Why You Can't Trust Scientific Research

Are you looking for research to confirm taking that medicine, using that product, or changing your lifestyle? BEWARE! Not all scientific studies are alike. Some are valid, and some are created to march you down the road that is desired by the creator of the study. I have been involved in the second type of research.

It was the '70s, and I was studying for my Masters Degree. I was in the final run, and noticed that I had already accumulated all A's. Grades were important in High School and elementary school, but in college, doing my best was what I asked of myself. This was the level that I was paying for and the absorption of knowledge was what gave me the most bang for the buck. Noticing the grades and seeing the few classes that I had left, it became a lot more important that I hunt for the A. This was my attitude when I entered my statistics class.

We were to be placed into groups by the psychologist/professor for our project for the course. I had been in class with a couple of the others and knew that if I wanted a good grade and they were in my group, I would have to do all the work myself. I raised my hand and asked a question about the group grade and individual grade and it must have been a good one. I was the only person to be added to the professors "special team". These were students that had been chosen to research a test for racial bias that he had created. We had to prove the test was valid. While it was never spoken aloud, it was understood that proving it invalid would be an automatic failure of the class.

We were sent to a town that used the testing to for new hires. I am not certain that I can include the specifics, but the general description will suffice for now. I was ecstatic at the inclusion. It was explained that we would have two overnight stays at a hotel. Of course I had to share a room with someone of the same sex that I didn't know, but, it still was like a free vacation with meals involved. Young and broke I gladly packed my bags, telling my then husband that he would have to watch our daughter because this was mandatory for the course. Shaking my head in dismay and giggling on the inside I literately skipped out of the house and drove to the appointed place to meet for the trip to the destination.

I was in for a shock when we arrived. The hotel was nice, had we been able to stay in it for any length of time, but we found that trying to create a legitimate link to the test and good recruits was impossible. We started early one morning and worked through the night on the statistics and background of every employee. Our meals were catered in so we could continue. Well, in reality, the professor just brought us a sack of belly bombers and fries and pointed us to the coffee pot at the location.

Day two was nearing the end and we had nothing that could link the test that was sold by our professor to the quality of the workers hired. I guess he made a great selection when he chose me, because at the witching hour that evening I found a link. Sick days! We linked the low score of ONE MAN that had accumulated a lot of sick days and the high score of the others that hadn't and used the statistics to prove that the test was valid. After all, what says disgruntled employee and poor performance more than a large amount of sick days. Had this man not had incredibly flat feet and hemorrhoids we never would have found a link. Was it valid? Absolutely not! The statistical analysis was based on one person and the information was never revealed in the paper. We got our A. The professor got a renewed contract for the testing procedure. All of us got gas from the belly bombers and the drive home was incredibly disturbing. I have no clue whether the test was skewed to racial bias. Most of all I realized that if you want to prove something badly enough you can.

I have questioned many studies since then. Are they double blind? What type of data is used? Is there an agenda for this? What don't we know? It led me to analyze everything I read and absorb. That is really a good thing. I learned more in life lessons in that one class of statistics than I did my entire college career. Don't trust studies unless you find out the who, the how, the where, and how many. Lots of times we are fed a big load and only listen for facts we want to hear. It is human nature to do that and those in the know realize it. Before you form opinions on anything, STOP! Investigate everything, even the so called scientific studies.