Reproducibility
Reproducibility measures how well an experiment can be repeated by a different person in different conditions (e.g. a different lab).
Example of repeatability
For example, let’s say we want to measure the boiling point of a substance. We set up our apparatus and measure the temperature at which the water boils. Two different people do the experiment in two different environments. The results were:
- Experiment 1: 109.2°C
- Experiment 2: 102.4°C (done by a different person)
These results are not reproducible, because they vary a lot depending on which conditions the experiment was done under.
Repeatability vs reproducibility
- Reproducibility measures: if someone else does the same experiment under different conditions (e.g. different lab, different equipment), do they get similar results? (different conditions)
- repeatability measures: if we do the same experiment multiple times under the same conditions, do we get similar results doing it ourselves?
See more about repeatability here.
flashcards
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Reproducibility | Reproducibility measures how well an experiment can be repeated by a different person in different conditions (e.g. a different lab). |
| What is the difference between repeatability and reproducibility? | Reproducibility measures if someone else does the same experiment under different conditions (e.g. different lab, different equipment) and gets similar results. Repeatability measures if we do the same experiment multiple times under the same conditions and get similar results ourselves. |
| Give an example of results that are NOT reproducible. | Experiment 1 measured a boiling point at 109.2°C, and Experiment 2 measured 102.4°C done by a different person. These results are not reproducible because they vary depending on the conditions. |