A scientist experimenting on a frog

He yells "JUMP!" at the frog and the frog jumps one metre.

Then he cuts off one of the frog's legs, yells "JUMP!" and the frog jumps half a metre.

Then he cuts off another of the frog's legs, yells "JUMP!" and the frog jumps a fifth of a metre.

Then he cuts off a third leg, yells "JUMP!" and the frog does not jump. He yells "JUMP!" again, and the frog does not jump.

"Aha!" he says. "I have my result!" So he carefully writes in his lab book: "When three legs are removed, a frog becomes deaf."

Bad Science

• Does the data exist?

• Observation or intervention?

• From lab bench to glossies

• Cherry-picking

“If you know what you're doing, how long it will take, or what it will cost, it isn't research.”

All Graduate Research is Rubbish

“Research! A mere excuse for idleness; it has never achieved, and will never achieve, any results of the slightest value.”

Benjamin Jowett (1817-93), British theologian

Things to think about whenlooking at research• Is it reliable?

• Is the interpretation biased?

• What was the sample?

• Who conducted the research?

• When was it conducted?

• What exactly was asked?

• Is it complete?

All Graduate Research is

Rubbish (except for mine)

All Graduate Research is Rubbish (except for mine)

Given the UK student population is 1.96 million…

How many students do you need to sample randomly to be 99% confident that their views are not the result of chance (with a 4% confidence interval)?

Things to think about whenlooking at research

• Is it reliable?

• Is the interpretation biased?

• What was the sample?

• Who conducted the research?

• When was it conducted?

• What exactly was asked?

• Is it complete?

Is it reliable?

Is the interpretation biased?

CCD

AAAB

What was the sample?

Buzz

What exactly was asked?

The recession brings home how futile long term career planning is: you can lose a job at any moment

or

Long-term career planning is futile

or

In the recession you could lose your job at any moment

or

Long-term career planning is futile becase of a recession

Which company would you most like to work for?

Which employer do you think offers the best opportunities for graduates?'

Rankings – The strange case of Network Rail

Is it complete?

What about the pictures?

Things to think about

• Why are you doing it?

• Have you got the right sample?

• Who is conducting the group?

• Are you just giving students what they want?

• Are you measuring reaction or comfort?

Are you measuring reaction or comfort?