The 21st century began with a heated debate in scientific research, known as the 'replication crisis', 'reproducibility crisis' or 'crisis of confidence ' (Fanelli, 2018). Problems in replicating findings and reproducing scientific research began to be evident in many areas of research. The problems became highly visible thanks to essays and studies published in scientific journals and articles in the popular press (
The empirical study we present here deals with a pedagogical issue that has not been thoroughly explored up until now in our field. Previous empirical studies in other sectors have identified the opinions of researchers about this topic, showing that completely unacceptable interpretations have been made of significance tests and other statistical resources. We tried to show the degree to which these errors of interpretation appear in a sample of university professors and researchers. To evaluate the beliefs and opinions of the university professors about certain methodological and statistical questions, we adapted the "Psychometrics Group Instrument" questionnaire by Mittag (1999) and Mittag and Thompson (Educational Researcher 29:14-20, 2000). We specifically wanted to detect opinions about: (1) avoiding inappropriate interpretations, (2) rectifying incorrect uses, (3) creating a debate on possible alternatives, and (4) proposing editorial changes in the publication criteria. In this study, we compare the results we obtained with those obtained by two other equivalent studies (Gordon, Journal of Vocational Educational Research 26:1-18, 2001; Mittag and Thompson, Educational Researcher 29:14-20, 2000). The characteristics of the sample and the scope of the results are described, and a critical reflection is carried out on typical misunderstandings in interpretation that show a worrisome lack of understanding of some basic methodological and statistical concepts.Résumé L'étude empirique que nous présentons traite d'une question pédagogique qui n'a pas été explorée à fond jusqu'à maintenant dans notre domaine. Études empiriques Eur
We surveyed 348 Psychology and Education researchers within Spain, on issues such as their perception of a crisis in Science, their confidence in the quality of published results, and the use of questionable research practices (QRP). Their perceptions regarding pressure to publish and academic competition were also collected. The results indicate that a large proportion of the sample of Spanish academics think there is a crisis in Science, mainly due to a lack of economic investment, and doubts the quality of published findings. They also feel strong pressure to publish in high impact factor journals and a highly competitive work climate.
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