Articles from everywhere
Concept clarity
Not read the article in full yet, though this article on concept clarity strikes a chord, having read a lot of articles where concepts change, and are mixed from one article to the next. Believe it is worth studying before writing up my next paper. :)...
How easy science findings can be misconstrued.. and have large consequences
.. or put differently: ALWAYS read the original study, and look at the variables, before basing your own research on past findings! Surprisingly often, authors make hefty claims based on their findings.. which may not always have as strong a basis. I have recently...
After the title, the abstract is possibly the most important part of an article: here are some thought on how to write it
With the ever growing wealth of research being published, when searching for relevant literature, many of us scan titles, and possibly abstracts to determine if we will read on. Crating a good abstract is obviously important. Here are some tips on how to write one....
Summary of the revolution in practices in Social Psychology, and how it felled an academic star
A lot has been written about the crisis in social psychology, where Amy Cuddy has been made the poster girl for everything that went wrong. An artice in the NYT sums up the whole process, telling the story of how some researchers started asking questions as to the...
Academic mobility and impact
Two articles in Nature was nicely summarized in an Economist article recently. The key point is: The more open countries are and internationally mobile and connected researchers in a country are, the more artices with high citation are produced. It is worth noting...
Things about a PhD nobody told you about
Great talk on aspects of a Ph.D. noone talk about. (My notes on what was said below) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAKsQf77nHU There are 740 000 students enrolled in a phd in Europe. 2/1000 are in a phd program. (see below for statistics) 7 things nobody told...
Free speech and acceptable norms
This podcast episode of Hidden Brain, on the topic of free speech, uses research during and after the Trump presidential campaign, and classic Bandura research, to show how it can change perceptions of what constitutes acceptable thoughts and opinions. It further...
“Interesting” research
There is a focus on producing so-called interesting research. This essay: Organizational sciences’ obsession with “that’s interesting!” Consequences and an alternative by Madan M. Pillutla and Stefan Thau They lay out an argument for why interesting findings and...
How to write a good title
http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2014/02/05/academics-choose-useless-titles/
Nvivo for litterature review
This post is a work in progress, as I try using Nvivo to get a systematic overview of my field of study; and where I store links and resources I have found useful. A complete post will follow when I have a conclusion (of whether to stop, or go on :)) It might be...
Diversity is not the best way to creativity
https://hbr.org/2017/06/does-diversity-actually-increase-creativity?utm_campaign=hbr&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social
What is a “Meta Analysis”
Meta analysis' are often considered the gold standard for studies; a single study is never conclusive due to potential errors in design or data, whereas when results from many studies are systematically analyzed, they can be. Here is a YouTube series that goes through...
Endogeneity… What it is, and potential sources
Endogeneity has received attention in the past decade, as a significant source of bias in results reported in a wide variety of studies. Papers can now be desk rejected by top journals if there is reason to believe there may be endogeneity at play. Endogeneity refers...
Harking, Sharking, and Tharking Making the Case for Post Hoc Analysis of Scientific Data
HARKing (Hypothesizing After Results Are Known) is generally regarded as a deceitful practice in science. The statistical tests associated with hypothesis testing are based on assumptions of a prioroi hypothesis, and a limited number to be tested. Once these are...
Salami slicing.. how to, and not to publish articles on the same dataset
Having collected data, it can be tempting to publish several articles on the same dataset. However, there is a difference between publishing articles with clear overlap, and distinct studies. In short, when the overlap is sufficient so that the studies could have been...
On doing better science – Leader by Antonakis
John Antonakis is the new editor of Leaderhip Quarterly, and in his first leader, he lays out what he sees as important going forward, and possible perils in the field of leadership research. Quote from the article: Because of the incentive structures that...
Some may enjoy reading this..
..and spend a couple of minutes studying the graph. A graph showing what people think of when using unspecific terms like: "some", "a few", "many", as well as various types of probabilities. Rather interesting.. as well as a short discussion on what to do with...
“Why people prefer unequal societies”
In thier article, Starmans, Sheskin and Bloom presents the compelling argument that most people are concerned about fairness when it comes to distribution of resources, and prefer unequal outcomes, as long as there is a merit or needs based reason for the inequality....
The role of narratives in how information spreads
When theorizing about the world and how information is spread, it is easy to assume that better information will prevail, and, when conducting social network analysis, that all information is equal, it is all about the structure and characteristics of the node. This...
The natural selection of bad science
This paper lays out the argument that flawed research design, methods and analysis (all be it unintentional) will yield results in greater volume and that are more novel and surprising; and thus, also greater rate of publishing. As publishing is a key factor in...
Selection bias and the use of success stories
While it is obvious when stated, it is still a sad fact that the popular business press continues to write hero stories and generalize from business successes. This article from HBR is a quick introduction to why this can lead one to draw the wrong conclusions....
How statistics lost their power
Interesting historical perspective, and why statistics as a tool to form policy and public opinion may loose its effect in the time to come. some points: the nation is a misleading entity to use; while some cities flourish and grow, other regions are hit hard; an...
How should academics be evaluated?
Great article titled: "“Am I Famous Yet?” Judging Scholarly Merit in Psychological Science. An Introduction" by Robert J. Sternberg; which discusses the various metrics used, their shortcomings and what changes in how academics will be judged in the future. A good...
How to attend a conference
While interesting to go, my first academic conference did not exactly give me high returns on the investment. Did I "do it" in the best way possible? Definitely not. This article gives a quick summary of what I should been doing 🙂 In short: Define your goals Do your...
Building Effective Networks
Herminia Ibarra is a professor of Organizational Behavior at INSEAD, and ranked as one of the most influential management thinkers, on one list as number 8. http://thinkers50.com/t50-ranking/2015-2/ In the linked 15 minute video, she presents her thoughts on...
“For more than three decades, macroeconomics has gone backwards,”
Paul Romer on the state of economics, rational expectations and on groupthink in the field. On how theory, assumptions and math has led progress (or regress in his opinion) rather than empirical observation. Fun read....
Friends with academic benefits
This article studies college students, from a sociological perspective, using network theory analysis and qualitative work. The key findings: Student’s social networks fall into three types: tight knitters, compartmentalizes and samplers. Tight Knitters: all friends...
Competing against luck
Clayton Christensen gives a lecture on his new book; the key point is: Focus on what problem you are solving for the customer; not what your product can do, or what you can offer. His example from McDonalds is: What problem does their Milkshake solve: answer: a snack...
Ethical analysis is an increasingly important competence
As I am running a couple of workshops in the Msc. ethics course at BI this fall; I am reminded of how the subject is becoming an increasingly important; as the world is changing ever faster, throwing up questions we do not have a set "common sense" answer to. One...
How to network with purpose mutual effect
As with so many activities, networking is a craft to be learnt. If done well.. It benefit both you and your network.. Here are some advice from a leading researcher in the field. For network to have value, it needs to have relevant and potentially strategically...