Taking the Long View: The Role of Replication in Research

Abstract

This essay argues for the importance of replication in journalism, media, and communication research, and illustrates how the author’s research and that of others has benefited from replication. It begins by citing several research methods books on the value of replication and then turns to the different kinds of research done by the author in the past half century and how these studies have benefited from replication. It ends by citing other prominent programs of communication and media research that have also used replication to increase knowledge of subjects such as the cultivation effects of television, the effects of movies and television on children, media uses and gratifications research, studies of television and social behavior, and research on journalism and communication education.