On the wonders of replication

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristoffer Klevjer

The lack of replicating research is not new, still the recent "replication crisis" has made a large impact in the social and life sciences which subsequently increased their replication efforts. Most scholars do agree on the need for solid, preregistered, direct replications. However, performing them is less common, after all, researchers have their own ideas! Underestimated is though, that replications are beneficial for science, the students and supervisors! As a part of my master's thesis I performed a direct replication – and this turned into one of the most educational parts of my whole psychology degree. It was an excellent introduction to the importance of a solid method section, to Open Science and preregistration. It changed the way I read and evaluate articles. I learned the distinction between confirmatory and exploratory hypotheses. It highlighted the need for strict adherence to data collection protocols. It taught me the publishing process in a nutshell by starting data collection only after my protocol and procedures was approved by external researchers. I argue that replication are beneficial for supervisors too. Students get a thorough introduction to said concepts, which increases confidence in their work (ethics) and trust in science. Replications are time-effective alternatives for bachelors students. Supervisors can exchange ideas with other supervisors as well as use this for networking In sum, science needs it, students like and learn from it, and it is convenient and helpful for supervisors. Next time: please pitch a replication project to your student!

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodrigo Dal Ben ◽  
Melanie Brouillard ◽  
Ana Maria Gonzalez-Barrero ◽  
Hilary Killam ◽  
Lena V. Kremin ◽  
...  

Bilingualism is hard to define, measure, and study. Sparked by the so-called replication crisis in the social sciences, a recent discussion on the advantages of open science is gaining momentum. Here we join this debate to argue that bilingualism research would greatly benefit from embracing open science. We do so in a unique way, by presenting six fictional stories that illustrate how open science practices — sharing preprints, materials, code, and data; pre-registering studies; and joining large-scale collaborations — can strengthen bilingualism research and further improve its quality.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matt Williams ◽  
Christina Bond

The Earth’s climate is changing due to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. Conservation psychology has the capacity to produce research that can inform efforts to modify human behavior to mitigate climate change. However, psychology has recently been facing a replication crisis: Several recent studies have found that the findings of many published psychological studies cannot be reproduced in independent replications. In response to this crisis, psychologists have begun to pursue practices that can improve the replicability and credibility of findings—for example, preregistering data collection and analysis plans before collecting data, and openly sharing data for re-analysis. However, open science practices such as these are not yet widely employed in conservation psychology. We argue that replicability is especially important in conservation psychology given the field’s focus on high stakes applied research. We provide an example of a preregistered replication (of van der Linden et al. 2017). van der Linden et al. reported that they were able to successfully “inoculate” participants against politically motivated misinformation about climate change by pre-emptively warning them of this misinformation. In our replication study, we preregistered hypotheses based on van der Linden et al’s study, along with a detailed data collection and analysis plan (available at https://osf.io/8ymj6/). Our replication study used a mixed between-within design, with data collected via Mechanical Turk (N = 792). We were able to replicate some (but not all) of van der Linden et al’s findings. Specifically, we found that providing information about the scientific consensus on climate change increased perceptions of scientific consensus, as did an inoculation intervention provided prior to provision of misinformation. However, we were unable to replicate their finding that an inoculation intervention counteracted the effect of misinformation to a greater extent than simply providing information about scientific consensus.


Author(s):  
Tobias Dienlin ◽  
Niklas Johannes ◽  
Nicholas David Bowman ◽  
Philipp K Masur ◽  
Sven Engesser ◽  
...  

Abstract In the last 10 years, many canonical findings in the social sciences appear unreliable. This so-called “replication crisis” has spurred calls for open science practices, which aim to increase the reproducibility, replicability, and generalizability of findings. Communication research is subject to many of the same challenges that have caused low replicability in other fields. As a result, we propose an agenda for adopting open science practices in Communication, which includes the following seven suggestions: (1) publish materials, data, and code; (2) preregister studies and submit registered reports; (3) conduct replications; (4) collaborate; (5) foster open science skills; (6) implement Transparency and Openness Promotion Guidelines; and (7) incentivize open science practices. Although in our agenda we focus mostly on quantitative research, we also reflect on open science practices relevant to qualitative research. We conclude by discussing potential objections and concerns associated with open science practices.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rink Hoekstra ◽  
Simine Vazire

The replication crisis in the social, behavioural, and life sciences has spurred a reform movement aimed at increasing the credibility of scientific studies. Many of these credibility-enhancing reforms focus, appropriately, on specific research and publication practices. A less often mentioned aspect of credibility is the need for intellectual humility, or owning the limitations of our work. When scientific communication is overconfident or contains too many exaggerations, the field stands to lose its credibility, even if the methods and statistics underlying the research are sound. We argue that intellectual humility is given a great deal of lip service, but is too rarely valued - we may say that we as scientists ought to be intellectually humble, but our actions as a field suggest that this is not a priority. Although we acknowledge that intellectual humility is presented as a widely accepted scientific norm, we argue that current research practice does not actually incentivize intellectual humility. A promising solution could be to use our roles as reviewers to incentivize authors putting the flaws and uncertainty in their work front and center, thus giving their critics ammunition to find their errors. We describe several ways reviewers (and authors) can contribute to increasing humility in practice, and thereby contributing to enhancing the credibility of our science.


