Summit
2025 APS Global Psychological Science Summit · 2025
Further Evidence of Spurious Precision and Accidental Inaccuracy in Published Research Reports
- Taylor Stephenson
James Madison University - Laura Paschetag
James Madison University - Jessica Salvatore
James Madison University
Abstract
We surveyed 295 adults to verify that a common practice (reporting mean age to 1-2 decimal places) is not only falsely precise, but also systematically downward-biased by about 6m. Age is nearly always reported to the nearest lower whole year, even when participants are just about to have a birthday.
Replication