Summary of two editorials on the topic of replication studies in the field of Educational Technology.

1. Replication Studies in
Educational Technology:
Two Editorials
Charles B. Hodges
Georgia Southern University

2. Makel, M.C., & Plucker, J.A. (2014). Facts are more important than novelty:
Replication in the education sciences. Educational Researcher, 43(6),
304-316.
Background

3. Initiated by the Makel and Plucker (2014)
article, two editorials specific to the field of
EducationalTechnology have been published
on the topic of replication studies:
Spector, J.M., Johnson, T.E., & Young, P.A. (2015). An editorial on replication
studies and scaling up efforts. Educational Technology Research and Development,
63(1), 1-4. doi: 10.1007/s11423-014-9364-3
Hodges, C.B. (2015). Replication studies in instructional technology. TechTrends,
59(4), 3-4. doi:10.1007/s11528-015-0862-2

4. Key points from:
Spector, J.M., Johnson, T.E., & Young, P.A. (2015)
✤ Three main barriers are posited to prevent replication studies. First:
✤ “National funding agencies need to promote more types of long-
term efforts to achieve systemic and sustainable reform in
educational practice” (p. 3).
✤ “The second barrier concerns the willingness of researchers and
developers to conduct replication studies and meta-analyzes, and
find funding for large-scale efforts” (p. 3).
✤ “The third barrier concerns the willingness of researchers to openly
and freely share instruments and details of their research procedures
with others” (p. 3)

5. Key points from:
Hodges, C.B. (2015)
✤ Cohorts of doctoral students present the opportunity for simultaneous
replication of research in multiple contexts as described and endorsed by
the Carnegie Program on the Education Doctorate.
✤ Researchers who conduct replication studies, or partial replication studies
(i.e., those involving very similar designs and the same instrumentation
and procedures), need to be clear about that fact in the reporting of their
work. (This in specifically in response to Makel & Plucker’s methodology.)
✤ There is a need in Educational Technology to identify and prioritize
research findings that should be the focus of replication studies.

6. Makel, M.C., & Plucker, J.A. (2014). Facts are more important than novelty:
Replication in the education sciences. Educational Researcher, 43(6), 304-316.
Spector, J.M., Johnson, T.E., & Young, P.A. (2015). An editorial on replication
studies and scaling up efforts. Educational Technology Research and Development,
63(1), 1-4. doi: 10.1007/s11423-014-9364-3
Hodges, C.B. (2015). Replication studies in instructional technology. TechTrends,
59(4), 3-4. doi:10.1007/s11528-015-0862-2
Read the article and editorials and engage in
conversation about replication studies in
Educational Technology.