- Can experiments detect differences that matter?
- It is important to consider this question because an article is only relevant to the reader if it is something that matters to them. They want to read about read about something that poses a question different to what they’ve previously thought.
- Does the study show causation or correlation?
- Determining the relationship between two aspects of a problem is very important to conclude results. Whether something is a cause of the other or just correlates is very important because it can either prove a question or just provide more evidence to back it up.
- What is the mechanism?
- Knowing how a experiment was performed is important to know because it allows better understanding of what is being tested.
- How much do experiments reflect reality?
- Some experimenters do a great job of designing how an experiment should be tested. Going out into the real world and finding direct results is going to provide better support rather than doing a test on something that doesnt use as good as methods.
- Could anything else explain the results?
- This is a great question to ask because it goes back to the correlation vs causation debate. It is important to obtain results that provide evidence about direct results. Being unsure about results is never a good thing when it comes to trying to convince a reader of an experiment.
I think that the question about correlation vs causation is helpful to discuss when talking about controversy because it allows both aspects to be talked about. It helps to talk about how an experiment correlates and also the causation between the data.
