User:MarmotHead/sandbox

Reproducibility is a key part of the scientific method and refers to the possibility of reproducing an experimental result by a third party following the same procedures as the original experimenter.

Having the experiment repeated by an independent investigator 'reduces' the impact of a single study's experimental error and increases the chances of the hypothesis being accepted by the scientific community. Of course, reproducibility, alone, is not enough when even random numbers can reproduce prior results.

One of the signs of pseudoscience is a lack of reproducibility in their experiments.

Elements of reproducible research
In general, the same concepts that make for a high quality research project also determine its reproducibility.

Design
A reproducible design does not rely on unique circumstances, people, or equipment. It may be 'really' hard, for example, to build a new [Large Hadron Collider], but, in theory, it is completely possible. If, instead, the research project completely relies on a single person having

Representativeness
To be reproducible, in general, it must be possible to construct a sample in a reasonably similar fashion and find similar results.