It has been found that many classical scientific studies that form a foundation of modern science are difficult or impossible to replicate.
It has been particularly widely discussed in the fields of psychology and medicine. In 2017 in response to the crisis eight hundred scientists and mathematicians signed a paper "Redefine statistical significance". It proposes that in "fields where the threshold for defining statistical significance for new discoveries is P < 0.05, we propose a change to P < 0.005."
One of the major interpretations of how it comes to be, including Daniel Kahneman one, is that because ofMy-side bias scientists, often subconsciously, are exploiting ambiguity in the interpretations of data in order to create the most-favorable conclusions. One way to tackle it is to make findings less ambiguous hence the proposal to change the P value from <0.05 to <0.005
Choosing the evidence that supports creators own conclusion may be coming from the My-side bias – Our cognition is distorting facts in order to defend our stories and our ego and create the most favorable picture of ourselves.
"There are many different techniques for collecting, interpreting, and analyzing facts, and different techniques often lead to different conclusions, which is why scientists disagree about the dangers of global warming, the benefits of supply-side economics, and the wisdom of low-carbohydrate diets. Good scientists deal with this complication by choosing the techniques they consider most appropriate and then accepting the conclusions that these techniques produce, regardless of what those conclusions might be. But bad scientists take advantage of this complication by choosing techniques that are especially likely to produce the conclusions they favor, thus allowing them to reach favored conclusions by way of supportive facts." – Daniel Gilbert, Stumbling On Happiness.
Read More: My-side bias
Daniel Khanaman at the end of Shane Parrish Podcast and in Sam Harris
Adam Grant in Sam Harris podcast
Scientists rise up against statistical significance, Nature link
Redefine statistical significance link