The previous post provided a link to a paper which discusses how the Smiley Faces exercise can instruct researchers on how to plan and conduct a good clinical trial. The following is a link to the second paper which outlines the results of many Smiley Face exercises.
Inconsistencies in the drawing and interpretation of smiley faces: an observational study [
bmcresnotes.biomedcentral.com]
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Results
We collected 723 drawings, in a variety of settings. Gender and age were provided for 676 drawings (women: 511; men: 165; ≤ 30 years: 335; > 30 years: 341). Although similar proportions of women and men drew some features, such as closed mouths; women and those aged ≤ 30 were less likely to draw noses and outlines around the faces, and more likely to draw a classic smiley face. Our analyses provide a novel way to highlight that whenever self-reported outcomes are compared between groups, the group composition for characteristics such as gender and age may need to be considered carefully to explore whether differences in outcomes might simply arise from imbalances in those characteristics.
And from the conclusions
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On the dozens of occasions that we have conducted the Smiley Faces study, it has generated a variety of interpretations and conclusions amongst those who did the drawings, and we are grateful to them for their insights and suggestions. With this analysis, we are able to confirm some of the differences, but not necessarily explain them and they generate many questions that may be relevant when faces are used to gather health or other information. For example, do women pay less attention to fine detail, such as noses, than men? Are men more constrained in their thinking than women and less of a “free spirit” because they draw their faces with an outline around, setting a boundary? Should these be seen as positive or negative traits in the types of people who have taken part in the Smiley Faces study?
Jonny
The path to good scholarship is paved with imagined patterns. - David M Raup
