We are thrilled to share exciting news about the Institute for Replication (I4R - https://i4replication.org/), which aims to enhance the credibility of scientific research by systematically reproducing and replicating research findings in leading academic journals.
Here are three noteworthy things that may be of interest to readers of this blog.
1. Replication Games all over the world
Replication can and should be fun. Therefore we created a new type of events in which researchers collaborate to replicate studies: Replication Games (RG). RG is a collaborative research initiative that aims to promote the replication of papers published in high-ranking economics and political science journals. These one-day events bring together researchers to work in small teams of 3-5 members with similar research interests. Teams may either conduct a robustness replication, which is the ability to duplicate the results of a prior study using the same data but different procedures as were used by the original investigator - or recode the study using the raw or intermediate data. Teams may also do a combination of robustness/recoding. See this page for more details: https://i4replication.org/description.html.
We have upcoming events all over the world (https://i4replication.org/games.html) and are expecting about 750 participants for the year 2023. Free registration and all participants get coauthorship to a meta-paper combining all replications.
2. The availability of new opportunities for conducting and publishing replications
As of April 2023, we have over 100 ongoing or completed replications. But we are actively seeking replicators and have an ongoing list of studies that require replication. Additionally, I4R has developed a template for writing replications (https://osf.io/8dkxc/), which includes examples of robustness checks and how to report the replication results.
Replicating a paper could be useful for instructors looking for class projects, as well as junior and senior researchers who want to improve their knowledge of leading research papers by going through them in detail. It's worth noting that replicators may remain anonymous throughout the process if they so choose. Assistance will be provided to help replicators publish their work, such as through special issues (https://i4replication.org/publishing.html). Furthermore, replicators are invited to co-author a large meta-analysis paper that combines the work of all replicators and answers important questions such as which types of studies replicate and what characterizes replicable results.
3. The results of a survey of journal editors about replication
Jörg Peters, Nathan Fiala, and Abel Brodeur surveyed over 50 journal editors in economics, finance, and political science about their interest in replications. They asked whether they publish comments that discuss and potentially challenge the empirical results from a paper published in their journal, for example, based on a re-analysis or robustness check. They also asked if they would consider comments on papers published elsewhere. The majority of editors answered yes to the first question, and many also answered yes to the second question. However, they often note that such comments are rare and would need to make a substantive or general interest contribution, which would go through the regular review process.
See the full responses by journal here: https://i4replication.org/publishing.html.
In conclusion, I4R will continue to develop new and exciting features based on input from the community. If you have any questions or suggestions, please do not hesitate to reach out to them via their website or Twitter account.
Twitter @I4Replication
Abel Brodeur, May 1st, 2023
Chair and founder of the Institute for Replication
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