Replication

Replication, or repetition, typically refers to the ability of results and theoretical concepts to be recreated in subsequent investigations. This is an essential means of building the credibility or external validity of a theory or concept in the research world. Successful replication demonstrates that observed phenomena (often in regards to causal relationships) were not isolated instances, but fairly reliable patterns in a larger context. In an interdisciplinary field such as communication, this may be particularly important when using existing theories from other fields. Replication ensures robustness and generalizability of experimental observations. A communication scholar may find frequent need to reproduce the relationships demonstrated between common variables in other disciplines, but in a communication-specific context. Repetition of experiments is particularly important to confirming causal ...