Joel Pick
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joelpick.bsky.social
Joel Pick
@joelpick.bsky.social
960 followers 480 following 52 posts
Evolutionary ecologist and open science advocate. Interested in social evolution, population dynamics, statistics, and open science. Parent x2. Incompetent but enthusiastic naturalist
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Reposted by Joel Pick
statsforbios.bsky.social
This highlights important differences.
If the LaTeX code is wrong, it'll (nearly always) be obvious. Garbled table -> try again.

And ultimately, it doesn't matter in the same way. Nice docs are nice, but people don't die from misformated bullet point

If analysis code is wrong, it's not obvious.
bharrap.bsky.social Ben Harrap @bharrap.bsky.social · 3d
Despite my preference to write #rstats code by myself, I am very happy to get LLMs to figure out LaTeX for me

I am not good at LaTeX but I do know what I want my documents to look like
February 16, 2026 at 11:33 AM
Reposted by Joel Pick
malte.the100.ci
New paper, on a worrying trend in meta-science: the practice of anonymising datasets on, e.g., published articles. We argue that this is at odds with norms established in research synthesis, explore arguments for anonymisation, provide counterpoints, and demonstrate implications and epistemic costs.
psyarxivbot.bsky.social PsyArXivBot @psyarxivbot.bsky.social · 5d
Against Anonymising Meta-Scientific Data: https://osf.io/6eyjf
February 13, 2026 at 4:50 PM
Reposted by Joel Pick
denisreale.bsky.social
Looks like a cool idea @katelaskowski.bsky.social @joelpick.bsky.social

Replication studies: a win-win for early-career training and behavioral ecology url: academic.oup.com/beheco/artic...
Replication studies: a win-win for early-career training and behavioral ecology
Replicating previous research builds confidence that results are real and meaningful. But close replications are rare due to limitations in resources and d
academic.oup.com
February 13, 2026 at 5:25 PM
Reposted by Joel Pick
lettersofnote.com
Happy birthday to one of my favourite haters, Charles Darwin
February 12, 2026 at 4:31 PM
Reposted by Joel Pick
ryancbriggs.net
I have a new paper. We look at ~all stats articles in political science post-2010 & show that 94% have abstracts that claim to reject a null. Only 2% present only null results. This is hard to explain unless the research process has a filter that only lets rejections through.
It must be very hard to publish null results Publication practices in the social sciences act as a filter that favors statistically significant results over null findings. While the problem of selection on significance (SoS) is well-known in theory, it has been difficult to measure its scope empirically, and it has been challenging to determine how selection varies across contexts. In this article, we use large language models to extract granular and validated data on about 100,000 articles published in over 150 political science journals from 2010 to 2024. We show that fewer than 2% of articles that rely on statistical methods report null-only findings in their abstracts, while over 90% of papers highlight significant results. To put these findings in perspective, we develop and calibrate a simple model of publication bias. Across a range of plausible assumptions, we find that statistically significant results are estimated to be one to two orders of magnitude more likely to enter the published record than null results. Leveraging metadata extracted from individual articles, we show that the pattern of strong SoS holds across subfields, journals, methods, and time periods. However, a few factors such as pre-registration and randomized experiments correlate with greater acceptance of null results. We conclude by discussing implications for the field and the potential of our new dataset for investigating other questions about political science.
February 11, 2026 at 5:00 PM
Reposted by Joel Pick
katelaskowski.bsky.social
Not everything can be replicated easily, but a lot can. So replicate where you can and help students learn good research practices, including writing! Folks, it's a win-win. Still sorting out details of the new section but should be online very soon. In the meantime, start replicating!
a red neon sign that says replicate things on it
ALT: a red neon sign that says replicate things on it
media.tenor.com
February 10, 2026 at 7:42 PM
Reposted by Joel Pick
katelaskowski.bsky.social
How do we know our research results are REAL? We replicate them! Most folks agree but lament on how hard it is to publish these replications.

My dearest gentle reader, lament no more! Delighted to unveil: Replication Studies, a new section of Behavioral Ecology 1/

academic.oup.com/beheco/artic...
Replication studies: a win-win for early-career training and behavioral ecology
Replicating previous research builds confidence that results are real and meaningful. But close replications are rare due to limitations in resources and d
academic.oup.com
February 10, 2026 at 7:42 PM
Reposted by Joel Pick
dingdingpeng.the100.ci
New preprint! So, what's a multiverse analysis good for anyway?>

