Applying scientifically based research to a peppermint patty: understanding scientifically based research is useful skill. This article takes a light approach to explain the principles of designing a study.

One evening when I was about 10, my dad was making rotisserie chicken, always my favorite, along with macaroni and cheese, my other favorite. When I asked him which brand of mac and cheese was best, he didn't just spout an opinion, he said that the thing to do was to figure it out. The way to figure it out, he said, was to do a blind taste test. So we did, discovering that Prince beat Kraft by a nose. My dad's analytical turn of mind had something to do with being a research statistician at Educational Testing Service, the place that turns out the SATs.

During one of my longer conference calls, I was reading Patricia Lauer's A Policymaker's Primer on Education Research: How to Understand, Evaluate and Use It and snickering from my end of the phone line would have put me in quite the pickle. Now I like to read this stuff, but I'm willing to bet that some of you find it a bit dry. Still, it's critical that you understand scientifically based research (SBR), which also is called evidence-based research. For example, you don't want to recommend Joe Blow's Web site on how to tie sailing knots to your client, and then find out Mr. Blow did not scientifically research his knots.

Scientifically based research is for everyone. This approach to a subject means that it was looked at in a logical manner, with comparison to well-known work in the field, and reviewed by experts. Whether you're considering the best macaroni and cheese, the best reading program for your elementary school, or the best knot to keep a sailboat tightly moored, you'll want to approach it with an analytical mind.

My plan here is to use something entertaining to illustrate how it all works. That is, we'll all learn a few things under the auspices of munching out on chocolate.

Principles

But first, some serious information: It's a very broad subject, so this article is not intended to be even the slightest bit encompassing. What it is intended to do is whet your appetite a bit and get you to think critically about whatever material is crossing your desk that's being sold as research-based, evidence-based, or scientifically based.

In her book, Lauer cited National Research Council that say that a study has to:

1. Pose significant questions that can be investigated empirically.

2. Link research to relevant theory.

3. Use methods that permit direct investigation of the question.

4. Provide a coherent and explicit chain of reasoning.

5. Replicate and generalize across studies.

6. Disclose research to encourage professional scrutiny and critique.

To make it a bit tastier, let's design a study that will be scientifically based so that it fits those guidelines, more or less. To do this, I'll take each of the guidelines and expand on it by describing my study. You can also read an expanded version of these questions from the National Research Council in the sidebar for more details on each one.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Study Title: Construct Validity and the Interpretation of Different Hypotheses and Errors of Inference in the Effects of Peppermint Patties on the Work Habits of Information Professionals--An Empirical Confirmatory Study.

1. Pose significant questions that can be investigated empirically.

The advertising tagline for York Peppermint Patties is, "Get the Sensation!" I decided to test this declaration with an audience of information professionals, translating it broadly to mean that we will be more passionate and inspired in our work. Putting that in a measurable goal, we might state that: "As a result of consuming between two and six peppermint patties each day for a total of six months, each member of the study will initiate and lead one new information services-related project during this period." This idea then is a hypothesis that we haven't seen addressed before, although we are hoping to expand on the scientific knowledge that does exist on the health and stimulant effects of both peppermint and chocolate.

Is the question a "significant" one? That might be debated, but I'd say that keeping our motivation at optimal levels is critical to the success of our industry.

2. Link research to relevant theory.

There is a fair bit of literature to support this requirement, including research on how peppermint is a stimulant, the so-called urban myth about chocolate in general making people feel like they are in love and the effects of dark chocolate in lowering and stabilizing blood pressure. The theory that the combination of these ingredients provides a stimulant effect sufficient to motivate a career person to initiate projects is the conceptual framework that we'll be working from throughout

this project.

Looking at peppermint first, we know that the oil is prepared from the leaves and the flowering tops that contain its very volatile and active component, menthol. Botanical.com notes that, "peppermint is good to assist in raising internal heat and inducing perspiration." That certainly explains why you might be feeling "the sensation" when eating a peppermint patty.

