Cited by 446Meta-analysis and systematic reviewsPhilosophy of Biology and Scientific ExplanationAcademic Publishing and Open Access

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 14 of the 14 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

What is replication?

Open access

Published version of a preprint

Abstract

Credibility of scientific claims is established with evidence for their replicability using new data. According to common understanding, replication is repeating a study's procedure and observing whether the prior finding recurs. This definition is intuitive, easy to apply, and incorrect. We propose that replication is a study for which any outcome would be considered diagnostic evidence about a claim from prior research. This definition reduces emphasis on operational characteristics of the study and increases emphasis on the interpretation of possible outcomes. The purpose of replication is to advance theory by confronting existing understanding with new evidence. Ironically, the value of replication may be strongest when existing understanding is weakest. Successful replication provides evidence of generalizability across the conditions that inevitably differ from the original study; Unsuccessful replication indicates that the reliability of the finding may be more constrained than recognized previously. Defining replication as a confrontation of current theoretical expectations clarifies its important, exciting, and generative role in scientific progress.

Overview

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Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000691

Cites

14 of 14 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Verification

Claims the paper makes

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Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Small adjustments to the overall study do not diminish the replicatory nature and value of the new scholarship.

    “Furthermore, they argued that small adjustments to the overall study do not diminish the replicatory nature and value of the new scholarship.”

    From Examining Counselor Trainees’ Clinical Impressions of Pornography Use: Implications for Couple and Family Counselors (2026) · cites this paper as Nosek and Errington (2020)

    In “Replication redux,” the authors define replication by whether its outcomes test a prior claim, rather than by exact repetition of procedures. This supports the idea that adjustments need not disqualify a study as a replication. But “Replication resolved” explains that a seemingly small difference can matter: seasonal differences in frogs meant some attempted replications were not studying the same thing. The claim is too categorical in saying small adjustments do not diminish replicatory status. (LLM, conf=0.85)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

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Citations

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. H Jeffreys, 1973, Scientific Inference
  2. I Lakatos, 1976, Can Theories be Refuted? Synthese Library (Monographs on Epistemology, Logic, Methodology, Philosophy of Science, Sociology of Science and of Knowledge, and on the Mathematical Methods of Social and Behavioral Sciences), 205

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Metadata

Authors
Nosek, B. A., & Errington, T. M.
Affiliations
Center for Open Science (US)
Corresponding author
Nosek, Brian A.
Venue
PLOS Biology
Published
2020-03-27
Volume
18
Issue
3
Pages
e3000691
ISSN
  • 1544-9173 (ISSN-L)
  • 1545-7885
OpenAlex
W3013926312
Cited by
444
References
14
Citations by year
2026: 59 · 2025: 78 · 2024: 77 · 2023: 65 · 2022: 61 · 2021: 71 · 2020: 29
FWCI
20.64
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • PLoS Biology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • OSF Preprints (OSF Preprints) (submittedVersion, public-domain)
  • MetArXiv (OSF Preprints) (submittedVersion)
  • OSF Preprints (OSF Preprints) (submittedVersion)
  • MetArXiv (OSF Preprints) (submittedVersion, public-domain)
Funders
  • John Templeton Foundation
  • Arnold Ventures
  • Templeton World Charity Foundation
  • Templeton Religion Trust
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Statistics, Probability and Uncertainty › Meta-analysis and systematic reviews
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History and Philosophy of Science › Philosophy of Biology and Scientific Explanation
  • Social Sciences › Library and Information Sciences › Academic Publishing and Open Access
Keywords
replication, diagnostic findings, generalizability, scientific progress, theory testing
MeSH terms
Data Interpretation, Statistical, Humans, Research Design, Statistics as Topic, Reproducibility of Results

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