In a new preprint with Max Littel, Stephanie Koolen-Maas, PhD, Dr Hoda Fahimpour, Arthur Gautier and Wahideh Achbari, we're revisiting the eight mechanisms in charitable giving that Pamala Wiepking and I summarized in 2007. While replications and retractions are rare in the field of research on giving, we show how science can be self-correcting through replications. #metascience #replication #fundraising #philanthropy
https://osf.io/preprints/metaarxiv/4epm5_v1
We find that in research on giving retractions and replications are less common than in research in other fields, and that statistical errors are more common. About 60% of replications yield similar conclusions as preceding studies. Previous findings on material benefits and social rewards for giving are less likely to replicate, while findings on material costs and solicitation are more likely to replicate.
In the interest of a robust knowledge base for fundraising, we call for more replications and we suggest that journals adopt registered reports - in principle acceptance of publication before results are known - as a solution to publication bias. We find that the more replicable mechanisms are material costs and solicitation, while replications indicate that material benefits and reputation do not work as we wrote previously.
