The focus on sample size is misplaced: small sample sizes frequently have sufficient power to be statistically significant. The error you are making is in plac

The focus on sample size is misplaced: small sample sizes frequently have sufficient power to be statistically significant. The error you are making is in placing too much faith in a single study, and possibly in the journalists/bloggers who report on a single study. I have lost count of the number of times I've read a press release or news article that completely misrepresents the findings of a study (i.e., the error is in the reporting, not the article). It's also frequently forgotten that journal articles are written to communicate findings to peers, not the larger public. There are nuances that are understood within a community that are unknown when one is coming from a different background. Until there is a body of work on a phenomenon, perhaps framed by a review article or two, it's best to regard single reports (regardless of perceived quality) as interesting curios but nothing more.