pseudoscience

• Characteristics of "Science":

  • Bases all claims on observation (evidence)
  • Explains a range of natural phenomena
  • Can be confirmed by empirical tests
  • Is objective/impersonal
  • Is approached with skepticism
  • Remains always a work in progress
• Importance of understanding research for non-scientists:

  • To critically evaluate information available
  • To make informed choices
  • For accurate article writing
  • For leaders to set policies affecting humans and the environment
• Characteristics of information that are NOT scientific:

  • Tenacity: believing something contradictory to falsifying evidence
  • Hearsay: relying on secondhand information
  • Authority: believing info from a respected individual with no supporting evidence
  • Spirituality: using religion to answer scientific questions
  • Anecdotalism: making conclusions based solely on personal experience
• Pseudoscience:

  • A claim, belief, or practice that presents itself as science but does not adhere to the scientific method
  • Examples: astrology, homeopathy, psychic abilities, cleansing/detox diets, cryptozoology, conversion therapy
• Comparison: Science vs. Pseudoscience:

  • Science: claims are falsifiable, follows evidence wherever it leads, embraces criticism, uses precise terminology, claims are conservative and tentative
  • Pseudoscience: claims are not falsifiable, starts with a conclusion, hostile to criticism, uses vague jargon, grandiose claims beyond evidence
• How to detect Pseudoscience:

  • Use of scientific-sounding words used incorrectly
  • Reliance on anecdotal evidence
  • Extraordinary claims without extraordinary evidence
  • Claims that cannot be proven false
  • Claims that counter established scientific facts
  • Absence of adequate peer review
• Reasons why the public has trouble evaluating scientific information:

  • Most people get their information from popular media, not science articles
  • Media may use misleading headlines and don't look at how one study fits into the overall picture
  • Reliance on celebrity influence and political leaders whose jobs depend on mass popularity and campaign donations
• Key topics in Scientific American (2017) article "The Delusion of Alternative Facts":

  • How can science guide the search for “actual” truth?
  • Why can’t we perceive reality completely objectively?
  • Three rules for the critical mind:

  1. We cannot ascertain what’s true, but we can establish what’s false.

  2. High confidence does not equal objective proof.

  3. Perception depends on perspective, but subjectivity is not a measure of reality
• Definitions in science:

  • Research problem: the background, context, and/or observation that sparked interest in an investigation
  • Research question (RQ): a statement that identifies a phenomenon to be explored; the purpose of the study
  • Hypothesis: predicts a relationship between variables, usually based on previously obtained data; must be testable with empirical, observable, repeatable tests
  • Theory: the current best explanation for a phenomenon; supported by extensive data - "bigger" than a hypothesis; must still be hypothetically capable of being disproved
• Variables in scientific research:

  • Independent (IV): what the researcher is manipulating/changing or what is controlled
  • Dependent (DV): what changes as a result of the independent variable; it "depends" on the IV
  • Confounding: uncontrolled factors that could influence the dependent variable
• Steps of the Scientific Method:

  1. Observe the situation to identify the problem

  2. Form a research question (RQ), identify IVs & DVs

  3. Formulate the hypothesis (predicted answer to RQ)

  4. Design study to test hypothesis

  5. Gather data/conduct study

  6. Analyze the results

  7. Formulate conclusions based upon the results (hypothesis check/observed answer to RQ)

  8. Other scientists verify with independent research

  9. Integrate results into a theoretical model; how does this fit in with what we already know
• Two big classes of research:

  • Experimental Research: purpose is to establish cause & effect relationship; IV is deliberately manipulated by the researcher to judge its effect on DV
  • Non-Experimental Research: examines naturally-occurring phenomena, describes and examines relationships, cannot directly manipulate IV
• Characteristics of Experimental Research:

  • Treatment group(s) = groups receiving the intervention
  • Control group = does not receive intervention
  • Use of placebos
• Experimental Research: Basic research:

  • Investigates biochemical substances or biological processes
  • Conducted in vitro (in lab/synthesized environment) or in vivo (in real life)
  • Advantages: highly controlled setting, able to perform research not possible in humans
  • Disadvantages: applicability to humans is questionable, poor sharing of information among researchers
• Experimental Research: Clinical trials:

  • Experimental study of humans, applying basic research
  • Confirms if animal research results are applicable to humans
  • Advantages: highly controlled setting makes for greater internal validity
  • Disadvantages: artificial environment may create low external validity, expensive, can't expose people to harmful interventions
• Non-Experimental: Descriptive Research:

  • Observe and describe only - characteristics, trends
  • Used when a field is new and there is insufficient data to form hypotheses
  • Surveys, Case Studies, Observing in Natural Environment
  • Data gathering, hypothesis generating - usually no firm conclusions formed
• Experimental Research: More on characteristics and p Value:

  • p Value tests the probability that observed differences between test groups occurred purely by accident, not because of the intervention
  • "Statistical significance" is commonly defined as p <.05 or less
  • Experimental research investigates biochemical substances or biological processes
• Experimental Research: More on groups and control:

  • Treatment group(s): group(s) receiving the intervention
  • Control group: group which is as similar as possible to treatment group prior to start of study, but does not receive the intervention
  • Use of placebos: "placeholders" to mask actual treatment group
• Types of Descriptive Research:

  1. Case Study: in-depth investigation of an event, person, community
  2. Natural Observation: watching in a natural setting
  3. Surveys: asking questions
  4. Cross-Sectional Research: gathers information at a specific point in time
  5. Longitudinal Research: involves repeated observations over long periods
  6. Archival Research: involves looking through historical archives for trends or new details
• Non-Experimental Correlational Research:

  • Explores relationships among variables of interest
  • May test hypotheses but no direct manipulation, hence "non-experimental"
  • Conclusions focus on associations rather than cause and effect
• Advantages of Correlational Research:

  • Able to statistically analyze relationships among a large number of variables in a single study
• Disadvantages of Correlational Research:

  • Requires a large sample size
  • Subjects are not randomly selected to groups
  • Relies on the accuracy of people's memory and willingness to tell the truth
• Good Sources of Scientific Information:

  • Professional, peer-reviewed articles
  • Primary sources: authors discussing their own research
  • Secondary sources: a review of studies on a particular subject
  • Government and trade organizations like NIH, USDA, AMA
  • Popular press varies in quality
• Assessing Popular Information:

  • Consider the credentials of the author and the information source
  • Look for possible bias or conflict of interest
  • Evaluate if the information is logical and backed up with evidence
  • Check if conflicting or non-supportive evidence is acknowledged
• Understanding a Research Article:

  • Anatomy of a research article includes Introduction, Subjects, Materials & Methods, Results, and Discussion sections
• Literature Review:

  • Discusses previous trends in the literature and addresses research gaps
• Methodology:

  • Describes the research design and setup of the study
  • Includes information on treatment groups, outcomes measured, and subject selection
• Results:

  • Data in tables/figures should align with the text
  • Significance of results is determined by statistical analysis
• Conclusions and Recommendations:

  • Justify conclusions from results and discussion
  • Compare results with previous literature findings
• • Internal Validity: the extent to which the research conditions are controlled so that the IV can cause a change in the DV
  • External Validity: to what populations, settings, treatment variables can the results obtained be generalized