More Research Required

By More Research Required

Science & Medicine Comedy Social Sciences

What's More Research Required about?

More Research Required is a biweekly podcast where two liberal arts college grads design all the research studies that no one will pay them to do. Updates every other Sunday night.

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More Research Required episodes:

03.25.2019
35. Wrong Sitting: A Comparison of Individuals’ Preferred Seated Posture in Relation to Sexuality
Abby and Amy are BACK FROM HIATUS to talk about whether queer people sit in chairs weird! Discussion topics include: crayoning, exercise bikes in parking lots, and “hey, sport, I hear Coach has been hasslin’ you.” Our music is Marie Curie...
07.08.2018
34. A New Cohort of Harveys: An Analysis of the Influence of Current Events on Name Popularity
Abby and Amy are researching up a storm to ask: do hurricanes and serial killers affect trends in naming infants? Discussion topics include: respecting Ian's wish to be called IAN, the mere exposure effect, and our hosts' nemesis origin story. Our...
06.25.2018
33. Can You Keep The Secret?: A Contrastive Study of the Effects of Self-Help Strategies and Hatred on Problem-Solving
Abby and Amy break a long-held vow of silence to ask: are the directives in 2006 self-help book The Secret more effective than pure spite-fueled determination? Discussion topics include: weather-controlling bootstrap magic, affable bros, and the positive effects of a heart...
06.10.2018
32. Dealing with Friends Who Deal With Dragons: Observing the Formation of Adult Friendships In Test Subjects with a Shared Childhood Fandom
Abby and Amy are taking a break from discovering their shared childhood interests to discuss: are adult friendships more likely to form among people who have a shared childhood interest? Discussion topics include: shameless cross-promotion, dubious correlations, and a disturbing...
05.21.2018
31. The Wawa Facts Tolerance Threshold: An Examination of the Effects of Location on Wawa/Sheetz Fanaticism
This week Abby and Amy are treating themselves to the Platonic ideal of a convenience store hoagie and asking: what are the factors at play in the Wawa/Sheetz rivalry? Discussion topics include: whim-based identity theft, Tiki the Wawa Cockatoo, and...
05.06.2018
30. The Three-Hyphen Problem: A Report on Hyphenated Naming Strategies in a Previously-Established Moon Colony
This week Abby and Amy find out what's in a (hyphenated) name and ask: what are the naming strategies for passing on double surnames? Discussion topics include: podcast lore, moon sexism and/or the lack thereof, and very fancy British lads. Our...
04.23.2018
29. Let Me Tell You About Homestuck: An Ethnography of Self-Shaming Practices in the Homestuck Fandom
This week Abby is too sick for research, so she's teaching Amy about Homestuck so they can ask: why is the Homestuck fandom so self-deprecating? Discussion topics include: Is That Vriska?, fond recollections of peak weird 2012 fandom, and garbage...
04.09.2018
28. April Showers 2: Back in the (Shower) Habit
Abby and Amy get their hands dirty with a return to the topic of shower habits. Discussion topics include: shower oatmeal, Amy takes one for the team, #vindication. Our music is Marie Curie by The Crypts!, from the album Discover Science.
03.26.2018
27. I Like My Research Like I Like My Coffee: Analyzing Linguistic Origin via Oral History-based Data Collection
This week Amy and Abby sit down with a hot beverage and ask: is there a traceable original punchline for 'I like my [x] like I like my coffee?" Discussion topics include: serving the freshest burns on Edmund Pevensie, universally...
03.11.2018
26. Do You Hear the People Nap?: A Prospective Observational Study of the Effect of Flexible Work Schedules on Health and Mood
This week Amy and Abby rise from an all-consuming slumber and ask: is the 9 to 5 workday compatible with an adult sleep schedule? Discussion topics include: We Miss the Sun, being nothing less than a shining beacon of productivity...
02.19.2018
25: Is Chess A Sport?: An Experiential Approach to Designating Ease of Mastery in Olympic Sports
This week Amy and Abby go for the gold and ask: what sport is the easiest to master? Discussion topics include: unnecessarily sexy Canadian figure skating, the hosts' new least favorite sports, and What Skaters Actually Do Vs. What They...
02.05.2018
24. Dedicate Your Lives to Science!: An Indefinitely Ongoing Statistical Overview of Times of Death Across Diverse Age Populations
This week Amy and Abby look mortality in the face and say: is there a time of day when people are more likely to die? Discussion topics include: Collin the Book Club Cryptid, the ownership of all of your hearts,...
01.22.2018
23: Freedom Is a Roomba with Knives Taped to It: Observing Spontaneous Idiom Production in Constructed Language Populations
The cat's out of the bag: Abby and Amy want to know if some languages have more idioms than others! Discussion topics include: What We Think Star Trek Is About, expressive methods of verbalization, and the favorite beverages of Western...
01.07.2018
22. 2018’s True Name: A Critical Assessment of the Efficacy of New Year’s Resolutions on End-of-Year Satisfaction
The ball has dropped and so has the newest episode of More Research Required, where Abby and Amy ask: do people feel more accomplished at the end of the year if they made a new year's resolution? Discussion topics include:...
12.26.2017
21. Non-Denominational Holiday Miracles: Measuring the Frequency of Holiday Greetings in the Months of December and January
What's that coming down the chimney? It's Abby and Amy, with a bag full of research methods to answer: what holiday greetings are used between Christmas Day and the new year? Discussion topics include: are aliens real?, two different kinds...
12.10.2017
20. Field Research: Seattle/Podcon
