Checks and Balances

1. Checks and Balances

2. Checks and Balances Why?

3. IF You Are in Lab

4. IF You Are in Lab You will learn about…

5. IF You Are in Lab You will learn about… Random errors - errors in measurement that lead to measurable values being inconsistent when repeated measures of a constant attribute or quantity are taken Systematic errors - biases in measurement which lead to the situation where the mean of many separate measurements differs significantly from the actual value of the measured attribute. Wikipedia

6. Bias A particular tendency or inclination, especially one that prevents unprejudiced consideration of a question; prejudice. Dictionary.com

7. Bias A particular tendency or inclination, especially one that prevents unprejudiced consideration of a question; prejudice. A systematic as opposed to a random distortion of a statistic as a result of sampling procedure. Dictionary.com

8. Bias Checks and Balances The Scientific Method Make an observation of nature Make an hypothesis Test the hypothesis by making a prediction Repeat the process

9. Bias This Week in Evolution On the Comparison of Organic and Conventional Farming Methods Article writes about the concern over testing of the value, effectiveness, etc… of Organic vs Conventional farming Posted by R. Ford Denison on August 28, 2008 4:43 PM

10. Bias This Week in Evolution On the Comparison of Organic and Conventional Farming Methods Article writes about the concern over testing of the value, effectiveness, etc… of Organic vs Conventional farming His Conclusion: With peer review and independent testing of important results, the biases and errors of individual scientists do not prevent the scientific community from reaching reliable conclusions, sooner or later. Posted by R. Ford Denison on August 28, 2008 4:43 PM

11. Bias This Week in Evolution On the Comparison of Organic and Conventional Farming Methods If individual scientists or groups of scientists have conscious or unconscious biases, that may influence their conclusions and even their results. Fortunately, two solutions to this problem are built right into the fabric of science today. The first is peer review. Before a paper is published in any reputable scientific journal, it is reviewed by at least two experts with no direct connection to the authors of the paper. (We may know each other, however.) These reviewers look for problems such as unreliable methods, inconsistency between results and conclusions, and inconsistency with previously published results. The latter should not lead to rejection, but reviewers should insist the discrepancy be discussed. Note that most books, web sites, pamphlets, popular magazines, television program, and even certain "junk journals" (low citation impact is a clue) have little or no peer review. As I result, I have usually found reading such sources to be a waste of time. For example, critical details needed to assess the reliability of results are often left out. Second, and more important, any really important conclusions need to be based on results confirmed by at least two independent groups. This is the best way to detect fraudulent or biased results: do other research groups, who may have different biases, nonetheless get the same results? This is one reason society would benefit from investing more in research. When research money is scarce, studies needed to confirm or refute important results may not get done. With peer review and independent testing of important results, the biases and errors of individual scientists do not prevent the scientific community from reaching reliable conclusions, sooner or later. Posted by R. Ford Denison on August 28, 2008 4:43 PM

12. Bias Man Made Global Warming 2007 Survey of Congress Question: Do you think it’s been proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the Earth is warming because of man-made problems?

13. Bias Man Made Global Warming 2007 Survey of Congress Question: Do you think it’s been proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the Earth is warming because of man-made problems? 13% Republicans believe yes 95% Democrats believe yes

14. Bias This Week in Evolution On the Comparison of Organic and Conventional Farming Methods Article writes about the concern over testing of the value, effectiveness, etc… of Organic vs Conventional farming His Conclusion: With peer review and independent testing of important results, the biases and errors of individual scientists do not prevent the scientific community from reaching reliable conclusions, sooner or later. Posted by R. Ford Denison on August 28, 2008 4:43 PM

15. Bias Balancing Biases How cognitive prejudices can influence research decisions, and how the pitfalls of human nature can be avoided By Jef Akst | July 1, 2011 Merck employees, for example, were overly confident that they had the best way of bringing new products to market. GlaxoSmithKline’s more risk-averse approach to drug development was to distribute its resources across as many different projects and collaborators as possible

16. Bias Scientists credited on ghostwritten articles 'should be charged with fraud‘ Ian Sample, science correspondent guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 2 August 2011 22.00 BST Article history ….The proposals aim to stamp out the shady business of "guest authorship", where research papers written by pharmaceutical companies or industry-sponsored medical writers are passed off as the work of influential, independent academics.