Psychology's Renaissance Nelson, Leif D; Simmons, Joseph; Simonsohn, Uri
Annual review of psychology,
01/2018, Volume:
69, Issue:
1
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
In 2010-2012, a few largely coincidental events led experimental psychologists to realize that their approach to collecting, analyzing, and reporting data made it too easy to publish false-positive ...findings. This sparked a period of methodological reflection that we review here and call Psychology's Renaissance
.
We begin by describing how psychologists' concerns with publication bias shifted from worrying about file-drawered studies to worrying about
p
-hacked analyses. We then review the methodological changes that psychologists have proposed and, in some cases, embraced. In describing how the renaissance has unfolded, we attempt to describe different points of view fairly but not neutrally, so as to identify the most promising paths forward. In so doing, we champion disclosure and preregistration, express skepticism about most statistical solutions to publication bias, take positions on the analysis and interpretation of replication failures, and contend that meta-analytical thinking
increases
the prevalence of false positives. Our general thesis is that the scientific practices of experimental psychologists have improved dramatically.
Pre‐registration: Why and How Simmons, Joseph; Nelson, Leif; Simonsohn, Uri
Journal of consumer psychology,
January 2021, 2021-01-00, Volume:
31, Issue:
1
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
In this article, we (1) discuss the reasons why pre‐registration is a good idea, both for the field and individual researchers, (2) respond to arguments against pre‐registration, (3) describe how to ...best write and review a pre‐registration, and (4) comment on pre‐registration’s rapidly accelerating popularity. Along the way, we describe the (big) problem that pre‐registration can solve (i.e., false positives caused by p‐hacking), while also offering viable solutions to the problems that pre‐registration cannot solve (e.g., hidden confounds or fraud). Pre‐registration does not guarantee that every published finding will be true, but without it you can safely bet that many more will be false. It is time for our field to embrace pre‐registration, while taking steps to ensure that it is done right.
This article is part of a Research Dialogue:Krishna (2021): https://doi.org/10.1002/jcpy.1211Pham & Oh (2021): https://doi.org/10.1002/jcpy.1209Simmons et al. (2021): https://doi.org/10.1002/jcpy.1207Pham & Oh (2021): https://doi.org/10.1002/jcpy.1213
ABSTRACT
Recently there has been a growing concern that many published research findings do not hold up in attempts to replicate them. We argue that this problem may originate from a culture of ‘you ...can publish if you found a significant effect’. This culture creates a systematic bias against the null hypothesis which renders meta‐analyses questionable and may even lead to a situation where hypotheses become difficult to falsify. In order to pinpoint the sources of error and possible solutions, we review current scientific practices with regard to their effect on the probability of drawing a false‐positive conclusion. We explain why the proportion of published false‐positive findings is expected to increase with (i) decreasing sample size, (ii) increasing pursuit of novelty, (iii) various forms of multiple testing and researcher flexibility, and (iv) incorrect P‐values, especially due to unaccounted pseudoreplication, i.e. the non‐independence of data points (clustered data). We provide examples showing how statistical pitfalls and psychological traps lead to conclusions that are biased and unreliable, and we show how these mistakes can be avoided. Ultimately, we hope to contribute to a culture of ‘you can publish if your study is rigorous’. To this end, we highlight promising strategies towards making science more objective. Specifically, we enthusiastically encourage scientists to preregister their studies (including a priori hypotheses and complete analysis plans), to blind observers to treatment groups during data collection and analysis, and unconditionally to report all results. Also, we advocate reallocating some efforts away from seeking novelty and discovery and towards replicating important research findings of one's own and of others for the benefit of the scientific community as a whole. We believe these efforts will be aided by a shift in evaluation criteria away from the current system which values metrics of ‘impact’ almost exclusively and towards a system which explicitly values indices of scientific rigour.
The World of Hacking: A Survey Imran Memon; Riaz Ahmed Shaikh; Hadiqua Fazal ...
