“Is there a heuristic we might use to identify and flag questionable papers?”

Re:“Is there a heuristic we might use to identify and flag q... by aabaker99 on Sunday August 28, 2022 @12:22PM (#32629581)

Mentioned in TFA, the GRIM test for checking a paper’s reported mean of integers:

“”” The GRIM test is straightforward to perform. For each reported mean in a paper, the sample size (N) is found, and all fractions with denominator N are calculated. The mean is then checked against this list (being aware of the fact that values may be rounded inconsistently: depending on the context, a mean of 1.125 may be reported as 1.12 or 1.13). If the mean is not in this list, it is highlighted as mathematically impossible.[2][3] “””

Source: Wikipedia

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Re:“Is there a heuristic we might use to identify and flag q... by jstanley on Sunday August 28, 2022 @02:52PM (#32630924)

Good idea (for integer-valued measurements), but you can do it without having to bother calculating all fractions with denominator N.

Let's say the reported mean is called m and the sample size is N. Multiply m and N together. Ideally mN should be almost an exact integer. Find ceil(mN)/N and floor(mN)/N and see if they're the same as the reported m, within precision limits.

Example: m=6.24, N=13

mN = 81.12 (exact)

81/13 = 6.231

82/13 = 6.308

So there is no integer numerator (for denominator 13) that gives 6.24, to 2 decimal places, so 6.24 is a mistake or a lie.

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