PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Queen's researcher playing an important role improving psychology research

2015-08-27
(Press-News.org) KINGSTON - Queen's University developmental psychology professor Stanka Fitneva has co-authored a study in the journal Science that, for the first time, explores the replicability of psychology research.

The Reproducibility Project: Psychology, launched nearly four years ago, is one of the first crowdsourced research studies in the field. The researchers' most important finding was that, regardless of the analytic method or criteria used, fewer than half of their studies produced the same findings as the original study.

"This is a unique project in psychology, and maybe in all of science," says Dr. Fitneva. "It's the first crowdsourcing project where a number of labs from universities all around the world are involved in an effort to see to what extent findings that are published in major journals can be replicated by independent labs."

The 270 researchers in the study, at facilities around the globe, re-examined studies from the 2008 issues of three peer-reviewed journals and attempted to reproduce the results of the study. While the project hypothesized a reproducibility rate approaching 80 per cent, the authors were surprised to discover that less than half of the target findings were reproduced. Dr. Fitneva's team attempted to reproduce the results of an earlier study into the effects of language on children's object representation.

Dr. Fitneva and her co-authors propose three possible reasons for the surprising lack of reproducibility they encountered: small differences in how the studies were carried out; a random chance failure to detect the original result; or the possibility the original itself was a false positive. In addition, they highlight another possibility - the pre-eminence placed on new and innovative discoveries has incentivized researchers to aim for "new" rather than "reproducible" findings.

"Publication bias in science is a major issue and, in the last couple of years, more and more has surfaced about the detrimental consequences of this bias," says Dr. Fitneva. "Just like in any aspect of human activity, there are incentives that influence the conduct of research. Our journals have been prioritizing the publication of, and thus rewarding researchers for, novel and surprising findings.

"When we find something surprising it catches the imagination of the public and the media just as much as it catches the imagination of researchers and journal editors. We need to balance the verification processes in science against the drive for innovation" she adds. "Assessing the reproducibility of findings is essential for scientific progress but currently researchers receive few rewards for engaging in this practice."

INFORMATION:

The full results of the Reproducibility Project: Psychology have been published in the journal Science.



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Imaging techniques set new standard for super-resolution in live cells

Imaging techniques set new standard for super-resolution in live cells
2015-08-27
Scientists can now watch dynamic biological processes with unprecedented clarity in living cells using new imaging techniques developed by researchers at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Janelia Research Campus. The new methods dramatically improve on the spatial resolution provided by structured illumination microscopy, one of the best imaging methods for seeing inside living cells. The vibrant videos produced with the new technology show the movement and interactions of proteins as cells remodel their structural supports or reorganize their membranes to take up ...

Massive study reports challenges in reproducing published psychology findings

2015-08-27
A study that sought to replicate 100 findings published in three prominent psychology journals has found that, across multiple criteria, independent researchers could replicate less than half of the original findings. In some cases this may call into question the validity of some scientific findings, but it may also point to the difficulty of conducting effective replications and achieving reproducible results. The results of this review study, conducted by more than 270 researchers on five continents, are published in the Aug. 28 issue of the journal Science. Twenty-two ...

Study aims to reproduce 100 published journal papers

2015-08-27
This news release is available in Japanese. Following one of the largest-scale scientific reproducibility investigations to date, a group of psychology researchers has reported results from an effort to replicate 100 recently published psychology studies; though they were able to successfully repeat the original experiments in most all cases, they were able to reproduce the original results in less than half, they report. The authors - part of the Reproducibility Project: Psychology, and led by Brian Nosek - emphasize that a failure to reproduce does not necessarily ...

Improved microscopy technique reveals new insights into cell processes

Improved microscopy technique reveals new insights into cell processes
2015-08-27
This news release is available in Japanese. Researchers have significantly extended the resolution of live-cell Structured Illumination Microscopy (SIM), a type of microscopy that offers many benefits compared to other super resolution techniques. The results are already providing a much more detailed understanding of cell processes and could have important implications for health research. Currently, many other super resolution microscopes come with pitfalls; for example, localization microscopy and stimulated emission depletion microscopy must use high ...

Frogs' irrational choices could reform understanding of animal mating

Frogs irrational choices could reform understanding of animal mating
2015-08-27
This news release is available in Japanese. In the attempt to choose a mate, it's no surprise that females will select the more "attractive" of two males, but now a new study reveals that female túngara frogs are susceptible to the "decoy" effect, where the introduction of a third, inferior mate results in the female choosing the less attractive of the first two options. The results of this study counter the rational choice models that are currently used in sexual selection theory, suggesting they may prove inadequate to explain decisions in socially ...

