Tag: basics of scientific research

COUNTERING Counterintuitive Testimony (Child, handout)

Handout for a three-hour CLE provided to the State Bar of Arizona

1. Accounting for True, Unproven and False Claims

The important scientific principle of discriminate validity.

6. Devil is in the Details

Critiquing the research that is the basis for the expert’s testimony.

5. Confirmation Bias

Accounting for bias in the expert’s testimony.

4. Failure to Account for Confounding Variables

Has the expert failed to account for confounding variables?

3. Motivations for False Reports

What research reveals about motivations for false reports of abuse.

2. Symptoms are not Falsifiable

If all roads lead to Rome, which ones lead to London?

The Null Hypotheses: Proven and Unfounded Claims of CSA

Here’s the scenario, in your trial the counterintuitive expert testifies she has forensically interviewed over 21,000 children. Trick question: “How many of the 21,000 children

Discriminate Validity

A critical concept that bears directly on a Daubert challenge.

Confounding Variables

Why confounding variables are important to be accounted for.