Replication and trustworthiness

This paper explores various relations that exist between replication and trustworthiness. After defining trust, trustworthiness, replicability, replication study, and successful replication, we consider, respectively, how trustworthiness relates to each of the three main kinds of replication: reproductions, direct replications, and conceptual replications. Subsequently, we explore how trustworthiness relates to the intentionality of a replication. After that, we discuss whether the trustworthiness of research findings depends merely on evidential considerations or also on what is at stake. We conclude by adding replication to the other issues that should be considered in assessing the trustworthiness of research findings: (1) the likelihood of the findings before the primary study was done (that is, the prior probability of the findings), (2) the study size and the methodological quality of the primary study, (3) the number of replications that were performed and the quality and consistency of their aggregated findings, and (4) what is at stake.

Automated summary

This paper explores the relationships between replication and trustworthiness, including the relationships between different types of replication and trustworthiness, the relationship between replication intentionality and trustworthiness, and whether the trustworthiness of research findings depends on what is at stake. It concludes that replication should be considered along with other factors in assessing the trustworthiness of research findings.