With @jessicahullman.bsky.social and @statmodeling.bsky.social

juliarohrer.com/wp-content/u...
What’s a multiverse good for anyway? Julia M. Rohrer, Jessica Hullman, and Andrew Gelman Multiverse analysis has become a fairly popular approach, as indicated by the present special issue on the matter. Here, we take one step back and ask why one would conduct a multiverse analysis in the first place. We discuss various ways in which a multiverse may be employed – as a tool for reflection and critique, as a persuasive tool, as a serious inferential tool – as well as potential problems that arise depending on the specific purpose. For example, it fails as a persuasive tool when researchers disagree about which variations should be included in the analysis, and it fails as a serious inferential tool when the included analyses do not target a coherent estimand. Then, we take yet another step back and ask what the multiverse discourse has been good for and whether any broader lessons can be drawn. Ultimately, we conclude that the multiverse does remain a valuable tool; however, we urge against taking it too seriously.
February 4, 2026 at 10:24 AM
Reposted by Joel Pick
dailycorrelation.bsky.social
Popularity of the first name Kenzie correlates with UFO sightings in South Dakota (r=0.939)
January 31, 2026 at 1:30 PM
Reposted by Joel Pick
deevybee.bsky.social
Oh dear. Our favourite Fellow of the @royalsociety.org is in the news again
jonchristian.net updog sinclair @jonchristian.net · 19d
NEW: Elon Musk has insisted that Jeffrey Epstein invited him to the notorious island and he declined. But new emails show the opposite -- Musk was practically begging to party with Epstein in the Caribbean, years after Epstein's sex convictions were public knowledge

futurism.com/future-socie...
Elon Musk Emailed Extensively With Jeffrey Epstein, Begging to Visit His Notorious Island
Newly released documents show how Elon Musk extensively communicated with Jeffrey Epstein to plan parties and trips to his island.
futurism.com
January 31, 2026 at 7:07 AM
Reposted by Joel Pick
bayesianboy.bsky.social
A new study from Anthropic finds that gains in coding efficiency when relying on AI assistance did did not meet statistical significance; AI use noticeably degraded programmers’ understanding of what they were doing. Incredible.
January 30, 2026 at 11:47 PM
Reposted by Joel Pick
chelseaparlett.bsky.social
If you’re going to use LLMs to help you build and app or code:

1. you need RIGOROUS, rigorous unit testing, and/or

2. you need to already mostly know how to build the thing yourself so you can check and modify

I fear #2 is going to become less common, so let’s be super adamant about #1 😬
January 30, 2026 at 7:00 AM
Reposted by Joel Pick
asanchez-tojar.bsky.social
Interested in the TADA! guidelines for improving analytical code sharing & reproducibility? (doi.org/10.32942/X2D...)

Register for @joelpick.bsky.social & @eivimeycook.bsky.social at: libcal.essex.ac.uk/event/4465297

#OpenScience #Reproducibility #OpenResearch

P.S. Give that doggy 👇 a treat!
January 29, 2026 at 7:04 AM
Reposted by Joel Pick
eivimeycook.bsky.social
Thanks to some great comments and suggestions, we've updated TADA!

Read it here: ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...

Transferable, Available, Documented, Annotated.
January 28, 2026 at 8:20 AM
Reposted by Joel Pick
nadineruehr.bsky.social
We are hiring a postdoctoral researcher!🌲 🌳 🌍

📍Interested in boreal and temperate forest productivity and respiration?
💻 Like to work with large datasets, remote sensing and models?
🏔️ Love an alpine setting in a small town?

Come and join us at KIT!