Modified bacteria become a multicellular circuit

Modified bacteria become a multicellular circuit
2015-08-27
HOUSTON - (Aug. 27, 2015) - Rice University scientists have made a living circuit from multiple types of bacteria that prompts the bacteria to cooperate to change protein expression. The subject of a new paper in Science, the project represents the first time the Rice researchers have created a biological equivalent to a computer circuit that involves multiple organisms to influence a population. The researchers' goal is to modify biological systems by controlling how bacteria influence each other. This could lead to bacteria that, for instance, beneficially alter ...

A new technique to make drugs more soluble

2015-08-27
Before Ibuprofen can relieve your headache, it has to dissolve in your bloodstream. The problem is Ibuprofen, in its native form, isn't particularly soluble. Its rigid, crystalline structures -- the molecules are lined up like soldiers at roll call -- make it hard to dissolve in the bloodstream. To overcome this, manufacturers use chemical additives to increase the solubility of Ibuprofen and many other drugs, but those additives also increase cost and complexity. The key to making drugs by themselves more soluble is not to give the molecular soldiers time to fall in ...

US scientists warn leaders of dangers of thawing permafrost

2015-08-27
As President Obama and high-level representatives of other nations converge in Anchorage, Alaska on August 30-31 for the Conference on Global Leadership in the Arctic: Cooperation, Innovation, Engagement and Resilience (GLACIER), hosted by the U.S. Department of State, top U.S. climate scientists urge policymakers to address the critical problem of the thawing permafrost in the Arctic region. Arctic permafrost - ground that has been frozen for many thousands of years - is now thawing because of global climate change, and the results could be disastrous and irreversible. ...

Degenerating neurons respond to gene therapy treatment for Alzheimer's disease

2015-08-27
Degenerating neurons in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) measurably responded to an experimental gene therapy in which nerve growth factor (NGF) was injected into their brains, report researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine in the current issue of JAMA Neurology. The affected neurons displayed heightened growth, axonal sprouting and activation of functional markers, said lead author Mark H. Tuszynski, MD, PhD, professor in the Department of Neurosciences, director of the UC San Diego Translational Neuroscience Institute and a neurologist ...

Researchers find way for eagles and wind turbines to coexist

2015-08-27
Collisions with wind turbines kill about 100 golden eagles a year in some locations, but a new study that maps both potential wind-power sites and nesting patterns of the birds reveals sweet spots, where potential for wind power is greatest with a lower threat to nesting eagles. Brad Fedy, a professor in the Faculty of Environment at the University of Waterloo, and Jason Tack, a PhD student at Colorado State University, took nesting data from a variety of areas across Wyoming, and created models using a suite of environmental variables and referenced them against areas ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Storing electrons from hydrogen for clean chemical reactions

Unlocking how to use mRNA to target Alzheimer’s disease

Kessler Foundation secures $770,000 in grants to advance leading-edge spinal cord research

Going ‘back to the future’ to forecast the fate of a dead Florida coral reef

How extratropical ocean-atmosphere interactions can contribute to the variability of jet streams in the Northern Hemisphere

MSK Research Highlights, March 28, 2024

USDA, Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College collaborate to support Indigenous Seed Sovereignty

For younger women, mental health now may predict heart health later

Missed opportunity: AEDs near cardiac arrests rarely used by bystanders

Eggs may not be bad for your heart after all

Alcohol raises heart disease risk, particularly among women

TTUHSC announces new center for nursing research

Adding just enough fuel to the fire

Impact of synbiotic supplements on the gut microbiome and overall health of penguins

Promising advances in organosilica membranes for separating organic liquid mixtures

Cell phone video technology unveils new method for analyzing walking and gait

Ancient isolation’s impact on modern ecology

Synaptic protein change during development offers clues on evolution and disease

How commercial rooftop solar power could bring affordable clean energy to low-income homes

Taking a closer look at pulmonary fibrosis genetics

Cats with MDR1 mutation at risk of severe reactions to popular medication

IOP Publishing and IPEM mandate reporting of sex and gender in research 

Dogs trained to detect trauma stress by smelling humans’ breath

Electronic device thermal management made simpler and slightly better!

Study: Dangerous surgical site infections can be reduced with simple prevention protocol

Genetic testing of patients with atrial fibrillation can alert clinicians to potential development of life-threatening conditions

Artificial Intelligence tool successfully predicts fatal heart rhythm

What progress has China made in agriculture green development over the past five years?

ALMA finds new molecular signposts in starburst galaxy

Open waste burning linked to air pollution in Northwestern Greenland

[Press-News.org] Queen's researcher playing an important role improving psychology research