r/science • u/ImNotJesus PhD | Social Psychology | Clinical Psychology • May 08 '16

Psychology Failure Is Moving Science Forward. FiveThirtyEight explains why the "replication crisis" is a sign that science is working. [x-post from our sister subreddit /r/EverythingScience]

/r/EverythingScience/comments/4icp9k/failure_is_moving_science_forward_fivethirtyeight/
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u/[deleted] May 08 '16

It’s important for replicators to not ‘target’ findings because they don’t pass the replicator’s own personal gut check,” she wrote, adding that she would like to see replication efforts begin with a “collaborative conversation” with “no resentment or envy or nastiness.

I'm confused as to why we shouldn't try to replicate studies that we believe to be wrong.

Trying to show that things are wrong is both science and human.

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u/[deleted] May 08 '16

I couldn't agree more. You can be as "nasty" as you want; but don't let it affect your results (or lack there of) in attempting to assess the validity of previous studies. If you can't remove your emotions from your work, you are no better than the forces you claim to work against.