Spring 2021 Book Discussion (Tuesday)

online Zoom meeting

Meetings will be on Tuesday afternoons (approximately every other week) from 12:00-1:30 pm.

For zoom link to meeting contact [email protected]

For more information contact Matt McGue or Niels Waller

This group will devote its biweekly discussions to the recently published book Science Fictions by Stuart Ritchie and sometimes paired with a supplemental reading relevant to themes in the chapters. The discussion leaders are currently in conversation with Stuart Ritchie to arrange his participation in one or more sessions later this semester. A more detailed breakdown of their reading schedule and plan is available here.

February 2: Chapters 1. How Science Works, 2. The Replication Crisis
February 16: Chapters 3. Fraud, 4. Bias                                                                                             
March 2: Chapter 5. Negligence.
Additional reading: Brown, A. W., Kaiser, K. A., & Allison, D. B. 2018. Issues with data and analyses: Errors, underlying themes, and potential solutions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 115(11), 2563-2570. https://www.pnas.org/content/115/11/2563
March 16: Chapter 6. Hype.
Additional reading: Caulfield, T. (2018). SPINNING THE GENOME: Why science hype matters. Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, 61(4), 560-571. doi:10.1353/pbm.2018.0065 (pdf)
March 30: Chapter 7. Perverse Incentives.
Additional reading: 
Higginson, A. D., & Munafo, M. R. 2016. Current Incentives for Scientists Lead to Underpowered Studies with Erroneous Conclusions. Plos Biology, 14(11), 14. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.2000995
April 13: Chapters 8. Fixing Science. The book's author Stuart Ritchie will be attending the meeting.