3 ms·
"Clinical trials are a type of scientific study. The studies shown in the article are of a particular type, and don't represent all studies, much like cows don'
by jmts 8y ago
"Clinical trials are a type of scientific study. The studies shown in the article are of a particular type, and don't represent all studies, much like cows don't represent all farm animals. There may be similar cases across the remainder of science, but this case cannot be used to show that this is true, in the same way cows producing milk cannot be used to show that chickens produce milk.
"A reasonable takeaway from this article is that any one scientific study may contain flaws, or show bias, and therefore there is a possibility for it to be confirmed, improved, or disproven in the future. As a result, it is better to take early results with a grain of salt until additional supporting evidence is found, than to take them as gospel.
"It should be noted that these results are due to flaws in the scientific establishment, flaws in the human application of science, and flaws in the humans themselves, but not the scientific method itself. The scientific method itself is sound and can be trusted. You use it every day to see whether the water in your shower is too hot or cold, or whether it is raining outside."
- profalseidol 8y agoMaybe we should have some good metric showing how small the sample size is compared to the whole. And maybe make it a rule to add 'Approximation' in the title if it uses that.
- pimmen 8y agoPossible sources of skew is more interesting. Larger, skewed samples can be far worse than smaller, randomized ones.
- Fomite 8y agoThis is the source of a classic exam question given by Ken Rothman, an epidemiologist: As sample size goes up, the probability that an estimate's confidence interval contains the true value of an effect goes.. A) Up B) Down
- pimmen 8y agoThanks for the reference! Very interesting Twitter discussion that sparked. :)