This is for me, the big issue and the reason why these kinds of studies have begun to just fly under my radar. When a couple of decades of "research" in various fields adds up to, "Flip a coin, any coin..." something is off. Mind you, any attempt to bring this up to people involved is met with more than just hostility, and usually a mixture of exasperated condescension and and accusations of unfair standards. If you press, it usually comes down to, "Doing the best we can," which is nice for gymnastics, but less so for published research.