What does reproducibility mean?
Reproducibility is the quality of a result, experiment, method, or study being repeatable by other researchers. In science, a reproducible finding should be obtainable when the same procedures are followed with equivalent materials, although differences in equipment, personnel, or environment can sometimes complicate exact repetition. The word has become especially prominent in discussions of the reproducibility crisis, a concern that many published findings cannot be independently confirmed. Reproducibility differs from reliability: reliability describes whether a result consistently holds under the conditions in which it is tested, whereas reproducibility focuses on whether another investigator can repeat the work and obtain comparable results. The term can also apply to software, industrial processes, and other systems. Although it shares features with repeatability and replicability, reproducibility has become the standard term for questions about whether scientific claims withstand independent testing. It is also a central measure of research quality and a means of identifying errors, hidden assumptions, and accidental or fraudulent findings.
nounThe quality or state of being reproducible: the degree to which a result, process, experiment, or piece of research can be independently repeated or verified. It is especially important in scientific research, where identical or equivalent outcomes should be obtainable from the same methods and materials.
- The quality of results, methods, or findings being repeatable or independently verifiable.
- The capacity of a process, procedure, or piece of work to yield consistent results when repeated.
"The journal asked authors to provide enough detail to ensure the reproducibility of their findings."
"Careful documentation improved the reproducibility of the experiment."
"The conference devoted several sessions to the reproducibility crisis in psychology."
The plural is grammatically possible but rare; in academic writing, reproducibility is normally used in the singular or uncountably.
"The study compared the reproducibility of two widely used laboratory procedures."
When an experiment cannot be reproduced, a striking result may be genuine—or it may have stumbled upon a mistake.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does reproducibility come from?
Reproducibility was formed within English from reproducible, meaning “able to be reproduced,” and the suffix -ity, which forms abstract nouns. Reproducible ultimately comes from Latin reproducere, “produce again” or “bring forth again,” built from re-, meaning “again,” and producere, “bring forth” or “produce.” The same Latin root lies behind cognates such as production, productive, and productivity.
Related word forms
How reproducibility is actually used
The term is most common in scientific and academic contexts. It can describe either the repeatability of a specific result or the broader reliability of a research method, and it is often used where independent verification is especially important.
Easily confused with reproducibility
Reproduction is the act or result of producing something again, while reproducibility is the quality of being capable of being repeated or independently verified.
Replicability often emphasizes whether a study can be repeated to test its findings, whereas reproducibility can also describe the repeatability of a process, method, or result more generally.