Bad science is very popular today. Reports are looking for interesting pieces of information, so they quickly make assumption about research they are reading. It is very easy to lie with statistics to embellish one’s story. One of the most common assumptions made by writers and readers of bad science articles is the false notion that correlation means causation. Writers are quick to state that because two things are correlated, one thing must therefore cause the other. Bad science articles can also be misleading because they fail to give out all of the information needed in analyzing a source or a data set. The article “Eat Nuts, Live Longer,” written by Alexandra Sifferlin and was posted on the Time website. This article states that those
One criticism of this research is that it is correlational. Therefore, we cannot infer a causal
As groups continue to use science against one another, stereotypes are taking over the world and creating negativity within society. As women are being told they are not smart, African Americans are being told they are unequal, and Muslims are being told they are all terroristic by nature based on the science that claims their inferiority and stereotypes; peace cannot prevail and war cannot contain. Scientific research and social correlations are not viewable through the same ideas, or else stereotypes continue to rampage on claiming proof through science; and ultimately groups will continue to prove their stereotypes wrong through violent and hysteric means. Inaccurate scientific research is encouraging the social beliefs of the inferiority of certain groups, and creating an unjust and socially biased
The types of scientific bias are confirmation bias, appeal to novelty, and appeal to tradition. Confirmation bias is when data is interpreted based on your own beliefs. Appeal to novelty is when data is interpreted correct based on solely being new. Appeal to tradition is the opposite in which data is interpreted because it’s based in tradition. Confirmation bias and appeal to novelty is present in Semmelweis’ story.
Science is supposed, to tell the truth, but because humans are the ones performing the experiments sometimes there are flaws. For instance, Andre Wakefield in 1998 of Royal Free Hospital in London, England, said the Measles, Mumps, and rubella vaccines were to blame for autism. Andrew Wakefield came to this conclusion based on results found in eight out of twelve children. His results were then published in a medical journal called Lancet. Andrew Wakefield condemnation of vaccination caused the public to become scared ("vaccinations and Autism". . .). Andrew Wakefield's research was the starting point of the conspiracy theory that the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccinations cause Autism. Furthermore, It made people, especially parents of autistic kids, question and lose trust in vaccinations. Without Wakefield's research people, might not question vaccinations as much as
Wakefield published a study on the effects of the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR)-vaccine, specifically the “mercury” based and the vaccine instigating the onset of autism (Wakefield para 3). Wakefield’s study involved 12 individuals whose medical background was altered in order to support his study (Goodlee para 2). After 12 years of Wakefield’s research being published, his findings were found to be inaccurate. Many doctors and scientists alike have proven his theory wrong, causing the magazine that published the article to fully retract it (Goodlee para 2). However, the damage caused by Wakefield’s false findings has yet to be undone. The number in vaccinations dropped and the number of deadly diseases ultimately rose (Goodlee para 8). Despite study after study proving that Wakefield blatantly falsified his findings, many parents including, celebrities like Jenny McCarthy, continue to advocate against vaccinations and blame the MMR-vaccine for her child’s autism diagnosis.
However, the theory of vaccinations causing autism was proven wrong. No evidence has been found to connect autism to vaccines. “There remains no convincing evidence of harm caused by low levels of thimerosal in vaccines” says the Vaccine Advisory Committee (Benjamin 2003). One explanation for the once associated risk was that kids are tested for autism at the same age they are administered their first vaccinations. A doctor says that while some parents are worried that vaccines may be linked to autism, the theory has been scientifically discredited and should not be a factor to worry about (Reddy 2015). While some parents may still try to link the false theory together, they will continue to come up with an argument that has no evidence to back their theory up. A study done by the institute of medicine came to a conclusion that a
In the article “Flu Vaccine May Lower Hearth Attack Risk, Researchers Find”, there was a substantial amount of misleading statistics that, in turn, made me doubt the conclusions configured. Just glancing at the title, an implied connection is made when the author includes the word “…may…”. There is no guarantee that getting the flu vaccine will lower one’s heart attack risk; the two variables are not necessarily connected. Later on in the article it reads, “The finding, published today in the journal Heart, suggests flu vaccination programs targeting the elderly should be extended to include younger adults, especially those with coronary artery disease.” The word, “…suggests…” is another example of an implied connection, which is a
One of the greatest dangers to scientific studies is the "confirmation bias". When a researcher is trying to collect documents and publications for what is studying or analyzing, it is very likely that only see, or just to notice what "it suits" for what he wants to prove. Moreover, even almost unconsciously, it is liable to see more quickly connections with other publications that seem to corroborate their investigations. Unfortunately, this "confirmation bias" affects not only scientific studies. It concerns us all. In today's article, I intend to show by example how to detect this phenomenon and some techniques to try to avoid it.
