A study that studied the studies

Kirk Ericson | Sep 30, 20210

A new study published last week found that the number of studies issued in the United States in 2020 was up 13% from the previous year.

The findings, published in the pseudo-scientific journal Studies, are based on a comprehensive study of all the studies that studied the studies that had been published in the previous five years.

"We were very surprised," said the study's lead author, Albert Nobert of the Massachusetts Institute for the Advancement of Study Studies (MIASS). "I expected there to be an increase, but not an increase that was this significant. These findings offer tremendous insight into the role studies play in our country at this time. These findings will definitely require further study."

In a related story, a study released in August found double-digit increases in 2020 in the number of published polls, surveys, reports and findings compared with 2019.

The Journal study was partly financed by the American Society for the Advancement of Studies, a subdivision of Alphabet, the owner of Google.

The majority of the studies identified in the MIASS study were health-related, according to the study. Of the health-related studies, the majority of those studies were studies focused on cigarette smoking and vaping.

"We found that the vast majority of studies have concluded that cigarette smoking and vaping are bad," Nobert said. "Or, to put it another way, the studies found that smoking cigarettes and using vapes are not good."

Another popular subject of studies, according to the study, was exercise.

"The overwhelming consensus of studies we studied found that exercise does appear to have some value in making people healthier," said Cyrus P. Punkree, an adjunct professor at MIASS. "But the jury is still out on exactly how it makes you healthier. I think that will require further study. But there's little doubt that we can safely say at this point in time that people, generally, are really intrigued by the idea of living longer and being healthier. Why that is, we still don't know, but many studies that are currently underway are focused on answering just that question."

The MIASS study also considered the economic effect studies have on the U.S. economy.

"It's a $9.7 billion-a-year industry," said MIASS study contributor Ima Cosmic-Apple, a financial analyst with the Study Analysis Board, based in Silver Spring, Maryland. "Studies represent 0.5% of total U.S. economic output and that number will only grow as more money becomes available to study the studies that have already studied the studies."

Phyllis Uppas, a psychology professor at the University of Phoenix, said one of the key reasons studies are a growth industry is because people like to cite them in arguments.

"Studies conducted by myself and my colleagues have discovered that using the phrase, 'A recent study says ...' during an argument generally leaves your opponent in the dispute without a counter argument," Uppas said. "You can't contest the findings of a study without knowing its methodology or whether the cited study even exists. However, our study did determine that anyone who cites '50%' of something - such as, '50% of respondents said they'd quit their job rather than get vaccinated' - is either uninformed or lying."

A recent study confirms Uppas' view. An individual is 68% more likely to win an argument if that person cites a study, according to the National Institute for Polemics. If a person cites two or more studies during an argument, the chances of winning the argument skyrocket to 93%.

Email Kirk Ericson at [email protected]