Abby and Amy are traveling to the distant, mysterious city of Seattle and trying to uncover its secrets. Discussion topics include: mermaids in a horse costume, Pacific Northwest Noir That's Not Noir, and using cryogenic freezing for its intended purpose. Our...
12.04.2017
19. You Spin Me Right Round: A Non-invasive and Ethical Survey of Directionality in Showering
Abby and Amy come clean and ask: what determines the direction you face while in the shower? Discussion topics include: thoughts from A Real Science, bathroom SCUBA, and One Day More (solo version). Our music is Marie Curie by The Crypts!,...
11.13.2017
18. Field Research: Charleston, SC
Abby and Amy are on the road! Or, they're in Abby's car, anyway, which is pretty much the same thing, and they're asking the real questions about Charleston, SC. Discussion topics include: keeping that Halloween train rolling, lying to teens,...
10.30.2017
17: A Fistful of Snickers: Creating a Method to Determine the Optimization of Trick-or-Treat Routes
Abby and Amy are going door to door and asking: what's the optimal method for trick-or-treating? Discussion topics include: Kids Become Test Subjects!, arguably logical methodology, and who we hold responsible when candy goes missing. Our music is Marie Curie by...
10.16.2017
16: Crystals Are Gay Culture: A Survey Examining Queerness and Feminism in Witch Spaces
Abby and Amy keep up that autumnal vibe and ask: are queer people and feminists more likely to be witches? Discussion topics include: witch familiars, dancing naked in the forest with your gal pals, and the one thing Amy knows about...
10.02.2017
15. Behaving Monstrously: Analyzing the Interaction Between Cat-Dog and Vampire-Werewolf Preferences
Abby and Amy get spooky and ask: do people who prefer vampires to werewolves prefer cats to dogs? Discussion topics include: Twilight and Teen Wolf, house fires, and the o m i n o u s L a t i...
09.18.2017
14. Leaving the Bathroom: A Longitudinal Study of Perceptions of Gender on Gender-Restricted and Mixed Gender Campuses
(cw: mentions of transphobia) Abby and Amy start to ask: do gender neutral bathrooms effect college students' perceptions of gender? And then they ask something completely different instead. Discussion topics include: the plural of data, reading way too much about bodily...
09.04.2017
13. Which One Art?: A Comparative Method for Making Objective Aesthetic Judgements
Abby and Amy put on a definitive air of ennui and ask: are people with better eyesight better at art? Discussion topics include: crafting a nuanced and all-encompassing definition of art, surprise math, and an ancient curse that forces co-hosts...
08.21.2017
12. Poisoning the Minds of Children Everywhere
Abby and Amy get a little blue and ask: does the language you use to curse make you stronger? Discussion topics include: polite conversation in WWI, remembering the Ice Bucket Challenge, and calling the police for cussin'. Our music is Marie...
08.08.2017
11. Field Research: Chicago, IL
Abby and Amy meet up IRL with three research questions, two glasses of wine, and one microphone for this Chicago-themed minisode. Discussion topics include: pizza allegiances, Midwestern politeness, and second cities. Our music is Marie Curie by The Crypts!, from the...
07.24.2017
10. The Illumeowti
Abby and Amy engage in one of the most heated debates of our time to ask: do cat people like dogs more than dog people like cats? Discussion topics include: the anti-cat agenda, Milgram 2: The Sequel to the Milgram...
07.10.2017
09. Try Not to Mess with Texas
Abby and Amy spend an exhausted post-Fourth of July episode asking: are there demographics that influence levels of state and city pride? Discussion topics include firework appreciation strategies, mercilessly trashing New York and other beloved American institutions, and Bog Hole,...
06.26.2017
08. Dad Jokes & the Dadly Dads Who Tell Them
Abby and Amy get into the Father's Day spirit to ask : are dads really the hardest kind of person to buy gifts for? Discussion topics include Gender Points, highly invasive testing, and dad jokes so potent that they jeopardize...
06.09.2017
07. Fantasy Robot Cartography
Abby and Amy set out on an expedition to discover: are the maps in fantasy novels always just Europe? Discussion topics include literature in translation, Warrior Cats as a high fantasy series, and robots(!). Our music is Marie Curie by The...
05.25.2017
06. Venus in Retrograde, Pluto in the Friendzone
Abby and Amy consult the heavens to find an answer to the question: if you have the traits widely associated with your horoscope, are you more likely to believe in astrology? Discussion topics include Astrology Is Real, Astrology is Fake,...
05.12.2017
05. Shave Their Beards for Science
Abby and Amy get their heads in the game and ask: do hockey superstitions really work? Discussion topics include voting as an act of teen rebellion, octopus symbolism, and an ethically questionable use of research methods. Our music is Marie Curie...
05.12.2017
04. Your Personal Wonderwall Habits & You
Abby and Amy could be talking about literally anything in this wide world of Oasis-free topics, but instead they’re asking: how frequently is Wonderwall really played on acoustic guitar? Discussion topics include virtually every musician that is not Oasis, pretending...
05.12.2017
03. For The #Hashtag Aesthetic
Abby and Amy get back to their linguistics roots and spend over an hour asking: Does the social media you use affect how you interpret the semantic content of a hashtag? Discussion topics include being too old to understand the...
05.12.2017
02. Do Pop Punk Kids Dream of Electric Goats?
Abby and Amy ask: do people born in the suburbs tend to settle in cities more often than average and vice versa? Discussion topics include being pop punk in high school, Abby introducing Amy to the world’s truest piece of...
05.12.2017
01. The Hunger Dames
In the flagship episode of More Research Required, Abby and Amy give up on making a research methods podcast and make five Hunger Games fancasts instead while asking the question: Does your birth order have an effect on your opinion...

