Journal Article

Replication Research Series-Paper 1 : A concept analysis and meta-narrative review established a comprehensive theoretical definition of replication research to improve its use

Moher, David, Karunananthan, Sathya, Sales, Anne E., Vachon, Brigitte, Straus, Sharon E., Paprica, P. Alison, Brehaut, Jamie, Graham, Ian D., Curran, Janet A., Fiander, Michele, Grimshaw, Jeremy M.

2021

Overview

The aim of this study is to clarify the concept of replication research to improve its appropriate use by researchers, editors, research funders, and decision makers. We combined concept analysis and metanarrative review methods to synthetize knowledge on replication research from various scientific fields. We used multiple search strategies to identify the relevant literature published before April 2018. We summarized the data by seeking commonalities and differences in underlying conceptual and theoretical assumptions in the literature. A total of 153 articles from various disciplines were included. The analysis led to the identification of three major definitions of replication: the repetition of a previous study, the extension of a previous study, and the road-testing of a theory. Attributes, conditions required to conduct replication studies, concerns related to the interpretation of replication studies, and diverse replication research typologies were synthesized, combined, and analyzed. Based on this metanarrative review, a comprehensive theoretical definition of replication research was formulated. This study can support the adoption of a shared understanding and recognition of the indispensable nature of replication research for the sound development of knowledge in all research fields. •There is a lack of consensus in the scientific literature on a definition of replication research.•Replication studies can be conducted for different purposes and characterized in accordance with different attributes such as the similarity between research questions and the level of compliance with the methods.•When a replication study confirms the results of an index study or fails to confirm these results, it can lead to better understanding of previous research findings.•Replication studies should be planned and thoroughly designed in accordance with their specific purposes whether this is to improve the reliability, validity, and generalizability of existing knowledge.

• Publisher: Elsevier Inc,Elsevier Limited
• Subject: Concept analysis / Conceptual analysis / Decision analysis / Epidemiology / Internal Medicine / Literature reviews / Metanarrative review / Reliability / Replication / Reproducibility / Science / Social sciences / Validity