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Mark Rubin

@markrubin.bsky.social

19K followers 1.9K following 5K posts

social psychology ▪︎ metascience ▪︎ philosophy of science ▪︎ higher education Professor at Durham University, UK. He/him. Website: https://sites.google.com/site/markrubinsocialpsychresearch/ Substack: https://markrubin.substack.com/ .. more

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Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · Aug 22

Just published…

I argue that preregistration does not improve the transparent evaluation of the severity of hypothesis tests (a) in Popper’s approach or (b) in Mayo’s error statistical approach when preregistration is treated as “a plan, not a prison.”

Open Access: doi.org/10.1007/s112...

One justification for preregistering research hypotheses, methods, and analyses is that it improves the transparent evaluation of the severity of hypothesis tests. In this article, I consider two cases in which preregistration does not improve this evaluation. First, I argue that, although preregistration may facilitate the transparent evaluation of severity in Mayo’s error statistical philosophy of science, it does not facilitate this evaluation in Popper’s theory-centric approach. To illustrate, I show that associated concerns about Type I error rate inflation are only relevant in the error statistical approach and not in a theory-centric approach. Second, I argue that a test procedure that is preregistered but that also allows deviations in its implementation (i.e., “a plan, not a prison”) does not provide a more transparent evaluation of Mayoian severity than a non-preregistered procedure. In particular, I argue that sample-based validity-enhancing deviations cause an unknown inflation of the test procedure’s Type I error rate and, consequently, an unknown reduction in its capability to license inferences severely. I conclude that preregistration does not improve the transparent evaluation of severity (a) in Popper’s philosophy of science or (b) in Mayo’s approach when deviations are allowed.

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Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 15h

As opposed to...

Reposted by Mark Rubin

Nick Holmes @thehandlab.bsky.social · 15h

Say what you like about the philosophy of science, but this dude is on fire! 🔥

(Feyerabend 1975/1993, p163)

#MetaScience #ScientificReform #ReplicationCrisis #PhilSci

"Finally, let me repeat that for me the chauvinism of science is a much greater problem than the problem of intellectual pollution. It may even be one of its major causes. Scientists are not content with running their own playpens in accordance with what they regard as the rules of scientific method, they want to universalize these rules, they want them to become part of society at large and they use every means at their disposal - argument, propaganda, pressure tactics, intimidation, lobbying - to achieve their aims. The Chinese Communists recognized the dangers inherent in this chauvinism and they proceeded to remove it. In the process they restored important parts of the intellectual and emotional heritage of the Chinese people and they also improved the practice of medicine. It would be advantage if other governments followed suit." Feyerabend (1975, 1993, p163, appendix to Chapter 15).

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Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 16h

😅 Had to zoom in on the bumper sticker to spot that!

Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 1d

Durham, UK, last night

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Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 1d

Congrats! Nice work!

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Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 1d

"The left-right [political ideology] item is hiding important midpoint political diversity, and in particular, populist beliefs that have been considered characteristic of the far-left and right."

#AcademicSky #SocialPsyc PoliPsy PoliSky PolSciData

Reposted by Sofia Stathi

Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 1d

"Extremism at the Centre"

"Uncovering political diversity amongst midpoint responders on the left-right self-placement item"

By...
@eddieclarke.bsky.social
@fmsmallfield.bsky.social
@scicomguy.bsky.social
@srhastraea.bsky.social
@lingtax.bsky.social
@mdmarques.com
@matthewmatix.bsky.social

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Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 1d

And the fact there's so much missing data on that item may be telling us something important!

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Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 2d

Yes not the greatest way of phrasing it!

