Exact Replication and Conceptual Replication, Essay Example

Replication in research is important to overcome issues related to generalization. The two types of replication are exact replication and conceptual replication. Exact replication is used when the researcher wants to replicate the procedures of the previous study to confirm the same results. This method is commonly used for validation by researchers when unexpected results are obtained. Conceptual replication, however, involves the modification of the procedures in order to validate the findings of a previous research. The main purpose of carrying out a new research using conceptual replication is to determine whether or not there is a relationship between the conceptual variables. The researcher modifies the representation of an independent variable to see if this affects the results. Conceptual replications are relevant to social sciences, where an alternative stimulus might be present, affecting the results.

Meta-Analysis

Meta-analysis is used to compare the results of a large number of studies. The main purpose of the meta-analysis is to combine the results of multiple research. This way, the credibility of the research will be higher, as it will take into consideration multiple studies’ results. Meta-analysis, on the other hand, can be used to identify trends in research and highlight themes that regularly occur in studies. When conducting a meta-analysis, the researcher uses certain statistical procedures to assign each examined study with an effect size and draw conclusions. The narrative part of the meta-analysis is designed to compare the findings of each research and evaluate the validity and significance of their results. Before selecting the studies for the research, a criteria needs to be developed and communicated in the body of the research. Meta-analysis leads to clearer conclusions than literature review, as it takes into consideration the effect size.