# list of studies with most significant results **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 28, 2011, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-of-studies-with-most-significant-results/607662 "2011-12-28T20:03:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![human\_extinction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/839c29/32.png) [@human\_extinction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/human_extinction)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2011, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-of-studies-with-most-significant-results/607662/1 "2011-12-28T20:03:57Z")
Hey guys, I’m looking for help compiling a list of peer reviewed studies in the domains of biology and psychology that have shown the largest results or most consistent differences between their experimental and control groups. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2011, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-of-studies-with-most-significant-results/607662/2 "2011-12-28T20:26:50Z")
That’s kind of a strange and overly broad question IMO. Are you saying you want a list of the greatest effect sizes and a list of effects that are found extremely consistently among similar studies. I am not trying to be a wise guy when I say this could include many obvious things. One is any sets of studies that involves lethality of various drugs in animals. Inject the control animals with saline solution. Inject the experimental group with a dose of the drug well above the LD99. The effect is very large and easily repeatable because you have one set of animals that are still alive and another set where they are all dead. Somehow I don’t think that is what you are interested in though so you need to clarify your question more and hopefully narrow it down. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2011, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-of-studies-with-most-significant-results/607662/3 "2011-12-28T20:32:53Z")
If you are looking for largest test statistic (e.g. t or F) or smallest p, then that information would not be useful. p = 0.0001 should not be considered to be “more significant” than p = 0.045 Mean differences aren’t very useful when comparing between studies that look at different things. If you want to look at effect size, then the theoretical maximum is 1.0 (or -1.0) for most measures, right? A reading of the OP might also infer that you are looking for an effect that has been shown to have consistently large differences across multiple studies? ---
**Author:** ![human\_extinction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/839c29/32.png) [@human\_extinction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/human_extinction)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2011, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-of-studies-with-most-significant-results/607662/4 "2011-12-28T22:20:29Z")
Alright, I shall truncate this question to trials on humans, excluding drugs, and of your favorite/off the top of your head (don’t go looking, just stuff you’re familiar with). ---
**Author:** ![bleach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bleach/32/3106_2.png) [@bleach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bleach)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2011, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-of-studies-with-most-significant-results/607662/5 "2011-12-29T01:22:01Z")
August Weisman cut off the tails of rats for 20 generations to disprove the theory that characteristics acquired by an animal during its life could be inherited by subsequent generations. None of the offspring had short/missing tails. That one had a strong effect size. Not a clinical trial, but there are strong effect sizes between chronic asbestos inhalation and mesothelioma. The strength of the evidence is such that most researchers would consider chronic inhalation of asbestos fiber to be a “cause” of mesothelioma. Are you looking for “smoking gun” psychology and biology studies where the results are nearly always repeatable? ---
**Author:** ![human\_extinction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/839c29/32.png) [@human\_extinction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/human_extinction)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2011, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-of-studies-with-most-significant-results/607662/6 "2011-12-29T19:07:01Z")
Sure, it would be interesting to see what people have found to be the best designed studies ever.