Have you ever thought about how much a single lie could affect humanity for decades? That is exactly what was started in 1998 by Dr. Andrew Wakefield. He and a panel of a dozen other scientists conducted a study to test for a connection between the Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR) vaccine and a predisposition to behavioral regression and pervasive developmental disorders, including autism. Published on the 28th of February 1998 in The Lancet (Lancet1), their study showed there was a direct correlation between administration of the MMR vaccine and onset of symptoms of autism or regression of previously learned skills (NCBI).
The correlation that was made between autism and certain vaccinations was made by a British doctor named Andrew Wakefield. Andrew Wakefield hypothesized that MMR vaccination could cause autism and was published in the Lancet journal. Even though the article was later removed from the journal, it had already caused too
COMMENTS argument is that because the average effect size for published research was equivalent to that of a medium effect, the reviewer 's decision to reject the bogus manuscript under the nonsignificant condition was "reasonable." Further examination of the Haase et al. (1982) article and our own analysis of published research, however, demonstrates that the power of the bogus study was great enough to detect effect sizes that are typical of research published in JCP, which was our intention when we designed the bogus study. First, although the median effect size (if) for all univariate statistical tests, significant and nonsignificant, reported by Haase et al. (1982) was .083, this index was steadily increasing at a rate of approximately .5% per year, so that the projected median if- in 1981 (the year our study was completed) would be .13. Importantly, an r)2 of .13 corresponds to an effect size (/) of .39, which Cohen (1977) designates as a large effect. A further examination of the Haase et al. (1982) data also lends support to our argument. Their analysis examined the strength of association for 11,044 univariate statistical tests derived from only 701 manuscripts; thus, each manuscript reported an average of more than 15 statistical tests. Since statistically significant and
The newspaper article, Vitamins Cause Crime, claims they found a positive correlation with the consumption of vitamins and crime rates. With the inappropriate claim that vitamins cause cancer, the newspaper’s article’s name is false because it falls under the Correlation Vs. Causation Fallacy and is an illusory correlation. Regardless of the newspaper’s article, a more appropriate study could be done by creating an experimentally designed double blind research project. This research project would utilize the Scientific Method, use of a control group and an experimental group, correlation analysis, and a single manipulatable independent variable. Thus creating a more credible claim regarding any correlation between vitamins and crimes rates through a double blind research study.
Journalists wield immense power when covering controversial science and play a huge role in forming the popular understanding; however, because the news industry has been cutting the number of science reporters during the past 20 years, the level of accurate science reporting has decreased. From 1989 to 2005, the number of media sources with science sections fell from 95% to 35%, and in 2008 CNN cut its entire science, technology, and space unit. The result forced general journalists to cover stories rooted deep in science, and which required special knowledge. 80% of MMR vaccine stories were covered by non – specialists. General journalists with less understanding of the subject then transferred that lack of understanding to the public. Despite the proven safety of vaccines, they covered the story as if there was only conflicting evidence about the possibility of a MMR vaccine - autism link while skimming over the scientific facts and downplaying the empirical evidence. In the majority of MMR related stories, journalists mentioned the possible autism link infinitely more times than the absence of one. They even altered and used select information to make the story seem more solid because
‘The Ultimate protection against research error and bias is supposed to come from the way scientists constantly test and retest each others results’ – To What extent would you agree with this claim in the natural and human sciences.
Although men and women show different views, the Cramer’s V of 0.154 shows only a weak association. A bigger sample size could’ve produced different or more reliable results.