Koneksi ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 338
Author(s):  
Faiz Zulia Maharany ◽  
Ahmad Junaidi

'Nightmare' is the title of a video clip belonging to a singer and singer called Halsey, in which the video clip is explained about the figure of women who struggle against patriarchal culture which has been a barrier wall for women to get their rights, welfare and the equality needed they get. This research uses descriptive qualitative research methods. Data collection techniques are done through documentation, observation and study of literature. Then, analyzed using Charles Sanders Peirce's semiotics technique. The results of this study show the fact that signs, symbols or messages representing feminism in the video, 'Nightmare' clips are presented through scenes that present women's actions in opposing domination over men and sarcastic sentences contained in the lyrics of the song to discuss with patriarchy. Youtube as one of the social media platforms where the 'Nightmare' video clip is uploaded is very effective for mass communication and for conveying the message contained in the video clip to the viewing public.‘Nightmare’ adalah judul video klip milik musisi sekaligus penyanyi yang bernama Halsey, dimana pada Video klipnya tersebut menceritakan tentang figur perempuan-perempuan yang berusaha melawan budaya patriarki yang selama ini telah menjadi dinding penghalang bagi perempuan untuk mendapatkan hak-haknya, keadilan dan kesetaraan yang seharusnya mereka dapatkan. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode penelitian kualitatif deskriptif. Teknik pengumpulan data dilakukan melalui dokumentasi, observasi dan studi kepustakaan. Kemudian, dianalisis menggunakan teknik semiotika milik Charles Sanders Peirce. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukan bahwa terdapat tanda-tanda, simbol atau pesan yang merepresentasikan feminisme di dalam video klip ‘Nightmare’ yang dihadirkan melalui adegan-adegan yang menyajikan aksi perempuan dalam menolak dominasi atas laki-laki dan kalimat-kalimat sarkas yang terkandung dalam lirik lagunya untuk ditujukan kepada patriarki. Youtube sebagai salah satu platform media sosial dimana video klip ‘Nightmare’ diunggah sangat efektif untuk melakukan komunikasi massa dan untuk menyampaikan pesan yang terkandung di dalam video klip tersebut kepada masyarakat yang menonton.


Author(s):  
Steve Bruce

It is right that social researchers consider the ethical implications of their work, but discussion of research ethics has been distorted by the primacy of the ‘informed consent’ model for policing medical interventions. It is remarkably rare for the data collection phase of social research to be in any sense harmful, and in most cases seeking consent from, say, members of a church congregation would disrupt the naturally occurring phenomena we wish to study. More relevant is the way we report our research. It is in the disparity between how people would like to see themselves described and explained and how the social researcher describes and explains them that we find the greatest potential for ill-feeling, and even here it is slight.


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 160940692199686
Author(s):  
Borja Rivero Jiménez ◽  
David Conde-Caballero ◽  
Lorenzo Mariano Juárez

Loneliness among the elderly has become a pressing issue in Western societies. In the Spanish context, the problem of the so-called “empty” Spain disproportionately affects this population group—elderly individuals living in rural areas with low population density, and therefore at higher risk of social exclusion and isolation. We introduce here a mixed-method, quantitative-qualitative research protocol, triangulated with technological tools, designed to improve both data acquisition and subsequent data analysis and interpretation. This study will take place in a rural locality in the Extremadura region (Spain), chosen according to a particular socio-demographic profile. The De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale will be used on a cohort of 80 people over 65 years old. Within this cohort, a smaller sample of 20–30 individuals will be selected for semi-structured interviews about their beliefs and experiences of loneliness. Finally, data gathered from technological tools (smartbands, Bluetooth sensors) will allow us to monitor social interactions and to map daily loneliness/interaction patterns. Data will be triangulated by analyzing and comparing the empirical material gathered through these different methods and tools. Strict adherence to ethical standards for data protection and handling will be essential through data collection and analysis. As well as providing insights into the phenomenon of loneliness in old age, the use of different methods and tools for data collection will provide the basis for an epistemological reflection on the scope and limits of each one of these methods.


2021 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra K. Murphy ◽  
Colin Jerolmack ◽  
DeAnna Smith

The conventions ethnographers follow to gather, write about, and store their data are increasingly out of sync with contemporary research expectations and social life. Despite technological advancements that allow ethnographers to observe their subjects digitally and record interactions, few follow subjects online and many still reconstruct quotes from memory. Amid calls for data transparency, ethnographers continue to conceal subjects’ identities and keep fieldnotes private. But things are changing. We review debates, dilemmas, and innovations in ethnography that have arisen over the past two decades in response to new technologies and calls for transparency. We focus on emerging conversations around how ethnographers record, collect, anonymize, verify, and share data. Considering the replication crisis in the social sciences, we ask how ethnographers can enable others to reanalyze their findings. We address ethical implications and offer suggestions for how ethnographers can develop standards for transparency that are consistent with their commitment to their subjects and interpretive scholarship. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Sociology, Volume 47 is July 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.


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