Data don’t lie, but they can lead scientists to opposite conclusions
Analytical methods can also influence results
ONE OF THE biggest concerns in science is bias—that scientists themselves, consciously or unconsciously, may put their thumbs on the scales and influence the outcomes of experiments. Boffins have come up with all sorts of tactics to try to eliminate it, from having their colleagues repeat their work to the “double blinding” common in clinical trials, when even the experimenters do not know which patients are receiving an experimental drug and which are getting a sugar-pill placebo.
This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Methods and madness”
From the July 31st 2021 edition
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