Lesson 5

1. BiasConflicting science reports Lesson 5

2. Smoking Bias • Possible ways to reduce bias: • Distribute free cigarettes to people that will be willing to answer the questions • Ask a student's fellow on each others habits • Perform mandatory urine test for 2 weeks • Anonymous question forms to be answered • Mandatory 'ballot' on yes or no to smoking, anonymous • Hanging out with all students to make them comfortable about their smoking habit

3. Smoking bias • Possible ways to reduce bias • Party with different high-schoolers (20 per year per school selected randomly) and observing their habits • Voluntary participation over the internet • Anonymous interviewing of all students in three different schools (limitation?) • Survey all students using anonymous question forms

4. What are some sources of bias? • Applying the results of a study too broadly (generalizing) • Taking research results out of context • Not taking a random sample • Taking too small of a sample • Measurement error From http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/contaminants-online/pages/ToolsTeachers/Lesson2.htm

5. Bias Reduction • Different ways to reduce bias, • Impossible to eliminate all possible bias • Some bias might be unpredictable • Sampling and measurement methods must be built to account for expected bias, and judgement must be used in the selection of the optimal method.

6. Conflicting science reports • What is data? • Direct measurements • Interpretation of different observations • Selection of information • Amongst different informations pointing towards different causes for a problem, a choice can be made.

7. Societal factors • Studies might be financed by different sponsors: • Government agencies • Private corporations • Universities (through private or public grants) • Special interest groups (consortiums, non-profit organisations e.g. Greenpeace, ... )

8. Societal factors • There is always an influence: • Not always considered as bias • Not always fraudulent • Might influence how the data is gathered, and what will be the object of study

9. Societal factors • Science isn't an isolated ''realm''The economics and politics will drive research in fields society pushes to be developped • Energy extraction (oil companies, car companies) AND sustainable energy (government, car companies) • Biotechnology (agriculture companies) • Effects of biotechnologies on environment (Greenpeace – not a sponsor, but a pressure group important in politics) • Global warming (although there is a growing consensus over that subject)

10. Scientific merit • Even if it is normal to find influences within science, there are fraudulent claims that should be considered not scientific • Usually to sell a product • Using misleading information, bombastic vocabulary to impress and for the audience to feel ignorant and unable to criticize

11. Scientific merit • Two things might limit the fraudulent claims: • Results published in a peer review journal:in this way, other research scientists might bring (limited) criticism to the work done. • If doubt is cast on the results of a certain study, duplication might be done if possible. • There are cases, especially in environment, where duplication (replication) is almost impossible – the merit of each article will be given by the scientific community.