In January I posted on a study about violent video games that was retracted from Ohio State University, after 2 outside researches verified that the paper was flawed. "Boom: Headshot" claimed that one's marksmanship with a gun could improve by playing a video game. It concluded that video games promote real world violence because of this. The study utilized 151 college-aged students and asked them about their thoughts on guns as well as their knowledge of them. They were then given three games to play (Resident Evil 4, Wii Play, and Super Mario Galaxy) where some controllers were swapped out for guns. Because you use a gun in Super Mario Galaxy at one point...sure.
After playing the games, the students were handed an airsoft and asked to fire 16 bullets at a target. The subjects were given proper instruction on how to use the firearm. The "study" concluded that those who used the gun controller were more likely to have better headshots with the airsoft. However the reviews done outside of the paper have showed that the "improved" measure of headshots was almost negligible. There was no difference in accuracy between the standard controller players, and the gun controller players.
Since the retraction, it appears that Ohio State has taken the issue one step further. They have revoked the doctoral degree of Jodi Whitaker, a co-author of the paper. The other co-author and lead of the paper, Brad Bushman, was initially cleared of any wrong-doing. The original study notes and results are no longer available, so Bushman's theory is currently under review and being replicated to determine if additional action should be taken in light of recent events.
TLDR: Be sure to always check your work. Don't let your inherit bias take over the study. And read the results as they are. You're less likely to lose your career that way.
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