Reproducible Research

Given NIH's new focus on rigor and reproducibility, here is a timely article, "Reproducible Research, Just Not Reproducible By You".

In it, David Crotty wonders if a researcher spends years perfecting a technique, is it plausible that someone without that expertise could reproduce the experiment exactly? He also looks at the oft-quoted Amgen article about reproducibility and calls into question its validity.

F1000 Reproducibility Channel

Faculty of 1000 (F1000) Research, in response to growing concerns about irreproducible science, has launched the Preclinical Reproducibility and Robustness Channel as a place to publish replication attempts - positive or negative.

"The Preclinical Reproducibility and Robustness channel is a platform for open and transparent publication of confirmatory and non-confirmatory studies in biomedical research. The channel is open to all scientists from both academia and industry and provides a centralized space for researchers to start an open dialogue, thereby helping to improve the reproducibility of studies. "

With NIH's revised grant instructions to enhance the reproducibility of research findings, this is a timely new resource.