What's More Research Required about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

More Research Required episodes:

35. Wrong Sitting: A Comparison of Individuals’ Preferred Seated Posture in Relation to Sexuality

34. A New Cohort of Harveys: An Analysis of the Influence of Current Events on Name Popularity

33. Can You Keep The Secret?: A Contrastive Study of the Effects of Self-Help Strategies and Hatred on Problem-Solving

32. Dealing with Friends Who Deal With Dragons: Observing the Formation of Adult Friendships In Test Subjects with a Shared Childhood Fandom

31. The Wawa Facts Tolerance Threshold: An Examination of the Effects of Location on Wawa/Sheetz Fanaticism

30. The Three-Hyphen Problem: A Report on Hyphenated Naming Strategies in a Previously-Established Moon Colony

29. Let Me Tell You About Homestuck: An Ethnography of Self-Shaming Practices in the Homestuck Fandom

28. April Showers 2: Back in the (Shower) Habit

27. I Like My Research Like I Like My Coffee: Analyzing Linguistic Origin via Oral History-based Data Collection

26. Do You Hear the People Nap?: A Prospective Observational Study of the Effect of Flexible Work Schedules on Health and Mood

25: Is Chess A Sport?: An Experiential Approach to Designating Ease of Mastery in Olympic Sports

24. Dedicate Your Lives to Science!: An Indefinitely Ongoing Statistical Overview of Times of Death Across Diverse Age Populations

23: Freedom Is a Roomba with Knives Taped to It: Observing Spontaneous Idiom Production in Constructed Language Populations

22. 2018’s True Name: A Critical Assessment of the Efficacy of New Year’s Resolutions on End-of-Year Satisfaction

21. Non-Denominational Holiday Miracles: Measuring the Frequency of Holiday Greetings in the Months of December and January

20. Field Research: Seattle/Podcon

19. You Spin Me Right Round: A Non-invasive and Ethical Survey of Directionality in Showering

18. Field Research: Charleston, SC

17: A Fistful of Snickers: Creating a Method to Determine the Optimization of Trick-or-Treat Routes

16: Crystals Are Gay Culture: A Survey Examining Queerness and Feminism in Witch Spaces

15. Behaving Monstrously: Analyzing the Interaction Between Cat-Dog and Vampire-Werewolf Preferences

14. Leaving the Bathroom: A Longitudinal Study of Perceptions of Gender on Gender-Restricted and Mixed Gender Campuses

13. Which One Art?: A Comparative Method for Making Objective Aesthetic Judgements

12. Poisoning the Minds of Children Everywhere

11. Field Research: Chicago, IL

10. The Illumeowti

09. Try Not to Mess with Texas

08. Dad Jokes & the Dadly Dads Who Tell Them

07. Fantasy Robot Cartography

06. Venus in Retrograde, Pluto in the Friendzone

05. Shave Their Beards for Science

04. Your Personal Wonderwall Habits & You

03. For The #Hashtag Aesthetic

02. Do Pop Punk Kids Dream of Electric Goats?

01. The Hunger Dames