Deciding what to replicate

What is it about?

Our article is a first attempt at outlining a formal and general decision model for selecting target studies for replication (in any field of science), based on principles from utility theory. The model was developed after a comprehensive review of existing research in the literature on replication study selection, a review of study selection choices in published replication research, and detailed attempts by several co-authors to develop quantitative operationalizations of replication value. These empirical efforts are all briefly summarized in the article.

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Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash

Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Our goal is to provide an overarching normative theory of replication study selection that can be used to discuss the validity of existing study selection strategies, and that will help to structure the debate around which studies are most in need of replication. To select studies for replication efficiently is a growing methodological concern, relevant to methodologists, funding bodies, and researchers both within psychology and in neighboring fields. We therefore believe that our article will be of broad interest to the readership of Psychological Methods, and particularly for those involved in large-scale replication projects such as the DARPA SCORE project, the Psychological Science Accelerator, the Many Labs projects, or the Collaborative Replications and Education Project.