Replication
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Definition
Replication is one of the fundamental principles of scientific research methods. Successful replication provides important information such as if a phenomenon observed in one study can be demonstrated for a second or third time, that increases the confidence in the validity of findings (Gaziano & Raulin, 1996). According to Lavrakas (2008), replication is the reanalysis of a study using a set of new data that was constructed and statistically analyzed in the same way as the initial study. There are various forms of replication. In exact replication, the study is repeated as close as possible to the way it was originally done while in systematic replication, modifications as it relates to systematic theories or procedures are made. When the researcher through replication, is able to investigate different facets of the same issue, it is called conceptual replication (Graziano & Raulin, 1996).
Application
Was replication involved in the video? Certainly it could have been, increasing the confidence in the validity of study's initial finding that is personal space and personal space violations in real-life v. Second Life are compatible. It appears that virtual life is so bound by real-life social norms and rules that we (our avatars) are not as free in it as one might think.
References
Gaziano, A.M. & Raulin, M.L. (1996). Research Methods: a process of inquiry. New York: Addison Wesley Longman, Inc.
Lavrakas, P.J. (2008). Encyclopedia of Survey Research Methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.
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