The ReplicationWiki – an important resource for economists

Posted: July 31st, 2019 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , | Comments Off on The ReplicationWiki – an important resource for economists

The ReplicationWiki gives information about empirical studies in the social sciences. It offers a database containing empirical research and shows where to find program codes and data, which methods were used and which software. One can search for keywords, authors, databases or journals. In particular it lists so far 515 replications, 20 corrections, and 10 retractions; including information about the results of replications. 3,388 studies are already covered. The pages have been accessed more than 5.9 million times.

It helps researchers see which results have already been revisited. For instructors it helps to identify practical examples for which data and code are available in a software format that is accessible to their students. In our experience it helps to motivate students to study quantitative methodology and to approach published results with healthy scientific scepticism.

The ReplicationWiki also offers information on literature on the topic of replication, on journal policies on data availability, on data and software repositories and on projects that employ replication in the different social sciences.

Originally the Wiki was founded for economics. By now a number of studies from other social sciences were included, in particular political sciences and sociology. It has been cited as a project to follow also from fields like empirical law and empirical archaeology. Contributors are welcome! As the project is set up as a wiki website, any researcher can participate. After registration with one’s real name and an institutional email address one can for example add replications or studies that should be replicated, announce relevant events, discuss suggestions how to improve the project, set up one’s own user page and vote on which studies should be replicated. Registrations just to signal support for the project are also welcome. The ReplicationWiki is meant for an international audience and is therefore set up in English. Adding studies in other languages to its database is however welcome, and users can write in their own language on their user page to help others find them.

A detailed description how to add further studies can be found here: for replications and replicated studies and for studies that have not yet been replicated.

Further reading: ReplicationWiki – Improving Transparency in the Social Sciences, Jan H. Höffler, D-Lib Magazine, March/April 2017, Volume 23, Number 3/4, doi: 10.1045/march2017-hoeffler.

Picture: Image by Jan Vašek from Pixabay . License: click

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