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When “Replicability” is More than Just “Reliability”: The Hubble Constant Controversy

McCoy, C.D. and Matarese, Vera (2022) When “Replicability” is More than Just “Reliability”: The Hubble Constant Controversy. [Preprint]

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Abstract

We argue that the epistemic functions of replication in science are best understood by their role in assessing kinds of experimental error. Direct replications serve to assess the reliability of an experiment through its precision: the presence and degree of random error. Conceptual replications serve to assess the validity of an experiment through its accuracy: the presence and degree of systematic errors. To illustrate the aptness of this view, we examine the Hubble constant controversy in astronomy, showing how astronomers have responded to the concordances and discordances in their results by carrying out the different kinds of replication that we identify, with the aim of establishing a precise, accurate value for the Hubble constant. We contrast our view with Machery's “re-sampling” account of replicability, which maintains that replications only assess reliability.


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Item Type: Preprint
Creators:
CreatorsEmailORCID
McCoy, C.D.casey.mccoy@yonsei.ac.kr0000-0002-7921-4911
Matarese, Veravera.matarese@csh.unibe.ch0000-0002-1644-2263
Keywords: replication, experiment, error, uncertainty, reliability, accuracy, cosmology, Hubble constant, discordance
Subjects: Specific Sciences > Physics > Astrophysics
Specific Sciences > Physics > Cosmology
General Issues > Experimentation
Depositing User: Dr. Casey McCoy
Date Deposited: 21 Sep 2022 17:23
Last Modified: 21 Sep 2022 17:23
Item ID: 21187
Subjects: Specific Sciences > Physics > Astrophysics
Specific Sciences > Physics > Cosmology
General Issues > Experimentation
Date: 8 April 2022
URI: https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/21187

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