Reproducibility crisis and gravitation towards a consensus in ocean acidification research
Published online: 25 September 2023 Reproducibility is a persistent concern in science and recently attracts considerable attention in assessing biological responses to ocean acidification. Here we track the reproducibility of the harmful effects of ocean acidification on calcification of shell-buil...
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ftunivadelaidedl:oai:digital.library.adelaide.edu.au:2440/139741 2023-12-17T10:47:49+01:00 Reproducibility crisis and gravitation towards a consensus in ocean acidification research Connell, S.D. Leung, J.Y.S. 2023 https://hdl.handle.net/2440/139741 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-023-01828-9 en eng Springer Nature http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP230101932 Nature Climate Change, 2023; 13(11):1266-1271 1758-678X 1758-6798 https://hdl.handle.net/2440/139741 doi:10.1038/s41558-023-01828-9 Connell, S.D. [0000-0002-5350-6852] © Crown 2023 http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41558-023-01828-9 Journal article 2023 ftunivadelaidedl https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-023-01828-9 2023-11-20T23:16:56Z Published online: 25 September 2023 Reproducibility is a persistent concern in science and recently attracts considerable attention in assessing biological responses to ocean acidification. Here we track the reproducibility of the harmful effects of ocean acidification on calcification of shell-building organisms by conducting a meta-analysis of 373 studies across 24 years. The pioneering studies tended to report large negative effects, but as other researchers assimilated this research into understanding their biological systems, the size of negative effects declined. Such declines represent a scientific process by which discoveries are initially assimilated and their limitations are subsequently explored. We suggest that scientific novelties can polarize a discipline where researchers fail to distinguish between different motivations for testing a phenomenon, that is, its existence (theory proposal) versus its influence within ever-widening contexts (theory development). Where context dependency is high, the lack of reproducibility may not represent a crisis but a part of theory development and eventual gravitation towards a consensus position. Sean D. Connell and Jonathan Y. S. Leung Article in Journal/Newspaper Ocean acidification The University of Adelaide: Digital Library Nature Climate Change 13 11 1266 1271 |
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Published online: 25 September 2023 Reproducibility is a persistent concern in science and recently attracts considerable attention in assessing biological responses to ocean acidification. Here we track the reproducibility of the harmful effects of ocean acidification on calcification of shell-building organisms by conducting a meta-analysis of 373 studies across 24 years. The pioneering studies tended to report large negative effects, but as other researchers assimilated this research into understanding their biological systems, the size of negative effects declined. Such declines represent a scientific process by which discoveries are initially assimilated and their limitations are subsequently explored. We suggest that scientific novelties can polarize a discipline where researchers fail to distinguish between different motivations for testing a phenomenon, that is, its existence (theory proposal) versus its influence within ever-widening contexts (theory development). Where context dependency is high, the lack of reproducibility may not represent a crisis but a part of theory development and eventual gravitation towards a consensus position. Sean D. Connell and Jonathan Y. S. Leung |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Connell, S.D. Leung, J.Y.S. |
spellingShingle |
Connell, S.D. Leung, J.Y.S. Reproducibility crisis and gravitation towards a consensus in ocean acidification research |
author_facet |
Connell, S.D. Leung, J.Y.S. |
author_sort |
Connell, S.D. |
title |
Reproducibility crisis and gravitation towards a consensus in ocean acidification research |
title_short |
Reproducibility crisis and gravitation towards a consensus in ocean acidification research |
title_full |
Reproducibility crisis and gravitation towards a consensus in ocean acidification research |
title_fullStr |
Reproducibility crisis and gravitation towards a consensus in ocean acidification research |
title_full_unstemmed |
Reproducibility crisis and gravitation towards a consensus in ocean acidification research |
title_sort |
reproducibility crisis and gravitation towards a consensus in ocean acidification research |
publisher |
Springer Nature |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/2440/139741 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-023-01828-9 |
genre |
Ocean acidification |
genre_facet |
Ocean acidification |
op_source |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41558-023-01828-9 |
op_relation |
http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP230101932 Nature Climate Change, 2023; 13(11):1266-1271 1758-678X 1758-6798 https://hdl.handle.net/2440/139741 doi:10.1038/s41558-023-01828-9 Connell, S.D. [0000-0002-5350-6852] |
op_rights |
© Crown 2023 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-023-01828-9 |
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Nature Climate Change |
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13 |
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11 |
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1266 |
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1271 |
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