Why are we not evaluating multiple competing hypotheses in ecology and evolution?
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Betini GS
PROVIDER: S-EPMC5319344 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jan
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
Why are we not evaluating multiple competing hypotheses in ecology and evolution?
Betini Gustavo S GS Avgar Tal T Fryxell John M JM
Royal Society open science 20170111 1
The use of multiple working hypotheses to gain strong inference is widely promoted as a means to enhance the effectiveness of scientific investigation. Only 21 of 100 randomly selected studies from the ecological and evolutionary literature tested more than one hypothesis and only eight tested more than two hypotheses. The surprising rarity of application of multiple working hypotheses suggests that this gap between theory and practice might reflect some fundamental issues. Here, we identify sev ...[more]
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