EBP in practice

Question 1

What does the great Donald Treiman mean when he
suggests we never abandon a good theory just
because of our data?

Answer 1

Because any single study, no matter how good it seems, should not upend
what we think we know about the world. Before we conclude that the world is
different, we should consider that the study may be flawed or misleading.

Question 2

Why is it so difficult to understand the nuances
related to something like the effects of COVID on
various populations?

Answer 2

Because while it is easy to randomly assign to a vaccine or placebo, many
of the most interesting questions have too many lurking variables, and there is no
practical or ethical way to randomly assign participants.