MAMPARA OF THE WEEK

Sharné Nieuwoudt, Kasha Elizabeth Dickie, Carla Coetsee, Louise Engelbrecht and Elmarie Terblanche

What were they thinking?

What random research topic shall we choose to lift the level of debate in SA? Eeny, meeny, miny, mow … how about the “low cognitive thinking of coloured women”? Now there’s a bright idea. Let’s make it sound more scientific and title it: “Age- and education-related effects on cognitive functioning in Coloured South African women”. These five mamparas — Sharné Nieuwoudt, Kasha Elizabeth Dickie, Carla Coetsee, Louise Engelbrecht and Elmarie Terblanche — thought it was a great idea to do just that. An apology from Stellenbosch University came after a “thorough investigation into all aspects of this study”, followed by a retraction. Sjoe! It took social media to point it out to the researchers. Talk about low cognitive thinking.