It's not just the peppermint that's likely to bring you to a state of delight, however. According to Ellen Kuwana in her article, "Discovering the Sweet Mysteries of Chocolate": "Eating chocolate may be pleasurable because of a unique interaction among a few of its components. Chocolate also contains phenylethylamine, a chemical related to amphetamines. Like amphetamines, this chemical causes blood pressure and blood-sugar levels to rise, resulting in a feeling of alertness and contentment. Phenylethylamine has been called the 'love-drug' because it quickens your pulse, as if you are in love. Caffeine in chocolate may also cause feelings of alertness and a pounding heart."

Fortunately, in addition to the stimulated hearts that have our information specialists feeling more passionate about their work, the particularly dark chocolate of which most peppermint patties are made have been shown in several studies quite possibly to be good for you. This is because the raw or minimally processed cocoa that is found in dark chocolate contains flavonoids similar to those found in green tea, antioxidants that have, in preliminary studies, been linked to decreased blood pressure, improved circulation, improved digestion and stimulation of the kidneys. In particular, the 2003 study "Dark Chocolate Lowers Blood Pressure," published in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed a lowering of blood pressure for study participants who ate dark chocolate. Their systolic blood pressure dropped an average of five points and their diastolic reading dropped an average of nearly two points.

Overall, our information specialists can look forward to not only the pleasure and effects of the peppermint patties, but a possible overall improvement in their health, although health club owners observed that the effects of this study on the subject might linger long after the completion of the investigation. We hope the participants won't try to eat more than their allotment.

3. Use methods that permit direct investigation of the question.

We plan to recruit 300 information specialists and break them into six groups, five of which will receive various amounts and types of peppermint patties and one that will be the control group. The information specialists will be culled from the audience of Information Outlook, the magazine of the Special Libraries Association where my articles most often are published, although who knows, with any luck this one will make JAMA. We will also screen applicants to make sure they like chocolate and mint, and are not allergic to any of the ingredients.

Peppermint patties were purchased anonymously from five companies: York (Group #1), Richardson's Candy Kitchen (Group #2), Lake Champlain Chocolates (Group #3), Snowflake Chocolates (Group #4), and NECCO Haviland Thin Mints (Group #5). These will be distributed to our participants except for our control group, #6. Participants will respond to daily online surveys to track their progress on health issues such as blood sugar and weight, as well as work motivation and progress. The survey design has been developed by the study author and has been externally evaluated to provide a 99.44% reliability and validity.

There are some possible problems and limitations to the research method. These include data issues regarding self reporting, audience selection skewing having to do with using information professionals only from the SLA pool, linking success in initiating work to actual intake of the peppermint patties, and inability by participants to eat only the peppermint patties allowed. We are currently in the process of developing alternate options to deal with these possible issues. A detailed page manual of the procedures, daily online survey, and issues addressed for this study is available upon request.

4. Provide a coherent and explicit chain of reasoning.

Our belief is that the ingredients of the peppermint patties will stimulate our information professionals just enough so that they will be motivated to be more involved and proactive in their careers.

Late in his life, my father passed on to me his secret statistical formula "UR=U8," which I will use for the very first time in this study. He told me that the formula is best understood when spoken aloud. Using this principle, we will be able to measure participants' progress on the health front with great precision, as well as discern a direct link between intake and occupational success. We should also be able to address some difference between brands and possibly determine whether the percentage of peppermint oil and/or cocoa had any specific effect.

In order to rule out alternative and rival explanations for our results, we will control for such errors in various ways, including asking participants not to eat any other chocolate or mint products of any type during the study period, provide objective confirmation of their project's status from their managers, and receive special training on blood sugar testing as well as data entry as it relates to the daily survey.

[FIGURE 2 OMITTED]

Some hypothetical extrapolated data based on this statistical formula in an empirical confirmatory system is shown in Figures 1 and 2.

5. Replicate and generalize across studies.

As there have been no studies in this specific area to date, this work will be groundbreaking. That said, it would be easy to replicate, as both the product (peppermint patties) and the audience (information specialists) are easily accessible.

