A Perfect Storm: The Record of a Revolution

A Perfect Storm: The Record of a Revolution

At some point in their past, almost every country has witnessed a political revolution, a change of government following a dramatic and sometimes violent expression of discontent. As a result, emperors have been beheaded, kings dethroned, and presidents exiled. Revolutions are often caused by a slowly growing dissatisfaction in the general population, for instance due to lost wars, lack of food, or high taxes. In other words, the general population feels a strong desire for change.... / more

A junior researcher's practical take on the why and how of open science.

A junior researcher's practical take on the why and how of open science.

If you are a social psychologist, it’s probably old news to you that the field is in the midst of a revolution.  As a fifth-year grad student, this is all I have ever known of the field—news of Hauser’s questionable coding broke my first week of graduate school, and Bem’s parapsychology paper and Diederik Stapel followed shortly after. Since then, nearly every conference, Twitterfeed, and paper-writing meeting I’ve experienced has included discussion of QRPs (questionable... / more

The perverse incentives that stand as a roadblock to scientific reform

The perverse incentives that stand as a roadblock to scientific reform

Four pillars of perverse incentives stand strong against efforts to make our science more transparent and reproducible. Arguments against these changes, by their nature conservative arguments to keep the status quo, only help to perpetuate a system that has rewarded individuals and individual careers, but has undermined the integrity and reliability of our science. Reporting only statistically significant findings results in a literature that does not represent the truth. Pushing small N, conceptual replications aids and abets the hiding of inelegant findings that don’t conform perfectly to the theories we test. Overvaluing counter-intuitive findings undermines the development of cumulative knowledge that might be relied on for social policy. Policing studies so that they only report “clean findings” and thus have a clean narrative further incentivizes a depiction of science that is too good to be true. / more

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