Citation

O'Connor BP, Ermacora D. Can. J. Behav. Sci. 2021; 53(3): 328-341.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, Canadian Psychological Association, Publisher Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1037/cbs0000259

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Eighteen data sets for a wide selection of research topics were used to illustrate why previous findings should be taken into account when attempting to reach a conclusion about an effect when evaluating a new data set. Traditional data analysis methods that neglect previous findings can result in high rates of incorrect or conflicting conclusions while, for the same data sets, the rates of conflicting findings for methods that incorporate previous data (updating meta-analyses or Bayesian analyses) are dramatically lower. The benefits of incorporating previous findings are particularly evident when the effect size for a phenomenon is small. It is hoped that the illustrations will assist in a shift away from the still-common tendency to neglect the incorporation of effect sizes from previous studies when evaluating new data sets. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Keywords

Bayesian Analysis; Effect Size (Statistical); Meta Analysis; Statistical Analysis; Statistical Probability; Statistical Significance; Statistics