Reposted by Efrén O. Pérez

Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 2d

Ideologists:

Republicans are more conservative than Democrats

Three Non-Ideologists:

🔹️ "Opposites" - Democratics are more conservative than Republicans

🔹️ "Uniforms" - The two parties are ideologically similar

🔹️ "Ignorants" - Have no opinion

#AcademicSky #SocialPsyc PoliPsy PoliSky PolSciData

We distinguish between ideologists and non-ideologists by comparing the rank order of their placement of two major parties on the ideology scale to the experts’ rank order. Our distinction between the two is based on the examination of the participants’ cognitive consistency (see Ganzach, 2018). The ideologists are those whose rank order corresponds to the “true” (i.e., experts’) rank order (e.g., those who say that Republicans are more conservative than Democrats). The non-ideologists included three sub-groups. The first, which we label the opposites, was described above, (e.g., those who rate the Democratic party in the US as more conservative than the Republican party). The second, which we label the uniforms, include respondents who judge the two parties as being ideologically similar, even though the experts’ judgment is that they are different (e.g., those who say that Republicans and Democrats are equally conservative). The third sub-group, which we label the ignorants, include respondents who do not have an opinion regarding the location of the parties on an ideological dimension (e.g., respondent who answered “don’t know” or “haven’t thought much about this” to the questions regarding the ideological position of the parties).

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Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 2d

The current paper suggests a simple method by which ‘non-ideologists’ can be identified in studies that use one-dimensional political ideology scales.

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Reposted by Jill A. Jacobson

Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 2d

Many people lack a coherent system of political beliefs (Converse, 1964). Yet, studies in social and political psychology often measure political ideology using a single-item "liberal-conservative" or "left-right" scale that assumes a coherent ideology.

doi.org/10.1007/s112...

Previous research has shown that a large part of the population lacks a coherent system of political beliefs (Converse, 1964). Yet, studies in social and political psychology often examine the relationship between ideology and political attitudes/behavior on the basis of a one-dimensional self-placement liberal-conservative or left-right ideology scale that assumes that all of the participants have a coherent ideology. In the current paper we suggest a simple method by which ‘non-ideologists’ could be identified in studies that are based on a one-dimensional ideology scales, and demonstrate that excluding them from the analysis. improves the validity of our conclusions regarding the role of ideology in political psychology. We conclude with a discussion of the pros and the cons of such exclusion.

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Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 3d

Redcap? But I've never used it so not sure...

REDCap

project-redcap.org

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Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 3d

"In its place, we find a messier but more instructive tale, in which science sometimes corrects itself, sometimes evades correction, and always does so amid tangled alliances and competing narrators."

#STS #PhilSci #MetaSci

Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 3d

"And so the storybook version, with brave truth-seekers armed with data and rationality and slaying the dragons of error, turns out to be a fable, albeit one with staying power."

a man is crawling on the ground in a video game while a monster attacks him .

ALT: a man is crawling on the ground in a video game while a monster attacks him .

media.tenor.com

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Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 3d

"Correction, if that’s the right word, is not an internal matter of better evidence displacing worse. It is the result of shifting configurations of authority, interest, and possibility."

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Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 3d

"The ‘self’ is heterogeneous, structured by relations of power, interest, and legitimacy that exceed any simple internal process."

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Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 3d

For example, "if pharmaceutical companies ghost-manage research (Sismondo, 2018), they can also ghost-manage the avoidance of corrections."

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Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 3d

"The ‘self’ of self-correcting science here includes institutions and practices deeply structured by the interests of powerful actors, and so often resistant to correction."

Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 3d

"What is the scientific ‘self’ that will do the correcting?"

New Cultures of Trial and Error post by Sergio Sismondo

Cultures of Trial and Error: Self, Correction, and Science in Conflict-Laden Science

Once upon a time, when it was said that science self-corrects, the image was of a relatively unified culture, a body of practices guided by shared norms of disinterested inquiry.

blog.trialanderror.org

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Reposted by Mark Rubin

Adrian Wojcik @adwojcik.bsky.social · 4d

I’m looking for an easy-to-use survey platform to replace Qualtrics. The prices have recently skyrocketed, and it seems we can no longer justify the cost.

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Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 5d

"Can they all be wrong, among them possibly the brightest minds in their discipline? They are doing the opposite of representatives of a degenerative programme. They carry on. They dedicate themselves to stagnant programmes."

