Now and again, I run across a news article or psychological question that is so big that it bleeds out of straight statistics and requires a thorough understanding of the research methodology that guides statistical choices. When that happens, I email my buddy and fellow W.W. Norton author, Beth Morling, and we write a joint blog post. Recently, I emailed her because research on using psychedelics to treat many different mental disorders has been in the news.  President Trump fast-tracked this research,  and the  Journal of the American Medical Association recently published a big meta-analysis  on the topic. Psychedelic research has always interested me because of psychology, but it has always amused me because of how you run a proper double-blind research study if your experimental participants KNOW that they are hallucinating and your control group participants know they are not?  This broader question offers a few great discussion options for you and y...

 I have written about the NFL's response to concussion data as a case study of how to obfuscate data. This has been covered in many places, including in The Atlantic and on PBS . In my experience, concussions are a prime source of conversation for traditionally college-aged students. Many of them were high school athletes. Fewer are college athletes. Most college students have personally experienced a concussion or loves someone who has. Now, the University of Pittsburgh is opening the National Sports Brain Bank . This is for athletes, not just football players. Two former Steelers have promised their brains, as have two scientists who played contact sports.  Here is a press release from the University of Pittsburgh . Here is a news report  featuring the two Steelers who have promised to donate their brains. However, as described by Aschwander, we still don't know how many football players have CTE (please read this piece, it is such good stats literacy from Aschwander...

Looking to freshen up your readings for Research Methods? Or for a good, brief RM primer for a stats or psych class? Check out Our World in Data's "Why randomized control trials matter and the procedures that strengthen them" . Added bonus: Our World in Data dived into their data archives to illustrate each piece with their own research. I don't know about you, but my brain far prefers abstract concepts paired with concrete examples.  Some of the classic include: -Why we need RCT. https://ourworldindata.org/randomized-controlled-trials#what-are-randomized-controlled-trials -Why causal inference is hard. https://ourworldindata.org/randomized-controlled-trials#the-fundamental-problem-of-causal-inference -Why we need control groups. https://ourworldindata.org/randomized-controlled-trials#the-control-group-gives-us-a-comparison-to-see-what-would-have-happened-otherwise

 https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2023/05/10/1175303067/a-plastic-sheet-with-a-pouch-could-be-a-game-changer-for-maternal-mortality https://www.bmj.com/content/381/bmj.p1055 I love this study, in and of itself, because it is based on research that will save women's lives without spending a lot of money. I love it.  Here is a link to the original study . I learned about it from an NPR story about the research by Rhitu Chaterjee . I also love it because it is an accessible example of a bunch of statistics things: Dependent variables...operationalizing variables...why cross-cultural research and solutions aren't just lip service to diversity...how control groups in medical research are very different than control groups in psychology research...absolute vs. relative risk. -Dependent variables/operationalized variables: This study clearly illustrates the power of measurement and operationalization. The researchers wanted to create a way to better assess post-childbirth h...

I think this very important cookie research is appropriate for the Christmas cookie baking season. I also believe that it provides a good example of the scientific method. Arias started out with a baseline cookie recipe (baseline Nestle Toll House Cookie Recipe, which also served as her control group) and modified the recipe in a number of different ways (IVs) in order to study several dependent variables (texture, color, density, etc.). The picture below illustrates the various outcomes per different recipe modifications. For science! http://www.handletheheat.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-chocolate-chip-cookies Also, being true scientist, her original study lead to several follow up studies investigating the effect of different kinds of pans and flours  upon cookie outcomes. http://www.handletheheat.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-chocolate-chip-cookies-part-2 I used this example to introduce hypothesis testing to my students. I had them identify the null and alternative ...