RELIABILITY OF

PSYCHOLOGICAL
EXPERIMENTS
BY KATIE BURNE

MAJORITY OF STUDIES ARE UNRELIABLE

(2015)
Only 36% of 100 replicable (printed 2008)
Team of international experts
270 scientists, 5 continents
36% = 1/2 effect size

SO?
What it takes to be a successful academic is not necessarily that well
aligned with what it takes to be a good scientist. Munafo
Poor view scientific community
Psychology a science?

207 STUDY EVIDENCE

75% social psych unreliable
50% cog psych unreliable
Similar issues with neuro (2013) Ioannidis
Public news

(Estimating the reproducibility of psychological science, 2015)

WHAT WE NEED TO DO!

Nothing is ever 100%
We should be our own worst critics
If I want to get promoted or get a grant, I need to be writing lots of
papers.
Doing lots of small experiments isnt the way to
get one really robust right answer,
Error? Human/Tech?
1 study doesnt = definite conclusion

THANK YOU!