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 Breast-fed
children found smarter
Mother's
diet can help determine sex of child: study
Suds
seem to skew scientific success
Bullying
harms kids' mental health: Study
Heavy
cell phone used tied to poor sperm quality
Don't
be a Super Bowl statistic: Stress of watching the big game can be hazardous
to heart, research suggests
(unless
your team wins) Winning
World Cup lowers heart attack deaths
Family
meals curb teen eating disorders
Beta
carotene supplements slow down cognitive decline
TV
raises blood pressure in obese kids: Study
Social
isolation may have a negative effect on intellectual abilities
Consistent,
frequent TV viewing causes behavior problems
Height
affects how people perceive their quality of life
Deep
voiced men "have more kids"
Some
types of cancer raise divorce risk
Tooth
loss in elderly linked to mental impairment
Does
your neighbourhood cause schizophrenia?
Involving
parents in therapy doubles success rates for bulimia treatment
"Genius"
videos may hinder baby development: Study
More
math helps young scientists
Obese
girls less likely to attend college, research shows
Crying
over spilled semen: Why women who don't use condoms feel happier
Your
parents are correct, scholars report: Studying pays off
Credit
cards can make you fat
A
groundbreaking new study says obesity is contagious, spreading through
social networks
Pill
changes women's taste in men
Why
we give in to temptation
A
surprising secret to a long life: Stay in school
Surgeons
with video game skill appear to perform better in simulated surgery skills
course
Housework
cuts breast cancer risk
Reading
diet articles could be unhealthy
Sniffle-busting
personalities: Positive mood guards against getting colds
Intelligent
children more likely to become vegetarian
Fear
of hell makes us richer, Fed says
Chocolate
really does make us feel better
Success
a family affair? Willingness to take risks and trust others are inherited,
study suggests
Appalachians
triggered ancient ice age
Autism's
DNA trail: Gene variant tied to developmental disorder
Sex
drive stays in gear with antidepressant bupropion
Students
prosper with Montessori method
Music
lessons improve kids' brain development, memory: study
Wearing
a helmet puts cyclists at risk, suggests research
Washing
hands reduces moral taint
Disciplinarian
parents have fat kids
Jabs
link to autism "dispelled"
Snooze
or lose: Memory retention enhanced by sleep
Did
violent media make Alvaro Castillo kill his father?
Sexual
lyrics prompt teens to have sex (actual
study)
Does
watching sex on television influence teens' sexual activity?
Sex
cues ruin men's decisiveness
Sex
"cuts public speaking stress"
Spouses'
ills imperil partners' survival
Child
anxiety link to ecstasy use
Anorexia
largely determined by heredity
Soda
causes obesity, researchers assert
Daytime
TV tied to poorer mental scores in elderly
Political
bias affects brain activity, study finds
More
creative = more sexually active?
Spanking
children fuels aggression, anxiety
The
long & short of it -- Tall women aim high
Stop
global warming: Become a pirate
Eating
breakfast makes girls thinner
Kids'
TV habits tied to poorer test scores ; TV
-- any TV -- harms toddlers, study claims
ADHD
treatment improves teens' grades, confidence
Eating
pizza "cuts cancer risk"
Graffiti
linked to obesity in city dwellers ; Researchers
find no obesity, sprawl link
Breastfeeding
fights arthritis
Physical
fitness helps kids' minds, too
Walking
may ward off Alzheimer's
Before
the booze: Cactus extract dulls hangovers
Study
links TV to teen sexual activity
Height
doesn't influence kids' popularity: Study
Nice
guys finish last
Luckiest
people "born in summer"
Watching
TV "is bad for children"
Teen
drug use linked to truancy
Low
self-esteem "shrinks brain"
Eat
sweets, live longer
Microbe
linked to Alzheimer's Disease
Cognitive
behavior therapy appears beneficial in treating certain aspects of hypochondriasis
Cancer
drug helps paralyzed mice walk
Church
attendance boosts immunity
Counseling
boosts immunity, improves health habits
Video
Games "Increase Aggression"
Higher
beer prices "cut" gonorrhoea rates
Black
people six times more likely to be jailed than whites (in UK)
Sample
Test Questions on this Topic
Constipation
Might Signal Parkinson's
Early
unsolicited sexual encounters lead to life of crime
"Wash
your hands" signs only work for women
Does
marriage make you happy?
Eating
fish prevents crime
Spinal
fluid may signal Alzheimer's presence
Study
finds working at work improves productivity
"New
Poll Shows Correlation is Causation"
Correlation/Causation
cartoon
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To the left
are links to popular press articles regarding a variety of research studies
and their results. The text in the links (e.g., "Pill changes women's
taste in men") is the actual headline of those popular press articles.
Some of the headlines suggest a causal relationship between two variables,
and some simply suggest a correlation between two variables. Unfortunately,
the headlines of articles in the popular media often misrepresent the
research on which they are based. Many of the headlines to the left suggest
causal relationships when, upon closer reading of the article itself,
one finds that the research was correlational in nature, and the headline
is not justified.
So, I (Jon
Mueller) use this resource in a variety of ways to help my students identify
the language of causal relationships and correlations, identify the tell-tale
signs that an experiment or a correlational study is being described in
the media when there is no mention of the type of study, and to learn
how to evaluate the quality and nature of evidence in judging the merit
of a claim. Below are a couple assignments that can be used with this
resource. If you think of or develop any other such assignments I would
love to hear about them. Just send me a note or example at jfmueller@noctrl.edu.
Assignment
12 by Jon Mueller
Causal and Non-causal Language by Heather Coon
Headline Match Game by Jon Mueller
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