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BBC World Service West and Central Africa Schedule

BBC World Service West and Central Africa

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Tim Harford explains the numbers and statistics in the news and in life

Tim Harford explains the numbers and statistics in the news and in life.

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More or Less: Same data, opposite results. Can we trust research?

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Same data, opposite results. Can we trust research?

06/11/2021 GMT

BBC World Service - More or Less, Same data, opposite results. Can we trust research?

Why the same data can produce different conclusions.

The reliability of research is called into question, after an experiment shows that results can have as much to do with the analysis of the data, as the data itself.

When Professor Martin Schweinsberg found that he was consistently reaching different conclusions to his peers, even with the same data, he wondered if he was incompetent. So he set up an experiment. 
What he found out emphasises the importance of the analyst, but calls into question the level of trust we can put into research.

Features an excerpt from TED Talks


(Image: Getty/erhui1979)

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Same data, opposite results. Can we trust research?

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