3 ms·
Ask HN: Why are there so many meta studies now?
I mean foremost in topics in medicine or psychology
Lately the majority of studies that i come across
appear to all be meta studies.
Which really is to sum up the results of other studies
to draw conclusions?
Made even worse since a few do say they have not read
the whole reports of the studies they include.
That seems like something a semi decent AI should
be able to produce (?).
I would think, if you are going to draw conclusions
based on other studies that spending a long time
researching, communicating, and understaning
each one should be required
I presume it happens because meta studies are far cheaper
, far faster, and allows publishing more studies?
Cheaper means they dont need a lab,
Dont need subjects, humans, or animals
and can be done with less people
- gatonegro 4y agoI think the so-called "replication crisis"[0] might have something to do with it, particularly in psychology. The misaligned incentives to publish frequently to have a nice-looking list of articles to show when you next apply for a grant means there's tons of flimsy research that goes unquestioned. It's also fairly attractive to jump on specific bandwagons and publish noise just to get your name out there. A lot of these meta-studies are looking inward, at the field itself and what is currently accepted, and finding that a fair bit of it is of very poor quality, if not straight-up nonsense. I think, overall, it's a good thing. Research should not be focused exclusively on new knowledge. We should also be validating what others put out there, to make sure it's worth listening to. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Replication_crisis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Replication_crisis