Whew! The semester is almost over! I hope everyone does well on all of their finals, and hope to see you guys around campus next fall. This class has been most helpful very instructive in helping me learn more about statistics but to be more critical of scientific papers. As a budding data collection junkie, my questions to the class are these: What did you find most interesting in the class? What did you find most helpful? (This is not a scientific poll).
-Lee
The most interesting thing I found during this class is just the shear amount of falsified research. I imagine I was just more naive prior to taking this class, but now I have a good understanding and "toolbox" for assessing other people's research. The most helpful thing I have learned in this class is that the course has caused me to reevaluate the presence of "bad" scientific studies. I can deliberate between the poorly and well done literature. I think these experiences will be very applicable to my future as I am heading off to graduate school. I hope everyone had a good time (I know I did), and I look forward to more "good" science from all of you!
ReplyDeleteI think looking at statistics more responsibly will aid me more. I found the medical part of the class the most interesting. I was a bit shocked at how hard statistical analysis could be.
ReplyDeleteI think looking at statistics more responsibly will aid me more. I found the medical part of the class the most interesting. I was a bit shocked at how hard statistical analysis could be.
ReplyDeleteWhat I found most interesting about this class is how scientific research can conflict and agree with social issues of the times. My favorite book in the class was "The Mismeasure of Man," mainly because it illustrated how you cannot trust the intentions of scientific research, even if society during that time agrees with the science. I also enjoyed it because I love history in the first place!
ReplyDeleteI found that it was helpful on how to view studies in a different light. I never would have looked at all of the different factors that play a role within a scientific study if it wasn't for this class. The autism and vaccination debate is a good example of this, and how I would have not taken a closer look at the differing facts on the issue. Overall, it was an interesting course, and I am glad that I took it!
What I found the most interesting is the different ways to poll and how methods can affect results. In this day and age, polling is very popular, and most people see polls and think the results are fact. After this class, I have learned to look deeper into polls to see if the results can be trusted.
ReplyDeleteThe most helpful thing I learned was to question things more and not just take the face value to be true.