You Call This Research?

health related issues, humor, lessons learned, music, Teaching and Education 1 Minute

I was on the wonderful Study Finds web site, trying to see if anything caught my fancy to write about. Nothing really jumped out at me, but while scrolling through the various research studies, an idea came to me to see what some of the most obvious research findings have been.

In other words, the results of the study confirmed what everyone already knew. So it makes you wonder why do such a study, and were the researchers expecting to find something else?

So I searched the web, and I came across a few sites that listed the results of some of these obvious research studies, and I compiled a list from three of those sites:

  • Cellphones And Driving Don’t MixHigh Heels Can Make Your Feet Hurt
  • Going Bald Is Upsetting
  • Employees Hate Meetings
  • Friends Are Awesome
  • Sword Swallowing Can Be Dangerous
  • When It’s Cold, People Bundle Up
  • Drunk People Have Unsafe Sex
  • Busty Women Get Bigger Tips
  • You Should Keep Babies Away From Ledge
  • Study Shows Beneficial Effect Of Electric Fans In Extreme Heat And Humidity
  • Study Shows Benefit Of Higher Quality Screening Colonoscopies
  • Depressed Individuals May Fail To Decrease Sadness
  • Quitting Smoking After Heart Attack Reduces Chest Pain, Improves Quality Of Life
  • Older Workers Bring Valuable Knowledge To The Job
  • Being Homeless Is Bad For Your Health
  • The More Time A Person Lives Under A Democracy, The More Likely She Or He Is To Support Democracy
  • Statistical Analysis Reveals Mexican Drug War Increased Homicide Rates
  • Middle-Aged Congenital Heart Disease Survivors May Need Special Care
  • Scientists Discover A Difference Between The Sexes
  • Students Who Do Homework Get Higher Grades
  • Overeating Can Lead To Weight Gain
  • Party Schools Love To Party
  • Musicians Get The Girls
  • “Pre-Gaming” Before You Hit The Bar Means More Alcohol Overall
  • People Change Clothes Based On The Weather

So did anything surprise you on the list?

I should probably tell my students about the link between doing homework and better grades, just in case they were not aware of such a relationship.

I also wish I had kept up my drum lessons, at least through high school…

Sources:

How Stuff Works

Time

Mental Floss

 

Published by Jim Borden

A 60-something guy trying to figure out the world, and his place in it. Happily married for 40-plus years, three wonderful sons. Accounting teacher, fitness enthusiast, blogger, reader.

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69 thoughts on “You Call This Research?”

  1. This was fun learning about all the topics over the years that researchers thought were worth studying! Now I’m curious as to how they came to the conclusion about musicians and getting the girls 😁

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    1. here’s a blurb:

      A French research team enlisted a young man (who was “previously evaluated as having a high level of physical attractiveness”) to stand on a street and request phone numbers from 300 different young ladies—all in the name of science, of course. For 100 such solicitations he was holding a guitar case; for another 100 he had a sports bag; and for the final 100, he was empty handed. According to the researchers, “Results showed that holding a guitar case was associated with greater compliance to the request, thus suggesting that musical practice is associated with sexual selection.”

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      1. I have two questions…
        1) who ‘previously evaluated’ this guy? (These things are subjective.) Pop-star-attractive or investment banker-type attractive?
        2) what wally funded this research?
        And why? (that’s more than two, I know… but research often throws up more questions than answers.)

        Liked by 3 people

  4. The one that I dispute but doesn’t surprise me is “The More Time A Person Lives Under A Democracy, The More Likely She Or He Is To Support Democracy, ” given widespread efforts to restrict voting and the actions on January 6 among other things. Depends on how you define democracy I guess.

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      1. In Thailand, when the ruling class lost and it became apparent that they would lose other elections there was a military coup followed by a new constitution and liberal interpretation of lese-majeste laws to muzzle dissent.

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      1. I think it’s time to conduct a study on the people who do these studies. I hypothesize that they like to do studies and get paid for it. 🤣

        Liked by 2 people

  6. Interesting, Jim. Proves the amount of money available to keep researchers finding out useless pieces of information is more than it should be. Perhaps I should apply for some of it so I can investigate that statement. I’m happy to reframe it as a hypothesis if you think it has potential. 🙂

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  7. This was highly entertaining, Jim! I am absolutely amazed at what we will spend money on in the name of research. For those of you with idle time and a desire to earn some grant money, I have some unresearched theories that need preeminent study:

    Four out of five dentists want too know why the fifth dentist is such a dick.
    Adults can eat Lucky Charms without catastrophic effect.
    Dragons are more magical than unicorns.

    Looking forward to reading the advanced scientific studies of these life long questions!

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    1. I guess the problem with stats is that people can often manipulate them to support their desired findings. I teach accounting; I don’t share that fact too often, since I end up losing a lot of subscribers when I do… 🙂

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      1. LOL I was taking statistics, the math course, for my teaching credential at the time. I actually enjoyed the math. I won’t tell anyone what you teach, my friend.

        Liked by 1 person

      3. LOL Mum’s the word. All teachers in CA have to take it. I don’t know about other places. 🙂 I also took basic accounting, LOL, but I don’t tell anyone either. 🙂

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      5. I worked in an office at the time, and it came in very hand. We took personal finance in high school. It would be much more complicated now, and I think the schools don’t even require it now. I have a master’s degree and administrative credential, and there are times I find negotiating personal finance a puzzle.

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  16. Seriously? Hahaha 😀 If I encounter a person saying that he’s researching one of these topics, forgive me but I will laugh at his face. Although “Busty Women Get Bigger Tips” kind of hit me hard. I’ve been a waitress before and don’t remember getting a lot of tips. Now I know why 😂

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