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Volume 13: Number 4: Article 3
The Significance of Statistics in Mind-Matter Research
Jessica Utts, Division of Statistics, One Shields Ave., University
of California, Davis, CA 95616
Statistical methods are designed to detect and measure relationships
and effects in situations where results cannot be identically replicated
because of natural variability in the measurements of interest. They
are generally used as an intermediate step between anecdotal evidence
and the determination of causal explanations. Many anomalous phenomena,
such as remote viewing or the possible effect of prayer on healing,
are amenable to rigorous study. Statistical methods play a major role
in making appropriate conclusions from those studies. This paper examines
the role statistics can play in summarizing and drawing conclusions
from individual and collective studies. Two examples of using meta-analysis
to assess evidence are presented and compared. One is a conventional
example relating the use of antiplatelets to reduced vascular disease,
and the other is an example from mind-matter research, illustrating
results of ganzfeld and remote viewing experiments.
Keywords: statistical evidence, p-values, meta-analysis, repeatability
The Significance of Statistics in Mind-Matter
Research
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