Learn to read beyond the headline.
An accessible guide to research papers: how a study was designed, what was measured, how results were analysed and what its conclusions can support.
Read the guideAn intriguing result must survive another test.
Three preregistered attempts did not reproduce a previously reported precognition effect. An important example of why a striking first result is only the beginning of an investigation.
Academy reading guide · Source reviewed
Why it is on the Academy shelfA question worth
A question worth
spending time with.
Use this as a research-literacy exercise. Compare the original claim with a close replication and ask why preregistration, sample size and complete reporting matter.
Put the source in context
These experiments do not support the particular effect tested. One paper cannot decide every claim about unusual experience, but negative findings must remain part of the discussion.
A note for your journal
Would I give a carefully conducted negative result the same attention as a positive one?
Academy discussion prompt · not a quotation from the author.
Write your first response in your own words. Add what you observed, what you inferred and what could change your interpretation. Keep identifying details about other people out of shared notes.
Continue with an Academy exercise