Questions about Questionable Research Practices

Abstract

Parapsychologists have made considerable gains over the decades. For example, they have an informative (and constantly growing) series of meta-analyses, out of which have developed ongoing debates and critiques over methodologies. Some critiques, well-intentioned though they may be, center on so-called questionable research practices (QRPs), and it has even been argued that QRPs alone may account for psi effects. In this article, I critique an article by Bierman et al. (2016) on QRPs that finds a much-reduced but still significant overall effect in a meta-analysis of ganzfeld studies by Storm et al. (2010). The series of “hypothetical” analyses undertaken by Bierman et al. are themselves argued to be questionable. Researchers are advised to be watchful of methodological oversights that misrepresent the available data and ultimately cast parapsychological research in a dim light.