University of Sindh journal of information and communication technology (Online),
03/2020, Volume:
4, Issue:
1
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Hacking is the most genius field of computing science which is getting bigger with the passage of time. This research paper has the methods and techniques of hacking, types of hacking, types of ...hackers, types of hacking attacks, common tools of hacking, the geography of hackers, phases of hacking, protection processes, past reports, instruments of hacking and at last the future discussion on this field. This paper is enough to get to know some beginning information of hacking.
What Is a Bayes Factor? Schmalz, Xenia; Biurrun Manresa, José; Zhang, Lei
Psychological methods,
06/2023, Volume:
28, Issue:
3
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
The use of Bayes factors is becoming increasingly common in psychological sciences. Thus, it is important that researchers understand the logic behind the Bayes factor in order to correctly interpret ...it, and the strengths of weaknesses of the Bayesian approach. As education for psychological scientists focuses on frequentist statistics, resources are needed for researchers and students who want to learn more about this alternative approach. The aim of the current article is to provide such an overview to a psychological researcher. We cover the general logic behind Bayesian statistics, explain how the Bayes factor is calculated, how to set the priors in popular software packages to reflect the prior beliefs of the researcher, and finally provide a set of recommendations and caveats for interpreting Bayes factors.
Translational AbstractThe current article discusses two statistical approaches that are commonly used in psychological sciences: a Bayesian approach and a frequentist approach. While a frequentist approach is generally taught to aspiring psychology researchers, the Bayesian approach is becoming increasingly popular. Here, we provide an introduction and tutorial on using the Bayesian approach to test hypotheses. We cover the general logic behind Bayesian statistics, explain how the Bayes factor is calculated and the settings in popular software packages, and finally provide a set of recommendations and caveats for interpreting Bayes factors.
While Russian computer scientists are notorious for their interference in the 2016 US presidential election, they are ubiquitous on Wall Street and coveted by international IT firms and often ...perceive themselves as the present manifestation of the past glory of Soviet scientific prowess. Drawing on over three hundred in-depth interviews, the contributors to From Russia with Code trace the practices, education, careers, networks, migrations, and lives of Russian IT professionals at home and abroad, showing how they function as key figures in the tense political and ideological environment of technological innovation in post-Soviet Russia. Among other topics, they analyze coders' creation of both transnational communities and local networks of political activists; Moscow's use of IT funding to control peripheral regions; brain drain and the experiences of coders living abroad in the United Kingdom, United States, Israel, and Finland; and the possible meanings of Russian computing systems in a heterogeneous nation and industry. Highlighting the centrality of computer scientists to post-Soviet economic mobilization in Russia, the contributors offer new insights into the difficulties through which a new entrepreneurial culture emerges in a rapidly changing world.Contributors. Irina Antoschyuk, Mario Biagioli, Ksenia Ermoshina, Marina Fedorova, Andrey Indukaev, Alina Kontareva, Diana Kurkovsky, Vincent Lépinay, Alexandra Masalskaya, Daria Savchenko, Liubava Shatokhina, Alexandra Simonova, Ksenia Tatarchenko, Zinaida Vasilyeva, Dimitrii Zhikharevich
How will governments and courts protect civil liberties in this new era of hacktivism? Ethical Hacking discusses the attendant moral and legal issues. The first part of the 21st century will likely ...go down in history as the era when ethical hackers opened governments and the line of transparency moved by force. One need only read the motto “we open governments” on the Twitter page for Wikileaks to gain a sense of the sea change that has occurred. Ethical hacking is the non-violent use of a technology in pursuit of a cause—political or otherwise—which is often legally and morally ambiguous. Hacktivists believe in two general but spirited principles: respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, including freedom of expression and personal privacy; and the responsibility of government to be open, transparent and fully accountable to the public. How courts and governments will deal with hacking attempts which operate in a grey zone of the law and where different ethical views collide remains to be seen. What is undisputed is that Ethical Hacking presents a fundamental discussion of key societal questions. A fundamental discussion of key societal questions. This book is published in English. -
