Same data, different conclusions: Radical dispersion in empirical results when independent analysts operationalize and test the same hypothesis

In this crowdsourced initiative, independent analysts used the same dataset to test two hypotheses regarding the effects of scientists’ gender and professional status on verbosity during group meetings. Not only the analytic approach but also the operationalizations of key variables were left unconstrained and up to individual analysts. For instance, analysts could choose to operationalize status as job title, institutional ranking, citation counts, or some combination. To maximize transparency regarding the process by which analytic choices are made, the analysts used a platform we developed called DataExplained to justify both preferred and rejected analytic paths in real time. Analyses lacking sufficient detail, reproducible code, or with statistical errors were excluded, resulting in 29 analyses in the final sample. Researchers reported radically different analyses and dispersed empirical outcomes, in a number of cases obtaining significant effects in opposite directions for the same research question. A Boba multiverse analysis demonstrates that decisions about how to operationalize variables explain variability in outcomes above and beyond statistical choices (e.g., covariates). Subjective researcher decisions play a critical role in driving the reported empirical results, underscoring the need for open data, systematic robustness checks, and transparency regarding both analytic paths taken and not taken. Implications for organizations and leaders, whose decision making relies in part on scientific findings, consulting reports, and internal analyses by data scientists, are discussed

Effects of Carbon Content and Cold Working on Damping Capacity and Mechanical Property of Fe-17wt.%Mn Martensitic Alloy

Effect of carbon content on damping capacity of Fe-17%Mn alloy is investigated by varying the carbon content from 0.02wt% to 0.28wt%. And cold rolling is conducted to examine its influence on damping capacity and mechanical properties in an Fe-17%Mn-0.02%C alloy. With the increase in carbon content, damping capacity decreases due to the area reduction of γ/ε boundaries and their mobility. Cold rolling up to 10% is found to improve strength as well as damping capacity in an Fe-17%Mn-0.02%C alloy without significant decrease in elongation. Fe-17%Mn-X%C alloy system containing carbon below about 0.1wt%, exhibiting superior mechanical properties and good damping capacities at high strain amplitudes, can preferably be applied as structural materials subjected to high amplitude vibration

Transformation Behavior and its Effect on Damping Capacity in Fe-Mn Based Alloys

γ→ε transformation behavior in a Fe-21Mn alloy with different grain size and a Fe-32Mn-6Si alloy with various degrees of cold rolling is investigated and correlated with damping capacity. Effect of microstructure on damping capacity is discussed on the assumption that the capacity is proportional to volume swept by γ/ε boundaries

Antibacterial and immuno-modulatory activity of ethanol extracts from Lespedeza sp. during Helicobacter pylori infections

Chemical therapeutics targeted against H. pylori may lead to host toxicity and pathogen eradication failures. In this study, ethanolic extracts from five Lespedeza sp. plants were shown to inhibit the gastric-pathogen H. pylori and to modulate cytokine production. Disc agar diffusion assays showed that Lespedeza sp. ethanol extracts possess potent anti-H. pylori activity. Among the five plant extracts, the extracts from L. cyrtobotrya demonstrated the highest anti-H. pylori effect. The growth inhibitory effect against H. pylori was initiated after six h of treatment with plant extracts and the effect remained for a continuous period of 48 h. Incubation of the gastric cells infected with H. pylori with 1.25 to 50 mg/mL of sp. plant extracts resulted in a reduction of the production of cytokine IL-8. The plant ethanol extracts generally had little influence on AGS cell viability, indicating their safety for the treatment of bacterial infections. Three active fractions of L. cyrtobotrya also demonstrated similar anti-H. pylori and immuno-modulatory effects. Taken together, these results provide evidence that Lespedeza sp. plant extracts might be potential sources of new host friendly anti-H. pylori agents. © 2010 The Korean Society for Biotechnology and Bioengineering and Springer-Verlag