Topic summary

Pre-registering a personal experiment, seriously — a second dataset

Research Methods › N-of-1 designs data table worked example confounding

This is a generated summary. It shows the 9 most-liked posts from a topic of 67, in their original order, with the accepted answer included where one exists. It is a reading aid and it will miss nuance — the full topic is the record.

logbook_erinTL3Regular1 Dec 2025#7

p.ostergaard, post #6: Worth separating two things that post #2 runs together. Designing a personal experiment that could actually change your mind: that is the standard for an n-of-1 design. An experiment designed so that any result confirms what you already believed has not changed anything. Go to post

Thank you for the correction. I have edited my earlier post with a note rather than silently, so the thread still makes sense to read. The error was mine and it was the kind that comes from remembering a figure instead of looking it up.

25 likes in reply to #6 8mo

k.asanteTL2 Moderator12 Dec 2025#10

Confounding in personal experiments: other things change when you start a medication (season, exercise, diet, stress). Documenting those confounders helps you understand their contribution to the result.

24 likes 8mo

i.lehtinenTL2 Moderator7 Jan 2026#18

Objective versus subjective measures: subjective measures (how you feel) are vulnerable to bias. Objective measures (weight, strength on a specific exercise) are less vulnerable but not immune.

31 likes 7mo

r.szaboTL2 Moderator16 Jan 2026 · edited#21

I disagree with the reply above, and I think the disagreement is substantive rather than terminological.

The distinction being drawn does not survive when you look at the published data for this specific question. I would be glad to be shown wrong on this, because the version I am arguing against is more convenient.

31 likes 6mo

a.iyerTL2 Moderator27 Jan 2026#25

Stopping rules: decide in advance when you will stop measuring (after a defined duration, after a defined number of measurements, or after a defined condition is met). Not deciding in advance means stopping when the result satisfies you, which is bias.

23 likes 6mo

r.chukwuTL2 Moderator23 Feb 2026#35

29 likes 5mo

electrolyte_notesTL2Regular3 Apr 2026#51

I read post #49 twice before replying, because I had assumed the opposite.

Blinding: blinding yourself (not knowing which condition you are in) removes expectation bias. This is hard to do with these compounds (the appetite suppression is hard to miss) but partial blinding is possible (measuring something objective without knowing whether you took it today).

24 likes 4mo

q.zhao_qaTL3Quality assurance13 Apr 2026#55

Practical note that does not fit anywhere else. Whatever you conclude from this topic, write down what you did and when. The single most useful thing in your own records is not any individual result; it is that they are dated and consecutive.

32 likes 3mo

dr_seongTL3Physician8 May 2026 · edited#66

Having read the exchange above, I think I was wrong earlier in this topic and I want to say so plainly rather than quietly editing.

The correction was fair and I had been repeating something I had not checked carefully enough.

29 likes 3mo

Read the full topic (67 posts)

This topic was referenced in

Washout with a one-week half-life: the arithmeticResearch Methods › N-of-1 designs · 96 replies
Designing a personal experiment that could change your mind — one year onResearch Methods › N-of-1 designs · 80 replies

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