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Investigators in the cognitive neurosciences have turned to Big Data to address persistent replication and reliability issues by increasing sample sizes, statistical power, and representativeness of data. While there is tremendous potential to advance science through open data sharing, these efforts unveil a host of new questions about how to integrate data arising from distinct sources and instruments. We focus on the most frequently assessed area of cognition - memory testing - and demonstrate a process for reliable data harmonization across three common measures. We aggregated raw data from 53 studies from around the world which measured at least one of three distinct verbal learning tasks, totaling N = 10,505 healthy and brain-injured individuals. A mega analysis was conducted using empirical bayes harmonization to isolate and remove site effects, followed by linear models which adjusted for common covariates. After corrections, a continuous item response theory (IRT) model estimated each individual subject’s latent verbal learning ability while accounting for item difficulties. Harmonization significantly reduced inter-site variance by 37% while preserving covariate effects. The effects of age, sex, and education on scores were found to be highly consistent across memory tests. IRT methods for equating scores across AVLTs agreed with held-out data of dually-administered tests, and these tools are made available for free online. This work demonstrates that large-scale data sharing and harmonization initiatives can offer opportunities to address reproducibility and integration challenges across the behavioral sciences.
Non-standard errors
(2021)
In statistics, samples are drawn from a population in a data-generating process (DGP). Standard errors measure the uncertainty in sample estimates of population parameters. In science, evidence is generated to test hypotheses in an evidence-generating process (EGP). We claim that EGP variation across researchers adds uncertainty: non-standard errors. To study them, we let 164 teams test six hypotheses on the same sample. We find that non-standard errors are sizeable, on par with standard errors. Their size (i) co-varies only weakly with team merits, reproducibility, or peer rating, (ii) declines significantly after peer-feedback, and (iii) is underestimated by participants.
We are glad to introduce the sixth Journal Club. This edition is focused on several relevant studies published in recent years in the field of Motor Control and Learning, chosen by our Editorial Board members and their colleagues. We hope to stimulate your curiosity in this field and to share with you the passion for sport seen also from the scientific point of view. The Editorial Board members wish you an inspiring lecture.
Objective: To develop comprehensive recommendations for the treatment of the various clinical manifestations of psoriatic arthritis (PsA) based on evidence obtained from a systematic review of the literature and from consensus opinion. Methods: Formal literature reviews of treatment for the most significant discrete clinical manifestations of PsA (skin and nails, peripheral arthritis, axial disease, dactylitis and enthesitis) were performed and published by members of the Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA). Treatment recommendations were drafted for each of the clinical manifestations by rheumatologists, dermatologists and PsA patients based on the literature reviews and consensus opinion. The level of agreement for the individual treatment recommendations among GRAPPA members was assessed with an online questionnaire. Results: Treatment recommendations were developed for peripheral arthritis, axial disease, psoriasis, nail disease, dactylitis and enthesitis in the setting of PsA. In rotal, 19 recommendations were drafted, and over 80% agreement was obtained on 16 of them. In addition, a grid that factors disease severity into each of the different disease manifestations was developed to help the clinician with treatment decisions for the individual patient from an evidenced-based perspective. Conclusions: Treatment recommendations for the cardinal physical manifestations of PsA were developed based on a literature review and consensus between rheumatologists and dermatologists. In addition, a grid was established to assist in therapeutic reasoning and decision making for individual patients. It is anticipated that periodic updates will take place using this framework as new data become available.