Only the third time in history: Scientists from FSV UK participated in a study published in the journal Nature

Scientists from the Institute of Economic Studies of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University – Prof. Zuzana Havránková, Prof. Tomáš Havránek and Dr. Jaromír Baxa – participated in a study published in the prestigious journal Nature. They are building on the success from 2022 and 2023, when FSV UK academics published in this journal.

The research analyzed 110 articles published in 2022–2023 in leading economic and political science journals with mandatory data and code sharing. The authors focus on one of the fundamental questions of contemporary science: to what extent can published results be fully trusted. The study shows that most scientific findings can be re-obtained from the same data and code. At the same time, however, it is true that their conclusions are not always stable when using other, albeit legitimate, analytical procedures.

“The study brings us good news. Results in top journals in economics and political science are 85 percent replicable. A number of previous studies claimed that it is much less, even below 50 percent. We talked about the so-called replication crisis,” says Professor Havránek. “The credibility of research is a key topic today. At a time when trust in science is declining – whether in debates about vaccination, climate or security – it is important to show that scientific knowledge is based on verifiable and transparent procedures. It is precisely the open sharing of data and code that significantly strengthens its reliability. The solution is not to question science, but to do it better and more consistently,” adds Dr. Baxa.

Over 100 research teams from around the world participated in the research. The University of Ottawa in Canada became the lead institution. “Studies involving so many research teams are becoming more and more common in our field. If you want to publish in the best jour

Read more about the study results on our Science at FSV UK website.