Replication research: a purposeful occupation worth repeating

Changing research culture toward more use of replication research: a narrative review of barriers and strategies

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this paper is to review the literature on barriers to conducting replication research and strategies to increase its use and promotion by researchers, editors, and funders.

STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING

This review was part of a larger meta-narrative review aimed at conducting a concept analysis of replication and developing a replication research framework. A combination of systematic and snowball search strategies was used to identify relevant literature in multiple research fields. Data were coded and analyzed using the Theoretical Domains Framework for barriers to replication and the behavior change wheel for solutions.

RESULTS

In total, 153 papers were included in this narrative review. Multiple barriers limit the use of replication research by researchers, editors, and funders. Many of the barriers were related to knowledge and skills of all these actors. Social influences and the research environmental context were also described as not supportive. Multiple strategies were proposed to create positive outcomes expectations, reinforcement, and structural changes in the physical and social context of research.

CONCLUSION

A social change involving advisory groups, research organizations, and institutions is required to establish new norms that will value, promote, support, and reward replication research.

Replication Research Series-Paper 1 : A concept analysis and meta-narrative review established a comprehensive theoretical definition of replication research to improve its use

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study is to clarify the concept of replication research to improve its appropriate use by researchers, editors, research funders, and decision makers.

STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING

We combined concept analysis and metanarrative review methods to synthetize knowledge on replication research from various scientific fields. We used multiple search strategies to identify the relevant literature published before April 2018. We summarized the data by seeking commonalities and differences in underlying conceptual and theoretical assumptions in the literature.

RESULTS

A total of 153 articles from various disciplines were included. The analysis led to the identification of three major definitions of replication: the repetition of a previous study, the extension of a previous study, and the road-testing of a theory. Attributes, conditions required to conduct replication studies, concerns related to the interpretation of replication studies, and diverse replication research typologies were synthesized, combined, and analyzed. Based on this metanarrative review, a comprehensive theoretical definition of replication research was formulated.

CONCLUSION

This study can support the adoption of a shared understanding and recognition of the indispensable nature of replication research for the sound development of knowledge in all research fields.

Balancing Challenges and Facilitating Factors when Implementing Client-Centred Collaboration in a Mental Health Setting

This study undertook a replication of the work conducted by Sumsion in 2004 in the United Kingdom regarding the application of a definition of client-centred practice. Twelve occupational therapists employed by a local mental health facility and working with adult outpatients participated in semi-structured interviews. Template analysis and open coding were used to analyse the data. The resulting concept map indicated that collaboration and meaningful goals were at the centre of client-centred practice and formed the two main categories of data. The therapist and the client were the protagonists in these categories, but the family, team and system also played major roles. A table within this paper outlines all the categories and themes that arose from the data. However, space limitations required a focus on only the category of collaboration and the therapist and client facilitators and challenges within this category. The therapists used both attitudes and actions to facilitate the client-centred process and the clients brought strengths to this relationship. Nevertheless, both groups faced many challenges that had to be overcome to enable the successful implementation of client-centred practice.

Therapists' Perceptions of how Teamwork Influences Client-Centred Practice

This qualitative study adds to the client-centred literature by focusing on occupational therapists' experience of working on teams that support clients with a severe and persistent mental illness from a client-centred perspective. The paper reports on the second category of data relating to a previously published paper, which replicated the work of Sumsion (2004).

Interviews were conducted with 12 therapists to capture their experience and interpretation of this approach to practice. The multiphased analysis included template analysis and open coding. It resulted in the creation of the category of meaningful goals, which addressed the work done to ensure that the goals towards which everyone was working were meaningful for the client. The facilitators related to these goals included team cohesion, the structure of the system and family collaboration and support. The challenges were differing perspectives and paradigms, competitive frameworks and time.

This study identified the unique contribution that families provided to a client-centred approach. Overall, the study makes a significant contribution to the literature and to therapists' understanding of the factors that influence the therapist's ability to facilitate client-centred practice.

The effect of training on question formulation among public health practitioners: results from a randomized controlled trial

OBJECTIVE

To improve understanding of the information-seeking behaviors of public health professionals, the authors conducted this randomized controlled trial involving sixty participants to determine whether library and informatics training, with an emphasis on PubMed searching skills, increased the frequency and sophistication of participants' practice-related questions.

METHODS

The intervention group (n = 34) received evidence-based public health library and informatics training first, whereas the control group (n = 26) received identical training two weeks later. The frequency and sophistication of the questions generated by both intervention and control groups during the interim two-week period served as the basis for comparison.

RESULTS

The intervention group reported an average of almost 1.8 times more questions than those reported by the control group (1.24 vs. 0.69 questions per participant); however, this difference did not reach statistical significance. The intervention group overall produced more sophisticated (foreground) questions than the control group (18 vs. 9); however, this difference also did not reach statistical significance.

CONCLUSION

The training provided in the current study seemed to prompt public health practitioners to identify and articulate questions more often. Training appears to create the necessary precondition for increased information-seeking behavior among public health professionals.