Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Comment
  • Published:

Trustworthy data underpin reproducible research

Lack of reproducibility is not necessarily bad news; it may herald new discoveries and signal scientific progress.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Measurements of the speed of light.
Fig. 2: Measurements of the Newtonian constant of gravitation.
Fig. 3: Cumulative consensus values for the Planck constant.

References

  1. Gelman, A. Essay: The experiments are fascinating. But nobody can repeat them. The New York Times https://go.nature.com/2QwN5Y1 (19 November 2018).

  2. Trouble at the lab. The Economist https://go.nature.com/2MV8XKn (18 October 2013).

  3. Wilson, E. O. Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge (Alfred A. Knopf, 1998).

  4. Open Science Collaboration. Science 349, aac4716 (2015).

  5. Birge, R. T. Rep. Prog. Phys. 8, 90–134 (1941).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  6. Merkatas, C. et al. Metrologia 56, 054001 (2019).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  7. Thompson, M. & Ellison, S. L. R. Accredit. Qual. Assur. 16, 483–487 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. McNutt, M. Science 343, 229 (2014).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  9. The International System of Units (SI), 9th Edition (BIPM, 2019).

  10. Mohr, P. J. et al. Rev. Mod. Phys. 88, 035009 (2016).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  11. Mohr, P. J. et al. Metrologia 55, 125–146 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Robinson, I. A. & Schlamminger, S. Metrologia 53, A46–A74 (2016).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  13. Possolo, A. et al. Metrologia 55, 29–37 (2018).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  14. Azuma, Y. et al. Metrologia 52, 360–375 (2015).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  15. Redish, A. D. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 115, 5042–5046 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Roush, S. Tracking Truth: Knowledge, Evidence, and Science (Oxford Univ. Press, 2005).

  17. Sené, M., Gilmore, I. & Janssen, J.-T. Nature 547, 397–399 (2017).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  18. Plant, A. L. et al. PLOS Biol. 16, e2004299 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Thompson, M., Ellison, S. L. R. & Wood, R. Pure Appl. Chem. 78, 145–196 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Koepke, A. et al. Metrologia 54, S34–S62 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Essen, L. & Gordon-Smith, A. C. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. A 194, 348–361 (1948).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  22. Aslakson, C. I. Eos 30, 475–487 (1949).

    Google Scholar 

  23. Bergstrand, E. Nature 165, 405 (1950).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  24. Essen, L. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. A 204, 260–277 (1950).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Martin J. T. Milton or Antonio Possolo.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Milton, M.J.T., Possolo, A. Trustworthy data underpin reproducible research. Nat. Phys. 16, 117–119 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-019-0780-5

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-019-0780-5

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing