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No. Quite interesting looking at the comments here furiously looking for flaws in the study. If the results had found the opposite, I doubt the study's legiti

No. Quite interesting looking at the comments here furiously looking for flaws in the study. If the results had found the opposite, I doubt the study's legitimacy would have been so vigorously questioned.

skcin7 14y ago
As kevinwuboo said in this thread: There are a few points from this publication that are suspicious: 1. There's no mention of funding sources for this study. 2. It's a small sample size of "two major studios". 3. Most importantly, this study isn't peer reviewed.
jeremyswank 14y ago
I don't think it would work very well if it were the people who agreed with a study to somehow also have the obligation to point out its flaws. Could we believe that they were being thorough in finding problems if the conclusions supported their own beliefs? It works better, I think, if the challenger takes an adversarial, but not actually hostile, position. And, of course, for both sides to have open minds, but I realize that is often too much to ask.
- anigbrowl 14y ago
  Well, that actually happens a lot with scientific studies where people are interested in the result but want to point out the limitations of the study so that it doesn't get over-hyped and lost in a backlash. I much prefer a qualified conclusion.
JoshTriplett 14y ago
I apply a higher degree of skepticism any time the results of a study funded by an organization with a viewpoint support exactly the conclusion you'd expect for that viewpoint; if nothing else, I'd expect a high degree of selection bias, if not a predetermined conclusion in mind during methodology selection and data collection. I'd strongly question the results of a study funded by The Pirate Bay that said the ready availability of downloadable films increased movie sales.
Kurtz79 14y ago
"If the results had found the opposite, I doubt the study's legitimacy would have been so vigorously questioned." Maybe because they would have made more sense ?
- snowwrestler 14y ago
  If people download something (a movie) for free, they'll also pay for it? How does that make more sense?
betterunix 14y ago
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2176246 https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2176246 There, opposite results. Feel free to criticize them.

skcin7 14y ago

As kevinwuboo said in this thread: There are a few points from this publication that are suspicious: 1. There's no mention of funding sources for this study. 2. It's a small sample size of "two major studios". 3. Most importantly, this study isn't peer reviewed.

jeremyswank 14y ago

I don't think it would work very well if it were the people who agreed with a study to somehow also have the obligation to point out its flaws. Could we believe that they were being thorough in finding problems if the conclusions supported their own beliefs? It works better, I think, if the challenger takes an adversarial, but not actually hostile, position. And, of course, for both sides to have open minds, but I realize that is often too much to ask.

anigbrowl 14y ago
Well, that actually happens a lot with scientific studies where people are interested in the result but want to point out the limitations of the study so that it doesn't get over-hyped and lost in a backlash. I much prefer a qualified conclusion.

JoshTriplett 14y ago

I apply a higher degree of skepticism any time the results of a study funded by an organization with a viewpoint support exactly the conclusion you'd expect for that viewpoint; if nothing else, I'd expect a high degree of selection bias, if not a predetermined conclusion in mind during methodology selection and data collection. I'd strongly question the results of a study funded by The Pirate Bay that said the ready availability of downloadable films increased movie sales.

Kurtz79 14y ago

"If the results had found the opposite, I doubt the study's legitimacy would have been so vigorously questioned." Maybe because they would have made more sense ?

snowwrestler 14y ago
If people download something (a movie) for free, they'll also pay for it? How does that make more sense?

betterunix 14y ago

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2176246 https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2176246 There, opposite results. Feel free to criticize them.