Potato chip research post #5

Question #5  How does one analyze the results of a research article?  Remember, your science teacher stood in your classroom and talked about a process that people (scientists) use:  they do experiments, analyze the results and build a body of knowledge.  That’s scientific research.  It doesn’t define truth; it gives us an orderly way to discover facts.  Many studies (often by different scientists) build our knowledge base on a topic.  Often the researchers will end their analysis by suggesting what further research they feel needs to be done. 

To get the results of a scientific study, read the conclusion for the big picture.  Then look at the methods to see quantity of participants and time frame.  As I mentioned yesterday, a larger number of people and a longer timeframe brings results that are less likely to be ‘by chance alone.’  Lastly look at the results section.  When you read the results of a research study, the P-value is usually listed.  P-value means probability value and tells whether their finding could have happened by ‘chance alone.’  “A finding is considered statistically significant if there is less than a 5% probability (p=.05 or less) that the findings resulted from chance.”  http://www.cdc.gov/des/consumers/research/understanding_deciding.html   
The P-value for the potato chip study showed results considered statisically significant (P<0.005)  Whether a research study results in a ‘statistically significant’ result is important.  It builds our scientific knowledge base.