La première moitié du XXIe siècle sera sans doute reconnue comme l’époque où le piratage éthique a ouvert de force les gouvernements, déplaçant les limites de la transparence. La page twitter de Wikileaks enchâsse cet ethos à même sa devise, « we open governments », et sa volonté d’être omniprésent. En parallèle, les grandes sociétés de technologie comme Apple se font compétition pour produire des produits de plus en plus sécuritaires et à protéger les données de leurs clients, alors même que les gouvernements tentent de limiter et de décrypter ces nouvelles technologies d’encryption. Entre-temps, le marché des vulnérabilités en matière de sécurité augmente à mesure que les experts en sécurité informatique vendent des vulnérabilités de logiciels des grandes technologies, dont Apple et Google, contre des sommes allant de 10 000 à 1,5 million de dollars. L’activisme en sécurité est à la hausse. Le piratage éthique est l’utilisation non-violence d’une technologie quelconque en soutien d’une cause politique ou autre qui est souvent ambigue d’un point de vue juridique et moral. Le hacking éthique peut désigner les actes de vérification de pénétration professionnelle ou d’experts en sécurité informatique, de même que d’autres formes d’actions émergentes, comme l’hacktivisme et la désobéissance civile en ligne. L’hacktivisme est une forme de piratage éthique, mais également une forme de militantisme des droits civils à l’ère numérique. En principe, les adeptes du hacktivisme croient en deux grands principes : le respect des droits de la personne et les libertés fondamentales, y compris la liberté d’expression et à la vie privée, et la responsabilité des gouvernements d’être ouverts, transparents et pleinement redevables au public. En pratique, toutefois, les antécédents comme les agendas des hacktivistes sont fort diversifiés. Il n’est pas clair de quelle façon les tribunaux et les gouvernements traiteront des tentatives de piratage eu égard aux zones grises juridiques, aux approches éthiques conflictuelles, et compte tenu du fait qu’il n’existe actuellement, dans le monde, presque aucune exception aux provisions, en matière de cybercrime et de crime informatique, liées à la recherche sur la sécurité ou l’intérêt public. Il sera également difficile de déterminer le lien entre hacktivisme et droits civils. Ce livre est publié en anglais.
Teaching ethical hacking requires access to a safe and controlled environment where students can practice skills presented to them. This can be a problem since many modern students attend class ...remotely, which makes lab access challenging. Virtualization systems such as Virtual Box can help alleviate this problem. However, many students have overburdened and underpowered systems that are impractical for hosting multiple virtual machines. A portable, standalone networking lab solves this problem. However, acquiring new devices with limited use can cause an environmental impact larger than the benefit received. In this paper, an eco-friendly, portable hacking lab is built from discarded tablet computers. These computers are configured with vulnerable versions of popular operating systems (OS) and are made available to students for lab assignments. A portable ethical hacking lab means students are no longer required to install and configure virtual machines, and teaching faculty are no longer required to support the diverse collection of student-owned devices. This saves students and faculty time repeatedly creating lab devices while providing a positive ecological benefit by using devices that would otherwise become e-waste.
As a side-effect of increasing publication pressures, academics may be tempted to engage in p-hacking: a questionable research practice involving the iterative and incompletely-disclosed adjustment ...of data collection, analysis, and/or reporting, until nonsignificant results turn significant. Prior studies in entrepreneurship-related disciplines carry the implicit notion that p-hacking is predominantly an issue in top-tier journals, where incentives to do so may be highest. This study investigates p-hacking in the family business literature, a research field with roots in the broader entrepreneurship and small business literatures, and in which discourse increasingly takes place in both dedicated field journals and in the top-tier outlets in entrepreneurship and management. Analyses of p-values published in these field- and top-tier journals allow for a comparison of the prevalence and correlates of p-hacking at these different levels of prestige. The findings suggest that p-hacking is an issue of substantial—and statistically indistinguishable—magnitudes in both field- and top-tier journals. We further observe negative correlations of female authorship and employer prestige with p-hacking, where the latter is stronger in field versus top-tier journals. Implications of these findings, their limitations, and some suggestions going forward are discussed, with particular attention for the promise of preregistration and registered reports.
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