Reproducibility, Replication and Questionable Research Practices in Studies from Mexican and Guatemalan Master and Ph.D. Thesis Repositories

Authors

  • Humberto Emilio Aguilera Arévalo Universidad Masaryk, República Checa https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6716-8172
  • María Guadalupe Ramírez Contreras Universidad de Guadalajara

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46780/cunzac.v5i1.60

Keywords:

reproducibility, replication, questionable research practices, publication bias, thesis repositories, Mexico, Guatemala

Abstract

AIMS: To assess whether Master and Ph.D. theses, in Open Access thesis repositories in Mexico and Guatemala, can be reproduced. Likewise, it was aimed to assess whether replication of studies is made. Additionally, whether questionable research practices and publication bias are present. METHOD: This study employed a quantitative, descriptive, and cross-sectional research design. It was gathered a convenience sample that consisted of 17 studies from 13 institutional repositories from Mexico, and 8 studies from 6 repositories from Guatemala. The universe was composed by 46 institutional repositories from Mexico (listed in the Mexican Network of Institutional Repositories) and 7 from Guatemala. RESULTS: It was found that no study in the sample can be reproduced. Likewise, replication of other studies is absent. It was discovered that questionable research practices were present in most of the studies. However, it wasn’t observed publication bias in studies. CONCLUSION: We concluded that reproducibility and replication of studies are not popular among universities included in the sample. Likewise, it’s worrisome to observe questionable research practices in most studies in the sample. Universities must address these issues as soon as possible.

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Author Biographies

Humberto Emilio Aguilera Arévalo, Universidad Masaryk, República Checa

Es doctor en Psicología Social por la Universidad Masaryk, República Checa. En la República Checa radicó por 16 años en donde fue docente e investigador en University of New York en Prague y Karlova Univerzita. Actualmente es investigador en diferentes líneas de investigación relativas a la cognición social, etnopsicología y representaciones sociales.

María Guadalupe Ramírez Contreras, Universidad de Guadalajara

María Guadalupe Ramírez Contreras, doctora en Ciencias de la Salud Pública. Profesora titular “A” en el Centro Universitario de Tonalá de la Universidad de Guadalajara. Miembro del Sistema Nacional de Investigadores del CONACYT. Su línea de investigación es sobre envejecimiento, migración, salud y cuidado de los adultos mayores. Autora de artículos científicos y libros de texto.

References

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Published

2022-02-05

How to Cite

Aguilera Arévalo, H. E. ., & Ramírez Contreras, M. G. (2022). Reproducibility, Replication and Questionable Research Practices in Studies from Mexican and Guatemalan Master and Ph.D. Thesis Repositories. Revista Académica CUNZAC, 5(1), 71–80. https://doi.org/10.46780/cunzac.v5i1.60

Issue

Section

Ensayos científicos