Application details: t1p.de/qctj7
January 22, 2026 at 11:45 AM
Reposted by Joel Pick
abigailnussbaum.bsky.social
This is an excellent analogy, because my recollection from grade school is that the pen on the right looks fun and exciting, and then you play with it for a few minutes and realize it's not actually useful for anything and in fact makes some tasks more cumbersome, and never think about it again.
marykmac.bsky.social marykmac.bsky.social @marykmac.bsky.social · Nov 25
yeah, just out of interest, how many people choose the pen on the right for real work or art? See a lot of them in professional workplaces, do you?
Picture of two pens. The first is an ordinary ballpoint pen, with the caption “how work feels doing it alone”. The second is a picture of one of those novelty pens with ten colours that you had when you were thirteen, with the caption, “how work feels worh an AI employee”. At their bottom it says “hire an AI employee for $0.97/day”.
January 22, 2026 at 12:21 PM
Reposted by Joel Pick
mcmahok.bsky.social
We are hiring at the Wytham Woods for the upcoming field season. 4 roles available. Please share with anyone who might be interested. #UKbirds #birdringing
We are seeking to appoint four full-time field assistants to work on the Wytham Tit Project for 4-8 weeks in spring 2026. Two 8-week field assistants will join the nest monitoring team; duties for these posts will include (i) collecting standardised data from nest-box breeding populations of blue and great tits, (ii) catching and ringing parent birds, (iii) ringing nestlings, and (iv) inputting data collected in the field. These positions with run from approximately Tuesday 7th April to Monday 1st June. Successful candidates for these positions must have (or be qualified to obtain) a BTO permit to ring adult great tits and blue tits. A further two field assistants will be hired to support a project collecting behavioural (foraging) data for great tits breeding in the Wytham population. These roles will involve a significant amount of nightwork. Duties will include (i) setting up and calibrating electronic tracking equipment and nest box cameras in the field, (ii) mapping tracking equipment locations using GPS, (iii) helping with catching and ringing parent birds and fitting tracking devices, (iv) assisting with mistnetting to re-trap tagged parents, and (v) inputting data collected in the field. These positions with be approximately 7 and 4 weeks in duration, starting from 13th April and 4th May, respectively. Possession of a BTO ringing permit with misnet endorsement and driving license are highly desirable for these roles. All fieldwork will take place in Wytham Woods, near Oxford. All Successful candidates must be able to demonstrate skill and enthusiasm for biological research as well as experience of fieldwork under arduous conditions, and both lone work and working as part of a team. Due to the short-term nature of these posts, successsful applicants must already have the right to work in the UK. Salary & Accommodation: Field assistants will be paid at grade 5.2 (£17.37/hour). Contact eleanor.cole@Biology.ox.ac.uk
January 16, 2026 at 1:35 PM
Reposted by Joel Pick
cmacquar.bsky.social
Peer Review is broken because a generation of Editors were trained that peer review is sacrosanct. Thus we have Editors who are clerks, sending and re-sending manuscripts to reviewers until they are happy. That's not the job. Be an Editor, not a clerk. Use your skill and judgement. Make decisions.
January 14, 2026 at 7:59 PM
Reposted by Joel Pick
jbakcoleman.bsky.social
Constructively, a lot of the replies seem to feel seen (the pain?) of this post. It can be hard to write up Bayesian credible regions when you know your paper is headed for reviewers who will write back "yeah but is it significant?" Here's my brief advice:
January 16, 2026 at 8:28 PM
Reposted by Joel Pick
egioxford.bsky.social
🚨🚨🚨 Field Assistant positions - four of them!! - working with the long-term Wytham project this coming spring. Details below. Previous year's field team - come and join us! Details below ⬇️
2025 Wytham Tit Project field team
January 16, 2026 at 3:07 PM
Reposted by Joel Pick
a-hermina-ghenu.bsky.social
Can interactive web apps help biology students become better modellers?

peischllab.github.io/MEEW.html
We're running an ethics-approved, pre-registered study thanks to funding from the University of Bern.

Are you lecturing in the Spring?
Contact me to receive the survey link!
January 16, 2026 at 9:44 AM
Reposted by Joel Pick
piretavila.bsky.social
Postdoc in statistical ecology & evolution! Develop models bridging evolutionary theory with empirical data on sex differences in immunity and life history. Apply now!
#postdoc #statistics #evolution #academicjobs #ecology jobs.helsinki.fi/job/Helsinki...
Postdoctoral Researcher in Statistical Ecology and Evolution
Postdoctoral Researcher in Statistical Ecology and Evolution
jobs.helsinki.fi
January 14, 2026 at 9:08 AM
Reposted by Joel Pick
itchyshin.bsky.social
Please contact me if you want to be nominated for a postdoc via this scheme - you need to live outside of Canada and I need to do so by 9 Feb (and need to start by March 2027) - www.ualberta.ca/en/graduate-... (I think you do need to have a competitive CV etc)

Please email me if you are interested
Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards for Postdoctoral Scholars
www.ualberta.ca
January 14, 2026 at 12:30 AM
Reposted by Joel Pick
darrencroft.bsky.social
We are hiring – postdoc position exploring how kinship shapes social ageing in killer whales. Collaboration with @samellisq.bsky.social @drwhale.bsky.social and Prof Rufus Johnstone (Cambridge) starts 1st April 2026 and ends 31st March 2029. Apps close 2nd Feb. www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPZ788/p...
January 13, 2026 at 2:42 PM
Reposted by Joel Pick
mlagisz.bsky.social
Our lab (www.cossee.org) and (www.i-deel.org) are looking for a postdoc(s) to nominate via this program - www.ualberta.ca/en/graduate-.... If you are a good fit, you contact us asap (snakagaw@ualberta.ca or mnakaga1@ualberta.ca) - our internal deadline for nominations is on 9th Feb. 🚀 🔥 🏃‍♂️‍➡️
COSSEE: Collaboration for Open Science and Synthesis in Ecology and Evolution
Explore the Collaboration for Open Science and Synthesis in Ecology and Evolution (COSSEE). Discover groundbreaking research, publications, and opportunities. Learn about open science initiatives and ...
www.cossee.org
January 14, 2026 at 5:46 AM