Have you seen this commercial yet?
Well, it drives me nuts!!!
It's clearly (I hope) not a real research study, and just a marketing ploy, but I don't know how obvious that is to everyone who does not have a bachelor of science degree. So I'll just use it as a teaching tip about some things to look out for when considering the validity of research.
1. Pay attention to variables. The thing that drives me most insane about this commercial is that Advil and Tylenol are NOT THE SAME. Advil is ibuprofen, while Tylenol is acetaminophen. This means that the "study" is not actually testing the name brand, but the type of medication. You can get the CVS brand of either. When analyzing a study, see what the researcher is trying to test, and decide if that's what they actually are testing. This is more relevant is studies that test abstract things, like intelligence. Do the researchers' variables of intelligence match your own? Are they accurate? There's a little more leway with something abstract, as there may be more than one correct definition, but differences in medication types are pretty solid, and the commercial is misleading.
AND
2. Who did the research? And who funded it? I am less likely to believe a research study on the health benefits of orange juice if it was funded by the Pepsi Company. (But Pepsi is soda, you say. That makes no sense, you say? Pepsi also owns Tropicana, I say). I am more likely to believe a study on the health benefits of orange juice conducted by a hospital or other source. Therefore, a study about Advil, conducted by Advil is just a little too fishy for me to swallow. This isn't only about funding though. There is lots of research bias types out there. Make sure you're paying attention to them all!
Friday, April 26, 2013
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Blog about a Blog
For my Experimental Design class, it only makes sense that we have a project to create and conduct an experiment. My topic is about how certain personality traits affect Facebook use. Upon my research for previous research, I found a somewhat relevant blog about a survey conducted for the cite, so I decided to blog about the blog. It's a pretty simple survey, that collects some pretty basic data.
http://blog.digg.com/post/47705350604/what-you-told-us
http://blog.digg.com/post/47705350604/what-you-told-us
Quite Interesting
Unfortunatley, high paid celebrities like Stephen Colbert, gets lots of vacation time. I do not, so while Colbert was off air, I found another show to help me unwind, and it was great because I could watch it and be productive at the same time.
QI (quite interesting) is a British television show that challenges our "common sense" knowledge. Two episodes caught my attention when it comes to research.
The first, "Geometry," talks about the common belief that horizontal stripes make people appear thinner than vertical stripes, however according to researcher Peter Thompson from York University, not only is this false, the opposite is true: horizontal stripes make people appear thinner. You can find the first conversation on the topic from 1:50- 5:13, and a conversation with Peter Thompson from 7:25-8:47. It's a bit lengthy, but informative and hilarious at the same time!
The second episode that caught my attention was "Illness." In this episode, they did not talk about a particular study done, but they discussed some important information about research studies in general. The conversation starts about the Placebo Effect, a very well known and supported effect in research. They also bring up some faults of commonly cited research, including that sometimes research is poorly done and not reliable, or the researcher does what they call "cherry picking" where they only report the trials that support what the researcher wants to report, and ignore the rest. It is important to keep these things in mind when we read research or hear about cited studies. You can find the relevant portion at 7:42-11:44 min.
QI (quite interesting) is a British television show that challenges our "common sense" knowledge. Two episodes caught my attention when it comes to research.
The first, "Geometry," talks about the common belief that horizontal stripes make people appear thinner than vertical stripes, however according to researcher Peter Thompson from York University, not only is this false, the opposite is true: horizontal stripes make people appear thinner. You can find the first conversation on the topic from 1:50- 5:13, and a conversation with Peter Thompson from 7:25-8:47. It's a bit lengthy, but informative and hilarious at the same time!
The second episode that caught my attention was "Illness." In this episode, they did not talk about a particular study done, but they discussed some important information about research studies in general. The conversation starts about the Placebo Effect, a very well known and supported effect in research. They also bring up some faults of commonly cited research, including that sometimes research is poorly done and not reliable, or the researcher does what they call "cherry picking" where they only report the trials that support what the researcher wants to report, and ignore the rest. It is important to keep these things in mind when we read research or hear about cited studies. You can find the relevant portion at 7:42-11:44 min.
Analyzing Colbert
As a super busy student I go from class, to internship, to work, to homework everyday, so it's pretty late by the time I get to sit down and unwind. My favorite way to unwind four days a week: THE COLBERT REPORT! It condenses my news and my comedy into one program, perfect for my busy schedule. This particular gem popped up a few weeks ago.
Here's the link to the original publication of the study:
http://www.psychosomaticmedicine.org/content/75/2/99.full
And here's a link to a good news article about the original article
http://www.lgbtqnation.com/2013/02/openly-gay-and-bisexual-men-are-happier-than-straight-men-says-study/
http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/423359/january-30-2013/coming-out-benefits---gay-rights
Here's the link to the original publication of the study:
http://www.psychosomaticmedicine.org/content/75/2/99.full
And here's a link to a good news article about the original article
http://www.lgbtqnation.com/2013/02/openly-gay-and-bisexual-men-are-happier-than-straight-men-says-study/
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