Can it get any worse? Probably not. Mainstream news outlets are often reporting on research about the workplace — about what works, what doesn’t work. This year twitter and social media research is in the limelight. Last year employee engagement was widely reported on. Plus, of course, the general garden variety research having something to do with behavior and productivity in the workplace.

The problem is that the articles are often misleading, or directly and/or indirectly suggest conclusions to readers that are simply unwarranted. Misleading material includes complete direct conclusions not supported by the study (ie. stating completely wrong things), restatement of myths that were never true but have become urban myths (there are several about learning and training), to the most benign practice of providing inadequate guidance to readers about the meaning of the researc. Here’s an example. Continue reading →