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Replication is already mainstream: Lessons from small-N designs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 July 2018

Daniel R. Little  and
Philip L. Smith
Daniel R. Little
Affiliation:
Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia. daniel.little@unimelb.edu.auphilipls@unimelb.edu.auhttp://psychologicalsciences.unimelb.edu.au/research/research-groups/knowlab
Philip L. Smith
Affiliation:
Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia. daniel.little@unimelb.edu.auphilipls@unimelb.edu.auhttp://psychologicalsciences.unimelb.edu.au/research/research-groups/knowlab
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Abstract

Replication is already mainstream in areas of psychology that use small-N designs. Replication failures often result from weak theory, weak measurement, and weak control over error variance. These are hallmarks of phenomenon-based research with sparse data. Small-N designs, which focus on understanding processes, treat the individual rather than the experiment as the unit of replication and largely circumvent these problems.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 41 , 2018 , e141
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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