ABSTRACT
As we have seen in the Introduction, there has been little or no focus on undertaking and publishing replication studies in the social sciences in general, and in AL in particular. Consequently, there is little tradition in theory or practice which we can use to discuss the relative importance of such research. We must look to other fields, where replication is a more deep-seated and accepted element of the research process – and to science in general – for clues to why replication research is a lynchpin to the way we go about our work.