6. Disclose research to encourage professional scrutiny and critique.

This study will be submitted to the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) for review, as well as the American Herb Association and the National Confectioners Association. In addition, the Society of Upper Graduate Associates Research (SUGAR) human subjects research board convened to certify the study was conducted in good taste. The first-level literature used for the summary above is listed in the references below and additional references will be provided upon request.

Conclusion

I hope this study on the effects of peppermint patties has given you a good sense of what scientifically based research is. If not, you may need to re-read the article while eating a few patties to stimulate your brain activity. Readers of this article must be also be cautioned that they are specifically excluded from being participants in the study. In fact, since the description of the study was only for illustration of the technique, it won't be conducted at all. Readers need not worry about receiving boxes of peppermint patties in the mail--or daily online survey forms.

In the meantime, I'm developing my next study on macaroni and cheese to review my dad's methods vis-a-vis whether he may have skewed the data through errors of inference due to errors of measurement.

Resources

National Research Council -- See www.nationalacademies.org/nrc.

Evidence-Based Library and Information Practice Online Journal -- EBLIP is an open-access, peer-reviewed journal published quarterly by the University of Alberta Learning Services and supported by an international team of editorial advisors. The purpose of the journal is to provide a forum for librarians and other information professionals to discover research that may contribute to decision making in professional practice. EBLIP publishes original research and commentary on the topic of evidence based library and information practice, as well as reviews of previously published research (evidence summaries) on a wide number of topics. See http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/EBLip.

Book Review: Evidence-Based Practice for Information Professionals, edited by Andrew Booth and Anne Brice -- The Information Research Web site is an open-access, international, scholarly journal, dedicated to making accessible the results of research across a wide range of information-related disciplines. It is privately published and edited by T.D. Wilson. See http://informationr.net/ir/reviews/revs142.html.

Research Based Web-Design and Usability Guidelines -- Written by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, these guidelines were designed by experts using extensive research efforts similar to the ones outlined in this article. See www.usability.gov/pdfs/guidelines.html.

"Evidence-Based Research: Its Role in Developing the DPHT Strategic Plan", by Karen Kreizman Reczek, Information Outlook, July 2002 -- See www.sla.org/content/Shop/Information/infoonline/2002/jul02/kex.cfm.

A Policymaker's Primer on Education Research: How to Understand, Evaluate and Use It, by Patricia A Lauer, a Joint effort of Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning and the Education Commission of the States, February 2004 -- The goal of this primer is to help policymakers and others interested individuals answer three questions: 1. What does the research say? 2. Is the research trustworthy? 3. How can the research be used to guide policy? See www.ecs.org/html/educationIssues/Research/primer/foreword.asp.

Webcast on Scientifically Based Research -- View a free archived web-cast on scientifically based research to learn more about what this means for you as a district or site administrator, decision maker or someone who seeks external resources and programs for schools. See www.schoolsmovingup.net/cs/wested/view/e/47.

Online Study Modules -- This research module is a free tool for educators interested in better understanding scientifically based research. The State Educational Technology Directors Association has compiled a large collection of tools that can be used to evaluate and conduct research as well as secure funding to conduct future research. See www.setda.org/web/guest/sbr.

Here's flowers for you:

Hot lavender, mints,
savory, marjoram,

The marigold, that goes
to bed wi' the sun,

And with him rises weep-
ing; these are flowers

Of middle summer, and
I think they are given

To men of middle age.
--Shakespeare: The Winter's Tale

RELATED ARTICLE: NRC'S SIX PRINCIPLES FOR A RESEARCH STUDY

1 POSE SIGNIFICANT QUESTIONS THAT CAN BE INVESTIGATED EMPIRICALLY.

Empirical research involves investigation that uses observations to guide conclusions. Research questions that are significant do one or more of the following:

* Fill in the gaps in what we know about a topic.

* Seek to identify why something occurs.

* Solve a practical problem.

