Andrew Wakefield stated that he believed single vaccines, rather than the MMR triple vaccine, were likely to be “safer” for children. His study was published around the same time that officials began documenting an increase in rates of autism. Did Wakefield's claim represent real science or pseudoscience, and why?
Choose one or more:
A. pseudoscience, as the sample size was small, yet the results were extrapolated to all children
B. pseudoscience, as the findings could not be repeated
C. pseudoscience, as there was no control group
D. science, because an experiment was conducted and data were collected
E. pseudoscience, as the sample was not randomized
A. pseudoscience, as the sample size was small, yet the results were extrapolated to all children
B. pseudoscience, as the findings could not be repeated
C. pseudoscience, as there was no control group
E. pseudoscience, as the sample was not randomized
Wakefield's claim represents pseudoscience for multiple reasons, including the fact that his study had a small sample size, the findings could not be repeated by other researchers, there was no control group, and the sample was not randomized. These are all red flags that indicate a lack of rigor and credibility in the study's findings.