Preprint: arxiv.org/abs/2404.18307

#PhilSci

We propose an extension of the classical dichotomous categorization of research programmes into progress and degeneration according to Lakatos in the form of a neutral third category: the stagnant research programme. First, a critical examination of the primary literature with its often criticized definitional gaps justifies such a category. Through a generic derivation of criteria for stagnant programmes, a clear demarcation from progressive and degenerative ones is achieved. An empirical cross-check is subsequently employed for support: Both a series of examples from fundamental physics and a general analysis of today’s research landscape also suggest on an empirical level the need to go beyond the traditional Lakatosian conception. Attributing stagnation is entirely in line with Lakatos’ original intentions, which aimed not to hastily discard promising research but to exercise patience until the lifting of certain external constraints potentially enables empirical progress once again.

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Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 5d

Stagnant Research Programmes

"There are good reasons why thousands of physicists are still spending their lifetimes on research programmes which, according to Lakatos, can in no way be considered progressive, and in which the occasional empirical problem shift may be forever absent."

Stagnant Lakatosian research programmes - European Journal for Philosophy of Science

We extend Lakatos’s classical dichotomy of research programmes—progressive vs. degenerative—by introducing a neutral third category: the stagnant research programme. First, a critical examination of the primary literature with its often criticized definitional gaps justifies such a category. By deriving general criteria for stagnation, we clearly distinguish stagnant programmes from those that are progressive or degenerative. An empirical cross-check is subsequently employed for support: Both a series of examples from fundamental physics and a general analysis of today’s research landscape also suggest on an empirical level the need to go beyond the traditional Lakatosian conception. Attributing stagnation is entirely in line with Lakatos’ original intentions, which aimed not to hastily discard promising research but to exercise patience until the lifting of certain external constraints potentially enables empirical progress once again.

doi.org

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Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 7d

Pleasure Elizabeth! And congrats on the very interesting work!

Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 9d

The following universities are delaying implementing a pay rise:

Dundee
Kent
Brunel
Coventry
Swansea

The following have yet to make a decision on the matter:

Aberdeen
Bangor
Bournemouth
Bradford
Buckingham
Cumbria
Lincoln
Plymouth Marjon

#UKHE

ednews.bsky.social @ednews.bsky.social · 9d

Five UK universities tell staff they can't afford pay rises | THE

Five UK universities tell staff they can’t afford pay rises

Negotiations over whether to honour 1.4 per cent increase ongoing at several other institutions amid financial crunch

www.timeshighereducation.com

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Reposted by Mark Rubin

ednews.bsky.social @ednews.bsky.social · 9d

Five UK universities tell staff they can't afford pay rises | THE

Five UK universities tell staff they can’t afford pay rises

Negotiations over whether to honour 1.4 per cent increase ongoing at several other institutions amid financial crunch

www.timeshighereducation.com

Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 10d

These revelations comes in the wake of the VC's recent resignation...

#AcademicSky #HigherEd #UKHE
@nteunion.bsky.social

Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 28d

ANU VC Resigns

"I very much want to see the ANU thrive into the future and for it to continue to be a remarkable place and I don't want to stand in the way of that."

#AcademicSky #HigherEd

ANU vice-chancellor resigns after months of controversy

Genevieve Bell has bowed to intense pressure and resigned from her position as Australian National University vice-chancellor.

www.abc.net.au

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Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 10d

"In the last two years alone the ANU has made combined surpluses of nearly $250m, and, in turn, the audited accounts of the ANU show the organisation is stockpiling revenue from governments, students and philanthropy for some unstated future purpose."

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Reposted by Julie Cupples

Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 10d

New analysis by The Australia Institute finds the Australian National University has a $90 million surplus, not a $142 million deficit!

The ANU’s hidden $90m budget surplus

New analysis by The Australia Institute reveals there is no financial crisis at the Australian National University.

australiainstitute.org.au

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Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 10d

"Sisi consistently invokes system threat in his official rhetoric and to explain away his regime’s mistakes, failed policies, and the difficulties it could reasonably be held responsible for within Egyptian society."

PoliSky #SocialPsyc #AcademicSky 🧪 🗺️ 📊