Why Replication is Overrated

Philosophy of Science 86 (5):895-905 (2019)
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Abstract

Current debates about the replication crisis in psychology take it for granted that direct replication is valuable and focus their attention on questionable research practices in regard to statistical analyses. This paper takes a broader look at the notion of replication as such. It is argued that all experimentation/replication involves individuation judgments and that research in experimental psychology frequently turns on probing the adequacy of such judgments. In this vein, I highlight the ubiquity of conceptual and material questions in research, and I argue that replication is not as central to psychological research as it is sometimes taken to be.

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Uljana Feest
Universität Hannover

Citations of this work

The new demarcation problem.Bennett Holman & Torsten Wilholt - 2022 - Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 91 (C):211-220.
Philosophy of science and the replicability crisis.Felipe Romero - 2019 - Philosophy Compass 14 (11):e12633.
The role of replication in psychological science.Samuel C. Fletcher - 2021 - European Journal for Philosophy of Science 11 (1):1-19.
Epistemic interests and the objectivity of inquiry.Torsten Wilholt - 2022 - Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 91 (C):86-93.

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References found in this work

Fact, Fiction, and Forecast.Nelson Goodman - 1965 - Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
Fact, Fiction, and Forecast.Nelson Goodman - 1955 - Philosophy 31 (118):268-269.
Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for research.Donald Thomas Campbell - 1966 - Chicago,: R. McNally. Edited by Julian C. Stanley & N. L. Gage.

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