Replication in the Humanities in Action: Reflections on a Direct and a Conceptual Replication in the History of Science and Religion

Abstract

In this article, we reflect on our direct and conceptual replications, the results of which were presented in the previous two articles in this thematic section. While those articles are primarily meant to report the findings of the replications, we here seek to explore what the process and its results mean for replication in historiography. First, we discuss what we consider the main challenges we encountered in both replication studies and how we dealt with them. Then, we present what we consider the eight main lessons learned from both replication studies. Subsequently, we return to various objections and hesitations that have been raised regarding replication in the humanities in general and historiography in particular. We explore whether our findings and reflections shed new light on how those objections and hesitations should be dealt with. Finally, we draw some conclusions.

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