3 ms·
how is this nonsense even getting published? tiny sample size, n=18 dogs 5 different breeds of dogs large variance of dog age
by truths33k3r 7y ago
how is this nonsense even getting published?
tiny sample size, n=18 dogs
5 different breeds of dogs
large variance of dog age
- ShlomoS 7y agoThe sample size is adequate for the conclusions drawn from the results. The breeds and ages are representative of dogs used for this work. Nothing in your post supports the idea that the study is "nonsense".
- your-nanny 7y agoif the dogs were restricted to male Labradors age 5, then the range of inference would be male Labs age 5.
- BlackFly 7y agoThis shouldn't surprise you, but if the effect is large and real, you don't need large sample sizes to prove something. As an example, a loaded die that always comes up with 6. After 18 straight 6's in a row, you are more than assured that you have a loaded die. I imagine that a rational person is convinced long before the 18th 6. The point is: large samples are only needed to measure small effects. Most studies nowadays need large samples because the large effects are low hanging fruit and were noticed quickly (in the past). Meanwhile, finding a single black swan proves that not all swans are white. This study proves that in even a small selection of scent dogs, you are going to have dogs which are highly affected by handler signals. You might be able to use the methods of the paper to exclude dogs which pick up on handler signals and therefore improve the training regimen of scent dogs, there is no evidence to support this possibility however.