Replication in second language research : Narrative and systematic reviews, and recommendations for the field.

Despite its critical role for the development of the field, little is known about replication in second language (L2) research. To better understand replication practice, we first provide a narrative review of challenges related to replication, drawing on recent developments in psychology. This discussion frames and motivates a systematic review, building on syntheses of replication in psychology, education, and L2 research. We coded 67 self-labeled L2 replication studies found across 26 journals for 136 characteristics. We estimated a mean rate of 1 published replication study for every 400 articles, with a mean of 6.64 years between initial and replication studies and a mean of 117 citations of the initial study before a replication was published. Replication studies had an annual mean of 7.3 citations, much higher than averages in linguistics and education. Overlap in authorship between initial and replication studies and the availability of the initial materials both increased the likelihood of a replication supporting the initial findings. Our sample contained no direct (exact) replication attempts, and changes made to initial studies were numerous and wide ranging, which likely obscured, if not undermined, the interpretability of replication studies. To improve the amount and quality of L2 replication research, we propose 16 recommendations relating to rationale, nomenclature, design, infrastructure, and incentivization for collaboration and publication

Introducing Registered Reports at Language Learning: Promoting Transparency, Replication, and a Synthetic Ethic in the Language Sciences

The past few years have seen growing interest in open science practices, which include initiatives to increase transparency in research methods, data collection, and analysis, to enhance accessibility to data and materials, and to improve the dissemination of findings to broader audiences. Language Learning is enhancing its participation in the open science movement by launching Registered Reports as an article category as of 1 January 2018. Registered Reports allow authors to submit the conceptual justifications and the full method and analysis protocol of their study to peer review prior to data collection. High quality submissions then receive provisional, in-principle acceptance. Provided that data collection, analyses, and reporting follow the proposed and accepted methodology and analysis protocols, the paper is subsequently publishable whatever the findings. We outline key concerns leading to the development of Registered Reports, describe its core features, and discuss some of its benefits and weaknesses

Community, equity, and cultural change in open research: A response to open peer commentaries

We thank our esteemed colleagues who provided insightful commentaries on our feature article “(Why) are open research practices the future for the study of Language Learning?” (Marsden & Morgan-Short). Their responses very usefully illustrated and amplified points in our review, provided nuance and extension to some of our ideas, and pushed us to make stronger statements and deeper considerations of some of the facets and consequences of open research practices. Three common and prominent themes seemed to emerge from the responses, which we identify as: Community; Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion; and Changing Culture, and we organize our own response around these themes. We note that some of the issues raised by our generous commentators were addressed in arguments that had originally been included in our submitted manuscript (Marsden & Morgan-Short) but, due to length considerations, had to be moved to its Appendix. That Appendix can be found in the online Supporting Information for the Marsden & Morgan-Short article and is also held on the Open Science Framework (OSF) at https://osf.io/ru5n4. We refer to some of those arguments in our response here

Knowledge, Food and Place: a way of producing a way of knowing

The article examines the dynamics of knowledge in the valorisation of local food, drawing on the results from the CORASON project (A cognitive approach to rural sustainable development: the dynamics of expert and lay knowledge), funded by the EU under its Framework Programme 6. It is based on the analysis of several in-depth case studies on food relocalisation carried out in 10 European countries

Introduction of Methods Showcase Articles in Language Learning

Building on initiatives to promote high quality methodologies and Open Science practices in the language sciences, Language Learning will introduce, as of March 2020, a new manuscript type entitled Methods Showcase Articles (MSAs). The purpose of MSAs is to introduce new or emerging qualitative and quantitative methods, techniques, or instrumentation for language data collection, cleaning, sampling, coding, scoring, and analysis. MSAs are intended to describe methods and provide detailed examples of their application such that language researchers can easily adopt or adapt them in future studies. In this editorial, we outline the goals, format, and benefits of MSAs, discuss how they can advance language sciences, and discuss potential concerns

Agricultural Turns, Geographical Turns: Retrospect and Prospect.

It is accepted that British rural geography has actively engaged with the ‘cultural turn’, leading to a resurgence of research within the sub-discipline. However, a reading of recent reviews suggests that the cultural turn has largely, if not completely, bypassed those geographers interested in the agricultural sector. Farming centred engagements with notions of culture have been relatively limited compared with those concerned with the non-agricultural aspects of rural space. Indeed, agricultural geography represents something of an awkward case in the context of the disciplinary turn to culture, a situation that demands further exposition. In seeking explanation, it becomes evident that research on the farm sector is more culturally informed than initially appears. This paper argues that there have been both interesting and important engagements between agricultural geography and cultural perspectives over the past decade. The paper elaborates four specific areas of research which provide evidence for concern about the ‘culture’ within agriculture. The future contribution that culturally informed perspectives in geographical research can bring to agricultural issues is outlined by way of conclusion

Carbon accounting for local authorities: A comparative analysis of NAEI estimates and MOT test data based estimates

The published national statistics for transport carbon emissions by local authority district are the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory (NAEI). The NAEI uses the United Nations (UNFCCC) approach of attributing emissions to the territory from which they arise. For transport emissions, this means that (for example) the emissions from through traffic on the M6 and M42 as it passes through North Warwickshire district are attributed to North Warwickshire. In response to LAs’ complaints about this, a second data set is published for transport emissions, “CO2 emissions estimates within the scope of influence of Local Authorities”. For transport, emissions from railways and motorways are omitted, leaving emissions from A-roads and ‘minor roads’. This data set leaves strategic road network (SRNHighways England) roads classified ‘A’ in the data as ‘within the LA scope of influence’, even where they are expressways barely distinguishable from motorways in functional terms, eg the A14 in Kettering district. CREDS (ITS Leeds et al) has analysed a completely different data set, the annual mileage recorded at the annual MoT test. This allows a calculation of carbon emissions by all cars with their registered keeper living in a given LA district. (NB: The MoT data set does not at present include vans and lorries.) This paper explores aspects of the two data sets for the most easily available year, 2011

Interferon lambda is required for interferon gamma-expressing NK cell responses but does not afford antiviral protection during acute and persistent murine cytomegalovirus infection

Interferon lambda (IFNλ) is a group of cytokines that belong to the IL-10 family. They exhibit antiviral activities against certain viruses during infection of the liver and mucosal tissues. Here we report that IFNλ restricts in vitro replication of the β-herpesvirus murine cytomegalovirus (mCMV). However, IFNλR1-deficient (Ifnλr1-/-) mice were not preferentially susceptible to mCMV infection in vivo during acute infection after systemic or mucosal challenge, or during virus persistence in the mucosa. Instead, our studies revealed that IFNλ influences NK cell responses during mCMV infection. Ifnλr1-/- mice exhibited defective development of conventional interferon-gamma (IFNγ)-expressing NK cells in the spleen during mCMV infection whereas accumulation of granzyme B-expressing NK cells was unaltered. In vitro, development of splenic IFNγ+ NK cells following stimulation with IL-12 or, to a lesser extent, IL-18 was abrogated by IFNλR1-deficiency. Thus, IFNλ regulates NK cell responses during mCMV infection and restricts virus replication in vitro but is redundant in the control of acute and persistent mCMV replication within mucosal and non-mucosal tissues