It’s estimated that only around 20% of published research can be reproduced by other research labs. Does that mean 80% of research is wrong? No, thankfully. What it means is that scientists are spending more of their time and resources trying to replicate research, which translates to as much as $28 billion each year in experimental trial-and-error findings.
Librarians have the skills and are positioned within their institutions to help guide their researchers. A growing number of academic and medical librarians are already stepping forward to provide assistance in reproducibility; here’s the first of five tips to help newcomers interested in taking up the fight.
TIP #1: Get Informed, Stay Informed
To support your institution’s effort toward greater reproducibility, librarians must help researchers stay up-to-date on the work that’s being done and the resources available. The first step for newcomers: make themselves knowledgeable. Here are a few great articles to get started:
- Why Most Published Research Findings Are False
- Estimating the reproducibility of psychological science
- Why Should Scientific Results Be Reproducible?
- 1,500 scientists lift the lid on reproducibility
- The science ‘reproducibility crisis’ – and what can be done about it
Learn from the librarian community! Here are a few librarian thought leaders advocating the role of libraries in this context: Kristi Holmes, Melissa Haendel, Lisa Federer, Melissa L. Rethlefsen, Vicky Steeves, Shona Kirtley…
Get involved in the conversation on social media (#reproducibility), at librarian conferences (e.g Force 11), and one-off organized sessions (e.g. MLA Symposium, Charleston Discussion, Utah Conference).
Learn more by getting our librarian reproducibility ebook today!
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