of correcting mistakes and maintaining a scientific attitude.
The Impact of Mistakes in Scientific Research
The hosts acknowledge the need for corrections in scientific research and the stigma associated with making errors. They highlight the work of psychologist Max Meyer, who reanalyzed a meta-analysis of cash transfers, demonstrating limited compelling evidence for their effect on well-being. They emphasize the challenges in conducting meta-analyses due to factors like publication bias. The hosts express a preference for well-controlled studies over meta-analyses to ensure accuracy and provide reliable findings.
The Importance of Correction and Learning from Mistakes
The hosts discuss the value of correction and learning from mistakes in scientific research. They reference a statistical phenomenon where fitter individuals may appear to have a higher risk of dementia due to cognitive decline accelerating with age. They state the importance of being objective and avoiding accusations of fraud when discussing research, using an example of a researcher whose papers were retracted due to lost data rather than fraudulent behavior. The hosts underscore their commitment to accuracy and encourage listeners to provide feedback for further corrections.
Here’s another brief episode covering the errors we’ve made in our last few episodes, from the very minor to the somewhat more serious.
We’re grateful to listeners who pointed these out - please keep doing so! If you’ve noticed an error on The Studies Show, let us know and we’ll correct it on a future episode like this. Contact details are on the About page.
* Explanation of the paradoxical effect of healthier, longer-living people having a higher risk of dementia if you control for age
* Retraction note to one of criminologist Eric Stewart’s papers notes that the study was retracted due to “a mistake in the way the original data were merged… [which,] in conjunction with the discovery of other coding and transcription errors, collectively exceeded what the authors believed to be acceptable for a published paper”. That is, not retracted for “fraudulent data”, as we stated
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