Nature journal launches large-scale effort to replicate papers

An “unprecedented” large-scale initiative will aim to reproduce and replicate research published in a scientific journal.

Amid concerns that a large quantity of published research may not be accurate, rigour, reproducibility and replication have become increasingly important for the research community.

Nature Human Behaviour has partnered with the Institute for Replication to support the reproduction and replication of papers published in the journal from 2023 onwards.

Reproducibility focuses on the ability to repeat studies using the same data, whereas replicability uses the same methods but different data to redo research.

“Although the value of reproduction and replication is much better recognised now than at the beginning of this millennium, an initiative for reproduction and replication at scale in the context of a highly selective multidisciplinary journal is unprecedented,” Stavroula Kousta, editor-in-chief of the journal, said.

“We hope that this initiative and its outputs will contribute to strengthening the credibility of research, promote the value and visibility of reproduction and replication efforts, and lead to increased transparency and rigour.”

The initiative continues the focus of Nature Human Behaviour since its launch on replication papers and other studies, conducted to a high standard, regardless of their results.

It will now work alongside the Institute for Replication, an organisation established in 2022 with the aim of making reproduction and replication commonplace in the social sciences.

Writing with colleagues in Nature Human Behaviour, Abel Brodeur, founder of the Institute for Replication, said that some replications sponsored so far have shed light on limitations or coding errors present in recently published studies, and serve the scientific community.

Nature Human Behaviour will not have any oversight of the papers that are selected for the project, but it will work with the Institute for Replication to facilitate the process of data and code sharing.

The journal will encourage authors whose papers have been selected to assist the replicators. And it will also consider individual replication efforts, providing that they meet their own existing criteria for publication.

patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com