In: Psychology
You may see a lot of brain imaging studies in the news or on the internet. What kind of questions should you ask about these studies before accepting the findings as valid?
Before accepting brain imaging studies, the questions that I would ask before considering these findings to be valid are:
Did the study appear in a peer-reviewed journal?
Peer review means submitting the research papers to
other experts for a different and independent review before
accepting it. It is one of the best ways for ascertaining the
seriousness of the study and how correct the results are. It is
always good to go for the second opinion.
How big was the sample?
It is obvious that more the participants in a study, more valid
are its results. This is to ascertain that there were quite an
amount of people whose brains were studied.
Did the researchers control for key differences?
Diversity or gender balance should be there while studying the samples. One gets a better result when the study of population is as homogenous as possible because it allows the researchers to lessen or decrease the number of differences that might affect the research or outcome.