Criticisms raised against the investigation of purportedly anomalous telephone occurrences

Rogo and Bayless (1979) published a two-year investigation into reports of perceived contact with the dead via the telephone, and telephone calls from living people verified to be elsewhere at the time the call took place. Criticisms of their research methods — more so than of the phenomena themselves — began to appear in various forms, including as book reviews in parapsychology journals, which in some instances gave the researchers a chance to reply. Such criticisms were briefly summarised in a recent updated study of telephone anomalies (Cooper, 2014, p. 211). However, it is argued that some of the methodological criticisms raised deserve further response in defence of the researchers. This paper presents a collective summary of these critiques (following extensive searches for such reviews) and rejoinders.