* Test a new idea or hypothesis.

* Expand on scientific knowledge from prior theories and research.

2 LINK RESEARCH TO RELEVANT THEORY.

Theories vary in scope; the more well-known scientific theories tend to be broad, such as Einstein's theory of relativity. Theories that are smaller in scope, sometimes referred to as conceptual frameworks, guide most research studies, particularly in the social sciences and education. Nonetheless, such theories provide the reason for the research design and interpretation of the findings. For example, the theory behind teacher professional development is that teacher learning influences instruction, which in turn influences student achievement. This theory is relatively small in scope because it applies only to teacher learning, in contrast to a theory such as Piaget's, which applies to child and adolescent development. Theories that are small in scope, however, can provide the rationale for scientific research.

3 USE METHODS THAT PERMIT DIRECT INVESTIGATION OF THE QUESTION.

This principle means that the research method should be appropriate to the research question. The appropriateness of one method over another is the subject of debate. This is particularly true in the social sciences where research studies usually involve human subjects. Principle 3 however, does not focus on a particular research method. Rather, it emphasizes that a report on a research study should indicate the following:

* The link between the research question and the method used and why the method is the most appropriate.

* A detailed description of the method and procedure so that other researchers can repeat the study.

* Possible problems or limitations with the research method.

* As Principle 1 indicates, science involves the measurement of observations. In social science research, this means that human behavior will be observed, measured and recorded. The method used to measure observations is critical because errors in measurement can influence the results.

* For this reason, research studies should report on the validity and reliability of the measuring instruments that are used.

4 PROVIDE A COHERENT AND EXPLICIT CHAIN OF REASONING.

Conclusions about the results of research are based on inferential reasoning. This means that researchers make logical judgments based on the results of their research and on conclusions from prior research. The logic of their judgments depends on their research questions and the methods they used. An important part of this logical reasoning is to rule out alternate or rival explanations, also referred to as threats to validity. To counter such threats, researchers need to indicate in their studies how they avoided or controlled for such errors.

5 REPLICATE AND GENERALIZE ACROSS STUDIES.

Replication means that a researcher who uses the same study method in the same situations or contexts as another researcher can make the same observations and obtain the same results. (Alternatively, the same researcher can obtain the same results on two different occasions.) Generalization refers to how much the results can be replicated in different contexts and with different populations. When the results of a study can be replicated and generalized, the results can be trusted more than results from studies without these characteristics. Usually, many research studies are needed to produce a body of knowledge that provides this information.

6 DISCLOSE RESEARCH TO ENCOURAGE PROFESSIONAL SCRUTINY AND CRITIQUE.

Through this principle, the National Research Council emphasizes that the accumulation of scientific knowledge depends on its dissemination to members of the scientific community for professional critique. Researchers should submit their reports to journals and publications that require peer review. Presentations on research at professional conferences also provide the opportunity for critique. To facilitate scrutiny, researchers should keep accurate and accessible records of their investigations so they can provide information for review purposes. For education research to advance, the community of education researchers must enforce the norms of scientific research when judging education research studies.

Reprinted with permission from Appendix B of A Policymaker's Primer on Education Research: How to Understand, Evaluate and Use It by Patricia Lauer (www.mcrel.org/PDF/SchoollmprovementReform/9713TG_Schoollmprovement_Primer6-04.pdf)

CYBELE ELAINE WERTS Cybele Elaine Werts is an information specialist for a national non-profit educational organization and is co-editor of Education Libraries, the peer-reviewed journal of the SLA Education Division. She can be reached at [e-mail]. Her articles, interviews, and podcasts can be found on her Web site at www.supertechnogirl.com. The views expressed in this article are those of the author herself and do not represent her employer, her clients, or any organization or affiliation.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Percentage of Information Specialists who self-identify as     25%
  peppermint patty lovers
Percentage of Information Specialists who ate more than their  15%
  allotment of peppermint patties

Figure 1. Breakout Study Participants

Note: Table made from pie chart.