hello all.... i've been on the list a few days and this is my first
post.... the topic here is very interesting to me, as was the content.....
i am currently a senior in a BA program in psychology at the university of
florida.... and i'm taking a developmental psychology lab this semester....
i've taken statistics classes before, and stats are also worked with in this
class, as psychology research uses stats just as much as medical research
does.... one thing that i find curious is this... that what was said in
the post here that i'm replying to was also stated in no uncertain terms in
my class textbook.... it says that there is a distict difference between
'internal' validity (which the p-value demonstrates), and 'external'
validity, which represents the actual applicability of the research to the
'outside' world... just because something is 'statistically' signifigant,
doesn't mean that it has any real application... therefore, researchers
must be careful not to generalize their research outcomes without careful
analysis.... which is a tricky thing.... now, i haven't said anything
different than the article that was posted... but my point is that THIS
STUFF IS INDEED BEING TAUGHT CORRECTLY.... at least in my class :) i
don't want to make the mistake of premature generalization... :) in fact,
my understanding is that results are taken at face value much more quickly
in the 'hard' scientific community than they are in the psychological one,
but especially anywhere that the human element is involved, we must be
careful.... which brings me to another point hinted at in the article....
the root problem of all this bogus research is what else but the root of all
evil! :) MONEY..... if ya haven't noticed, most people are driven by
this... and especially corporations.

i'm very happy to be on this list... to have found it.... i hope to be able
to share and to soak up a lot of interesting things.... and energies....
i'm going to go to grad school for a PhD in Transpersonal Psychology....
and i would also love to do something in environmental ethics.... also
something that i'm curious about... is there any way of knowing how many
people are subscribed to the list? just curious.... anyway, nice to meet
everyone....

spirit







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