Replication and transparency in political science – have we made any progress?

When a range of top political science journals signed a statement to enforce transparency in 2014 (JETS statement), there was an immediate backlash by qualitative researchers. Hundreds of scholars signed a petition against strict transparency rules asking for clarification. Then the LaCour scandal happened, where a political scientist fabricated a study and pretended to withhold his data because of confidentially. Another wake-up call. Where is the debate in political science now? 

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Getting published by replicating work

There are three motivations to replicate someone else’s work. First, you learn statistics and methods. Second, you provide a service to the community by advancing knowledge and validating results. Third, and most importantly for many, if you add value, you can get it published. Here are some success stories from the social sciences about papers that got published by replicating existing work.