A case study in scientific misinterpretation From left to right: study, press release, headlinepic.twitter.com/3JMlNqnEKE
Epidemiologist. Writer (Guardian, Observer etc). "Well known research trouble-maker". PhDing at @UoW Host of @senscipod Email gidmk.healthnerd@gmail.com he/him
You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more
Add this Tweet to your website by copying the code below. Learn more
Add this video to your website by copying the code below. Learn more
By embedding Twitter content in your website or app, you are agreeing to the Twitter Developer Agreement and Developer Policy.
| Country | Code | For customers of |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 40404 | (any) |
| Canada | 21212 | (any) |
| United Kingdom | 86444 | Vodafone, Orange, 3, O2 |
| Brazil | 40404 | Nextel, TIM |
| Haiti | 40404 | Digicel, Voila |
| Ireland | 51210 | Vodafone, O2 |
| India | 53000 | Bharti Airtel, Videocon, Reliance |
| Indonesia | 89887 | AXIS, 3, Telkomsel, Indosat, XL Axiata |
| Italy | 4880804 | Wind |
| 3424486444 | Vodafone | |
| » See SMS short codes for other countries | ||
This timeline is where you’ll spend most of your time, getting instant updates about what matters to you.
Hover over the profile pic and click the Following button to unfollow any account.
When you see a Tweet you love, tap the heart — it lets the person who wrote it know you shared the love.
The fastest way to share someone else’s Tweet with your followers is with a Retweet. Tap the icon to send it instantly.
Add your thoughts about any Tweet with a Reply. Find a topic you’re passionate about, and jump right in.
Get instant insight into what people are talking about now.
Follow more accounts to get instant updates about topics you care about.
See the latest conversations about any topic instantly.
Catch up instantly on the best stories happening as they unfold.
A case study in scientific misinterpretation From left to right: study, press release, headlinepic.twitter.com/3JMlNqnEKE
Key points from study: 1. Very limited methodology - it's technically not published as research because it's just a brief online survey 2. Millenials and older drivers use their phones a lot with kids in the car 3. No differences in # of car crashes btwn groups
But, because of a statistically significant increase of 2 points on a 44-point scale, the press release seems to imply that millenials drive more dangerously than older parentspic.twitter.com/VShjwIDQfW
Now, the study notes that you can't really draw this conclusion from the data, in particular because older parents might be more subject to recall bias (basically, not remembering/reporting correctly what they do while driving)pic.twitter.com/UeVKoWKEby
The main point of the study was actually that driving practices may be amenable to intervention regardless of parental age, but that's not headline worthy!pic.twitter.com/QTpvePVgmk
The point here is that the study is pretty boring - parents text, this is bad, very minor variation between age groups but nothing majorpic.twitter.com/ESJTdEhWQL
But the translation at every step highlights the meaningless - but more interesting - finding that millenials are bad because this plays into an ongoing narrative and makes it into a story
And so we get nonsense headlines based of an online survey of 400 parents that the authors acknowledge may not be particularly meaningful
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.